Top 5 tips before you send out member renewals

By Nick Koerbin

Are you about to send out your member renewals? Here are my five tips to consider before you send your renewal notices


💡 Demonstrate Your Association's Member Value Proposition
Your renewal notice should specify why they should renew their membership, including member benefits. (Perhaps members receive an industry magazine, regular newsletters, discounts on training courses, free tickets to member-only events, or access to a member-only website portal) and broader industry benefits derived from lobbying activities.

💡 Highlight what services the member has used over the past year.
Remember that if the only interaction you have had with your members all year is the distribution of your invoice, then renewal is highly unlikely. Highlighting what services they have used or accessed in your renewal letter is a great idea.

💡 Distribute Your Renewal Notice the Right Way
When it comes time to distribute your renewal notices, be sure that you do it the right way:

• Ensure your database is current before you send the renewal notices. You can distribute an 'Update Your Contact Information' email to all members a month or two before your renewal notices are distributed.

• Do not send your renewal notices via email on a Friday or Monday—these are busy days of the week, and your members are more likely to forget or lose your email.

• Include an incentive if members renew immediately. This will help improve your cash flow.

• Develop a three-month renewal program with a personal engagement, such as a phone call before sending the invoice.

💡 Make It Easy for Members To Renew Online
These days, people expect to be able to undertake just about everything online—membership renewal is no different. So, it would help if you made it easy for members to renew via your website.

💡 Don't Forget About Members Who Have Not Renewed
From our research, members may fail to renew for several reasons:

• They have lost the invoice.

• They have forgotten.

• They have moved industries or changed jobs.

• The association is not delivering on its promises.

Membership subscriptions are significant revenue streams for many not-for-profit organisations.