WooCommerce Subscription Emails: How to Customize Basic Reminders with Personalized Notifications

Editorial Team
October 19, 2023
WooCommerce Subscription Emails: How to Customize Basic Reminders with Personalized Notifications

Do you want to send WooCommerce Subscription emails to keep your customers informed and engaged with timely follow-ups?

If you have a subscription-based business that runs on WooCommerce and are thinking of implementing subscription emails in your store, then this blog is for you.

For that, WooCommerce Subscriptions is one of the top plugins that allows you to sell subscription products and retain customers.

This plugin provides a basic email notification setup to help you stay in the game. This works quite well in sending an email whenever a new subscriber joins, or a subscription is about to expire, etc.

Its built-in email notifications functionality is good for standard templates. But if you want to level up your customer retention game - you need a robust follow-up engine and a powerful WooCommerce email customizer tool.

In this post, we’ll demonstrate how you can send custom personalized WooCommerce subscription emails that make your online business stand out.

What are WooCommerce Subscription Emails?

WooCommerce Subscriptions is a WordPress plugin that allows you to create and sell subscription-based product plans on your WooCommerce store.

You can either create a simple subscription plan to charge your subscribers weekly, monthly, or annually.

Or, you can create a multi-tier subscription plan, where each tier comes with different services at different prices. For example, hosting services offer multi-tier subscriptions.

Once a customer opts for a subscription, then the WooCommerce Subscriptions email notifications come into play.

You can send these emails to your subscribers during new subscriptions, renewals, cancellations, and other status changes.

Here’s a new subscription email example from Netflix:

WooCommerce subscription email examples

As you can see, Netflix clearly mentions the subscription information, including the user’s email, subscription plan, payment method, etc.

These emails let you communicate with your subscribers, promote your products or services, and drive repeat revenues.

These emails are the backbone of a successful marketing strategy for a business that sells subscription goods.

Why Send WooCommerce Subscription Emails?

According to The Business Research Company, the global subscription eCommerce market size is expected to reach $904.28 billion by 2026 at a CAGR of 65.67%.

Offering subscriptions in your business allows you to capitalize on the compounding value of customer relationships.

However, you need to refine your process to retain your customers consistently. For that, interacting with your customers becomes extremely important.

These are some effective subscription emails you can send to your subscribers:

  • Subscription renewal reminder

These emails help users know when their upcoming subscription renewal is due. It’s quite effective to send a reminder a few days before the due date. 

This way, user appreciates your effort and keeps them loyal to your brand. Plus, businesses don’t have to undergo the situation of unnecessary renewal refunds.

  • Renewal failure

These emails are also called dunning emails that are sent if the subscription renewal fails. It could be because of a credit card expiration, insufficient funds, or payment gateway issues.

These emails inform the customer of the failed payments and the need to update their payment information. 

If you’re not sending any emails, the customer gets churned and is unaware of their payment failure or that their card has expired.

And let’s say you send a renewal failure email to your customers and recoup even 50% of them. This later has a compounding effect on the next renewal compared to businesses that have not recouped anything at all.

  • Promotions and offers

These emails present a perfect opportunity to promote your products, offer special discounts and announce exclusive deals to your customers.

It includes attractive upgrade offers, discounts on subscription renewals, limited-time deals, reactivation offers, anniversary discounts, etc.

Special promotions and offers have a huge impact on users. It gives them an extra push to complete the purchase.

You can also offer upsells and cross-sells to help them explore more of your products, allowing them to choose subscription plans that provide the best value to them.

This further leads to increased sales and conversions in your store.

What’s Missing in Default WooCommerce Subscription Email Notifications?

WooCommerce Subscriptions plugin has an in-built email notifications service that can send some standard emails. But even with that, you’d have to know basic HTML to modify them.

This could drag the process of setting up your follow-up emails and make it time-consuming.

Its built-in notification service has some serious challenges and limitations. It cannot do some of the most crucial things such as:

  • Ability to personalize emails
  • Design aesthetic emails
  • Subscriber analytics
  • Create automated emails and follow-up sequences
  • SMS notifications

Apart from that, if you head into the email section of WooCommerce, you will see there is not much customization or personalization you can do there.

If you go to WooCommerce ⇨ Settings and hit the ‘Emails’ section, you’ll be able to see all the order status notifications.

Go to WooCommerce email settings and you'll see all the default woocommerce order notification emails

Scroll down to see the default WooCommerce subscription emails.

