Worse, for new SaaS companies, the number shoots up to 15%<\/a> per month, at least during their maiden year on the market.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n A churn may be voluntary or involuntary. An involuntary churn occurs when a customer has a payment failure, leading to automatic subscription cancellation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Involuntary churns may happen for a number of reasons, such as when the customer has lost their credit card, has got a new credit card, or has exceeded their card limit. It may also happen if there are bottlenecks in the network of the banking system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hence the need for dunning management. The right dunning strategy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n We shall deal with each of these in more detail later in the post. But first, let\u2019s see how to write, design, and send a dunning email. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Like any email copy<\/a>, a dunning email will have three components: subject line, email body, and conclusion.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your subject line must be short, and to the point. Generally speaking, because it\u2019s transactional, dunning email subject lines don\u2019t always have to be creative. Usually, where anything related to money is involved, the driest phrases often click.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take the following subject line from a Dropbox dunning email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It can be as straightforward as that. While your email may be just one of many such emails crowding the subscriber\u2019s inbox, simple subject lines still work.\u00a0 Compare it with the following dunning email from Hulu.<\/p>\n\n\n\r\n Image source<\/a><\/p>\n\t\t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t \t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t \t <\/div>\r\n\t <\/div>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n\n\n\n Do you see the difference? Hulu\u2019s copy is appropriately informal, friendly, and reassuring. Phrases like \u2018Don\u2019t worry\u2019, \u2018We understand\u2019, \u2018These things happen\u2019 etc. are always effective in dunning emails.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Notably, the way the email starts \u2014 \u2018Something went wrong\u2026\u2019 \u2014 is interesting, and really nails the point home. The ambiguity effectively dismantles any preconceived notion of who has the so-called upper hand in the exchange. Can it get more anti-dunning? <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s also a fine example of context sharing, one of the hallmarks of personalized marketing<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, closing a dunning email also requires some consideration. Take a look at how Hulu closes the same email.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is the obvious call to action, but below the button, the smaller CTA provides an alternative. Often, the customer is not in control of their payment issues. In those cases, closing the way Hulu has done is always helpful, and leads to a positive customer experience. <\/p>\n\n\n The purpose of a dunning email is primarily to inform in order to make the customer act in a desired way. As a result, most dunning email templates are simply designed, and rich in white space.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n You don\u2019t want anything in your email that may cause distraction. Design is only useful as a framework, nothing more. Check out the following pre-dunning email from Slack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As you can see, there are no images, no distractions, just the necessary information, and the brand logo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Similarly, consider The Noun Project\u2019s pre-dunning template below. The email does not have a text-rich body, but it is amply white-spaced to keep the focus on the information.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n More often than not, customers don\u2019t act after just one dunning email. So, create a sequence of four-five dunning emails, each time tailoring the message according to the time lapsed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first email is a pre-dunning email, like the above two emails from Slack and The Noun project. It\u2019s a cautionary reminder. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The second email is where the subscriber is reminded about having to renew their subscription. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The third email is a final notice to the subscriber, asking them to update their payment\/billing information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The fourth email is the Last Chance notification, informing the recipient that their subscription will be canceled in so many days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, set a sending schedule to automate the send-outs. Ideally, you should send a dunning email once every four or five days. <\/p>\n\n\n Having looked at the general dunning email best practices, let us now consider the benefits of dunning emails in some detail.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n As we mentioned before, involuntary churn happens when the customer doesn\u2019t actually want to cancel their subscription, but due to unforeseen payment issues, is automatically blocked out of their account. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So the customer wants to stay subscribed, but cannot. Without proper dunning management, you end up losing thousands of dollars for nothing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The best way to reduce involuntary churn is to use payment processors to effectively monitor transactions, and alert customers as soon as there is a problem.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n By sending automated alerts to customers so that they have the time to update their billing information and pay up, you can maintain a stable revenue stream. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The point is to keep sending reminders at specific intervals. Here\u2019s a brilliant example of revenue recovery by Baremetrics. <\/p>\n\n\n\nWriting A Dunning Email<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/email.uplers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Dropbox-dunning-email.png\")
Coming to the email body, you want to make your copy direct, informative, and empathetic. While it\u2019s a transactional emai<\/a>l, avoid using too formal a tone. The same email by Dropbox is too formal, and rather crudely injunctive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/email.uplers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/email-by-Dropbox-.png\")
![\"dunning](\"https:\/\/email.uplers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/dunning-email-from-Hulu-1.png\")
\r\n\t\t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t \t\t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t ![\"Hulu](\"https:\/\/email.uplers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/email_closure.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"pixel](\"https:\/\/email.uplers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/2-pixel-perfect-templates.png\"){kind=tracking}
<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\nDesigning A Dunning Email<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"pre-dunning](\"https:\/\/email.uplers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/pre-dunning-email-from-Slack.png\")
![\"Noun](\"https:\/\/email.uplers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Noun-Projects-pre-dunning-template.png\")
Sending A Dunning Email<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Facing](\"https:\/\/email.uplers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\nBenefits Of Implementing Dunning Emails<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Reduces Involuntary Churn<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. Maintains Revenue Stability<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"revenue](\"https:\/\/email.uplers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/revenue-recovery-by-Baremetrics..png\")