The pre-built email subscription notifications are limited and difficult to personalize.

If you click on the ‘Manage’ button of any email notification, you can see there is nothing much you can do with customizing the content or adding a personalized touch.

Click on manage to customize the default woocommerce subscription emails

To customize the subscription emails in WooCommerce, you’ll need a tool that helps you design your notifications the way you want. And this is exactly what we’ve covered in the later section of this post.

Types of WooCommerce Subscription Emails Available for Customization

Once you’ve activated WooCommerce Subscriptions, you get 10 additional emails that can be customized. These include:

  • New Renewal Order - Renewal orders are normally created on the subscription’s predefined billing schedule. This email is sent when a subscription renewal payment gets processed.
  • Subscription Switched - This email notification is sent to customers when they request to switch from one subscription item to another. It contains all the details about the switch.
  • Processing Renewal Order - This email is sent to the customer when a subscription renewal order is in progress. It contains all the information about the renewal order.
  • Completed Renewal Order - This email is a subscription order confirmation sent to the customer for a successful renewal. It typically provides all the details related to the renewal and the next billing cycle or subscription period.
     
  • On-hold Renewal Order - It’s a WooCommerce subscription email notification sent to customers containing order details after a subscription renewal is placed on hold.
  • Subscription Switch Complete - These emails are sent to customers when their subscription switch from one subscription to another is successful.
  • Customer Renewal Notice - This email is sent to customers before their subscription is due for renewal. It includes a reminder of the upcoming subscription renewal and the scheduled date.
  • Cancelled Subscription - When a customer cancels their subscription, this email is sent to confirm the cancellation and often asks the reason for their cancellation.
  • Expired Subscription - Expired subscription emails are sent to customers when their subscription has reached its end date and is no longer active.
  • Suspended Subscription - These email notifications are sent when a customer manually suspends their subscription.

Let’s now look at the top plugins you can use to customize your subscription email notifications in WooCommerce.

Top 3 Best Plugins to Send WooCommerce Subscription Emails

In this section, we have listed the top 3 plugins that will help you send personalized WooCommerce Subscriptions email notifications.

Our team has researched, tried and tested all the plugins for over a month. Based on the usage and experience, we’ve been able to share this plugin list with you.

We’ve arranged this list in descending order of plugins based on their functionalities, ease of usage and value for money.

Let’s get into the list of the best WooCommerce Subscription email plugins.

1. FunnelKit Automations

FunnelKit Automations is the most effective marketing automation and broadcast CRM plugin for WordPress.

FunnelKit Automations - number 1 plugin to send woocommerce subscription emails

It extends its support to WooCommerce Subscriptions and helps you send email reminders to your subscribers.

You can send all types of email notifications, such as new subscriptions, renewal notices, renewal payment fails, subscription trials, subscription statuses, and more.

It also offers pre-built recipes that you can customize to set up your automated campaigns quickly.

The best part about FunnelKit Automations is its built-in visual email builder. It lets you design attractive branded emails with drag-and-drop content blocks.

Apart from that, you can create your emails with a rich text editor and raw HTML, too. Plus, you can also save them as WooCommerce subscription email templates and use them in future campaigns.

FunnelKit Automations is available in both free (lite) and paid versions (starting at $99.5 annually). Its pricing plan is unmatchable, considering the features that this full-fledged CRM offers.

2. Email Reminders for WooCommerce Subscriptions

The Email Reminders for WooCommerce Subscriptions plugin helps keep your customers informed about your subscriptions with constant emails.

Email Reminders for WooCommerce Subscriptions plugin

It lets you send email notifications and inform subscribers of upcoming subscription changes.

You can easily customize your reminder emails with headers, bodies and footers. However, you don’t get a drag-and-drop visual builder here.

This plugin lets you send automatic reminders about payment due, trial ending period, subscription expiry, and more.

The best part is that it lets you keep track of your WooCommerce subscription emails under the notes section.

You can even exclude reminder emails by product level for your customers.

Email Reminders for WooCommerce Subscriptions comes in the paid version, costing you $29 annually. We believe it doesn’t justify the value for money just to send some basic subscription email notifications.

3. Email Customizer for WooCommerce Subscriptions

The Email Customizer for WooCommerce Subscriptions plugin lets you edit the content and design your subscription order emails and recurring payment reminders.

Email Customizer for WooCommerce Subscriptions plugin

This plugin integrates all WooCommerce subscription email templates into a single interface, allowing you to design them visually.

You can add your brand logo and product images and customize emails with brand colors, footer details, and more.

This way, you can send branded emails with customized layouts about subscription notifications to your customers.

It’s a good choice for people who want to customize their emails easily and effortlessly.

This Yaymail addon for WooCommerce Subscriptions comes at $79 annually. However, this price is slightly expensive just to customize WooCommerce subscription emails.

How to Send WooCommerce Subscription Emails?

We’ll use FunnelKit Automations to send custom WooCommerce subscription email notifications.

Get a copy of FunnelKit Automations.

Make sure to install and activate it on your WordPress website.

Once that’s done, follow the instructions below to send WooCommerce subscription emails to your customers.

Here, we’ll set up the email when a customer successfully places a new subscription order:

Step 1: Add a new automation

Go to the FunnelKit Automations dashboard. Click on Campaigns and go to Automations (Next Gen).

From there, click on the ‘Add New Automation’ button.

Go to Automations under Campaigns and click on the add new automation button

You’ll get directed to the pre-built automation recipes page. You can import and customize these recipes to set up your perfect automation.

But we’ll be creating a fresh automation. For that, click on the ‘Start from Scratch’ button and name your automation - ‘WooCommerce subscription emails’ or anything you want.

Start from scratch and name your automation - woocommerce subscription emails

Clicking on ‘Create’ will add the new automation.

Step 2: Select the ‘Subscriptions Created’ event trigger

You’ll need to set up the event to trigger this automation.

For that, hit the ‘Select Trigger’ button.

Click on select trigger to specify the event for the woocommerce subscriptions email automation

Select the ‘Subscriptions Created’ event trigger under the WooCommerce section and click on ‘Done’.

Add the subscriptions created event under woocommerce subscriptions section

Next, configure this event trigger by clicking on the node.

You’ll be able to set the trigger for any subscription or a specific subscription product in your WooCommerce store.

Here, we’ll configure this event for any subscription product and allow this trigger to run multiple times on a contact.

Configure the woocommerce subscriptions created event trigger in funnelkit automations

Hit ‘Save’ when you’re done configuring your new subscription event.

Step 3: Specify the ‘Send Email’ action

To specify the action for your event, click on the blue (+) icon and hit ‘Action’.

Click on the node and hit the action step to add it to your automation workflow

Now, select the ‘Send Email’ action under the Messaging section and click on ‘Done’. 

Select the send email action under the messaging section

This will add the email action node to your workflow.

Step 4: Write the email copy for new WooCommerce subscription orders

FunnelKit Automations lets you create emails in three ways:

  • Rich Text - Simple text-based emails
  • Raw HTML - Copy and paste your HTML email code created with other external services
  • Visual Builder - Design beautiful emails with a cloud-based React email builder app

Write your email subject line and preview text. Then, choose the type of email you want to create here.

Let’s go for the Visual Builder. Select the ‘Visual Builder’ template type and click on ‘Start’ to launch your drag-and-drop builder.

Select visual builder to start designing beautiful woocommerce subscription emails

Here, you’ll see the content blocks along with customization options on the left and your workspace on the right.

All you have to do is drag and drop the content blocks to your workspace. Then, customize them the way you want.

This is the built-in visual email customizer in funnelkit automations

Let’s start with the business logo.

For that, drag and drop the image block and upload your logo here.

Drag and drop the image block to your workspace and upload your business logo

Then, add the heading and customize it as per your requirements.

Add headings and customize the way you want on your woocommerce subscription emails

Next, add some engaging text to your email regarding your subscription. And how your subscription will benefit the customer.

Add engaging text to your workspace about the subscription details

Finally, add some CTA buttons and customize them to encourage customers to explore more of your products.

Add some CTA buttons and customize them to encourage to take the desired action you want

Once done, go to the Body section and customize few more options. You can change the background color, text color, alignment, links, width, and so much more.

Customize the background color, text color, content width, alignment, font style, etc. from the Body section

Once done, hit the ‘Save’ button and return back to your workflow.

👉 We have a detailed blog post on how you can use FunnelKit Automations to design beautiful custom WooCommerce emails.

Step 5: Activate your automation

On the workflow section, turn the toggle to ‘Active’ to make your automation live.

Activate your woocommerce subscription emails automation

Now, when a user purchases a subscription from your store, it’ll automatically send them this email.

That’s it! This is how you can create and send WooCommerce subscription emails for new subscription orders.

Here’s how this email shows to your users:

WooCommerce subscription email example preview

Now you already know how to send emails for new subscription orders, let’s look at 5 different email sequences for WooCommerce Subscriptions.

5 Must-Have Email Sequences to Keep Your Subscription Business Running 

Now, we will discuss 5 email sequences that will keep your business up and running even when you are asleep.

You don’t have to worry about informing your subscribers for renewal payments or nudging them that their subscription is about to expire.

Once you set up these automations, your business will run on autopilot.

1. Subscription renewal reminders

Subscription renewal reminders are an essential part of managing subscription-based services in your WooCommerce store.

These WooCommerce subscription emails inform your customers about upcoming renewals, reducing churn and ensuring a smooth process.

With FunnelKit Automations, you can send timely reminders to your subscribers to renew their subscriptions.

For that, all you need to do is select the ‘Subscription Before Renewal’ event and configure it as per your requirements.

Specify the number of days before the renewal date and the time this email should go out.

Subscriptions before renewal event to remind users to renew their WooCommerce subscriptions

Now, you can send an email or maybe add a delay for another follow-up email.

2. Free trial-ending reminder emails

Sending free trial-ending email notifications is essential in converting trial users into paying customers.

This email helps you encourage users to purchase or subscribe before the subscription trial period expires.

You can create discount coupons with FunnelKit Automations and urge free trial users to continue their paid subscriptions.

All you have to do is select the ‘Subscriptions Trial End’ event trigger.

Subscriptions trial end event to remind users about their trial ending and encourage them to become paying customers

Then, you can create dynamic coupons and send them in your email to your customers.

3. Renewal payment failure emails

There can be several reasons why a subscription renewal payment fails. Minimal usage of your product or service is just one of them.

Other reasons can be - they were unaware that the membership ended, a technical glitch, the card was declined, the card on file expired, temporarily insufficient funds in the attached bank account, and many more.

Sending renewal payment failure or dunning emails helps them resolve failure situations and make them reactivate.

For that, choose the ‘Subscriptions Renewal Payment Failed’ event trigger.

Subscriptions renewal payment failed event to recoup failed payments and reactivate users

Set up an email action that instructs a resolution to fix payment failures.

4. Notifications about changes in subscription statuses

These WooCommerce subscription emails are important to keep your customers informed about their subscriptions and help them manage them effectively.

These notifications include updates on subscription renewals, cancellations, upgrades, or downgrades.

All you have to do is add the ‘Subscriptions Status Changed’ event and configure it to specify the order status transition from a subscription status to the other.

Send woocommerce subscription emails when the subscription event statuses change

Then, add the email which you want to send to your subscribers.

5. Payment card on file about to expire

Antifraud laws require credit cards to expire 3-5 years after being issued. 

Therefore, one in every three customers needs to update their payment information within the next year to keep their payment from being declined.

It's highly likely that people forget to update their cards with new expiry dates in all the subscription-based services they are using. Thus, you should take a proactive step here by reminding them a few days before their card on file expires.

Let them know that their card expiry date is approaching, and they can take timely action to prevent payment failure.

Set the ‘Customer Card Before Expiry’ event. Next, configure the days before the expiry you want to send this email.

Customer card before expiry event to send notifications about updating the new payment in the account

Notify them with an email conveying all the information about their card expiry and ask them to update their payment details in their account.

So these were the 5 must-have subscription email sequences in your store. And of course, there are many other use cases you can implement in your WooCommerce store.

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Are You Ready to Retain More Subscribers with Automated WooCommerce Subscription Emails?

If you have a subscription-based business, you must build healthy bonds with your customers and lower your churn rate with automatic renewal reminder emails.

A well-planned, personalized email communication strategy can secure your revenues by preventing cancellations and reducing subscription refunds from customers.

For that, you need a robust follow-up engine like FunnelKit Automations that gives you advanced customization possibilities.

You also get more opportunities to get in touch with your subscribers, personalize your WooCommerce subscription reminders to make them look on-brand, and more!

So what are you waiting for?

Get on the bandwagon and make your subscription management a smooth sail with the most powerful WordPress marketing automation engine - FunnelKit Automations.

Author: Editorial Team
The Editorial Team at FunnelKit (formerly WooFunnels) is a passionate group of writers and copy editors. We create well-researched posts on topics such as WordPress automation, sales funnels, online course creation, and more. We aim to deliver content that is interesting and actionable.

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