7 Ways Subscription Brands Use Email & SMS to Reduce Churn
Churn is the mortal enemy of any business that sells subscriptions.
Software, meal delivery kits, supplements, subscription boxes, online memberships…
All of them live or die on the ability to KEEP their customers.
However, churn is not a sudden customer decision. It’s not the moment they cancel. It starts LONG before that.
Sounds bad, but it’s not. This means you can set up systems that stop churn from ever starting in the first place…
Like Email + SMS.
These educate, engage, and re-engage customers to create an excellent experience that keeps customers around.
This article will show you 7 email + SMS strategies to address churn across the customer journey. Plus, real-world examples of some emails and SMSs to inspire your own.
| Table of Contents |
| Why Email and SMS Are So Good At Reducing Churn 7 Email + SMS Strategies to Reduce Churn How To Spot Churn Risk Sooner Keep More Subscription Customers, Grow That MRR What To Do Next |
Why Email and SMS Are So Good At Reducing Churn
Customers churn for many reasons.
They see less value in the product over time. They stop using it. They lose interest. They’re overwhelmed. They might even feel like you’re not serving them as much as they’d hope.
This is why email and SMS shine as churn reduction tools — they’re proactive.
You stop the churn before it even happens by opening lines of communication with your customers and creating an excellent experience.
A few other reasons it’s so effective:
- Low-cost: You’re already paying for them to be on your list. You just have to fire off emails and SMSs.
- Direct: No need to retarget them with ads, hope they see your social posts, or wait for them to hop onto your website.
- Personal: You communicate one-to-one with them. It feels like you’re not just selling a product, but trying to help them achieve their goals.
You can tackle churn from several angles, too:
- Right after a customer buys, to prevent buyer’s remorse
- Mid-cycle, to keep them engaged
- Before a renewal or cancellation, to remind them of the value
Best part?
Email and SMS work alongside your product lines, loyalty program, and customer service/support/experience elements to create a lean, mean, retention machine.
7 Email + SMS Strategies to Reduce Churn
Let’s look at 7 ways brands use email + SMS strategies to slash their churn rates and keep MORE customers around for LONGER… boosting MRR:
1. Post-Purchase Onboarding Sequences
A post-purchase onboarding sequence is an automated email (and SMS, if you want) sequence that welcomes customers and guides them through their product experience.
The point is to:
- Defuses buyer’s remorse and reinforces the purchase decision to spur excitement for their order
- Start the relationship on the right foot
- Ensure the customer understands how to use (and get the most out of) the product
- Show them how to fix issues (or how to reach out to customer service)
Also, post-purchase flows offer some of the easiest ways to upsell/cross-sell to the next or complementary products.
The easiest example of a post-purchase onboarding sequence to picture is software. When you sign up (free trial OR paid), you get a sequence showing you around the features and, ideally, helping you accomplish your first goal.
For instance, I recently bought ThriveCart.
They sent me several emails showing me the different features, each email detailing the steps I can take to set up my first product/landing page/affiliate, and so on.
This works with eCom products, too, because this isn’t about niche. Zoom out — it’s about creating a positive and comprehensive experience with your brand.
Here’s a good example from Loog Guitars (my friend Ben sent me this. My name is obviously NOT Ben)…
See?
It doesn’t have EVERYTHING a complete post-purchase sequence should have, but it does check some boxes:
- Thanks the reader
- Appeals just a bit to them emotionally (“you just made this world a more musical place”)
- Addresses key questions regarding order tracking/shipping
- Reassures them they can reach out via replying
- Preps them to receive more tips (hinting at the rest of the “onboarding” process)
All while coming straight “from” the CEO.
I broke down this email in excruciating detail, by the way. Check out the full breakdown here.
2. Renewal Reminders with Value Reframes
A renewal reminder email/SMS sends a few days before a customer’s subscription renews.
But a good one doesn’t just say “Hey, we’re about to charge your payment method for your order.”
(That might actually boost churn by reminding them that they pay you. Such churn is justified because at least you’re helping them cancel a subscription they don’t use.)
Instead, you reiterate the value they get with each order. That could be things like:
- Money saved: If you give subscription customers a Subscribe & Save discount, show their “total savings” in the email.
- Progress made: For instance, “you’re 60 days into your weight loss regimen. Keep it up!” Or perhaps, “You’ve finished 7 lessons so far. Nice work! Just 3 more to go.”
- Product-related benefit copy: Remind them of what problem they’re solving/goal they’re achieving. For example, simplifying their skincare routine or getting clearer skin.
- Subscription-related benefit copy: For example, getting a recurring stream of new, exciting candle scents on autopilot. Or perhaps having access to exclusive pricing and reserved inventory.
- Edit order: Modify, pause, cancel, delay, etc. Transparency pays.
- Upsells/cross-sells: Alongside modification, nudge them toward adding extra to their order. A small amount of urgency is baked in since they must order soon or won’t get the extras.
Here’s an example from Good Ranchers (this is my referral link in case you want to buy, we both get $30 off), one of my favorite brands:
Simple stuff, but it shows you care… while cross-selling to other products.
Heart & Soil (this is my referral link, we both get 20% off if you buy), another favorite of mine, does this with email & SMS.
The email is excellent because it reiterates the value, cross-sells under the guise of “modifying your order”… and even recommends some products to add:
Oh, and they let you know you can reply if you need help. Great stuff.
I can’t remember the exact copy, but it’s basically “Heads up: Your next order of Heart & Soil supplements ships soon” and then a bit of copy reminding you to modify or add to your order.
3. Usage Nudges (If Trackable)
Usage nudges encourage less engaged customers to use their subscription product.
People are more likely to cancel if they don’t use the product or forget why they even got it in the first place.
Usage nudge emails/SMS messages reiterate the value and gently encourage customers to use it. That way, they continue to get value and remember WHY they want the product.
This works best for apps, software, online memberships, and other digital subscription offers since you can track usage.
For instance, if you have a workout routine app, you can ping users who haven’t opened in a while. Check in and see if they’re still on their routine, show the app’s benefits, if they’re having trouble with the app, and so on.
However, you may be able to work this into a physical product subscription using your customer’s login activity.
For example, say you’re a meal kit company. You can trigger a usage nudge if someone hasn’t logged in to customize their meals or if they’ve delayed several deliveries in a row.
Similar to a renewal reminder… but based on their lack of activity instead of a predictable send based on their upcoming order date.
Here’s an interesting example from Grammarly:
Now, Grammarly sends this if you use the software a LOT, too.
But they have a more “congratulatory” or “celebratory” subject line praising you.
In this case, it’s more about ensuring you’re using the software — whether you’re simply signed out or stopped using Grammarly.
That way, you get back to using it.
4. Account Checks/Recaps/Milestones
Account checks, recaps, and milestones reinforce the customer’s decision by summarizing their journey and reinforcing how much lifetime value your product delivers them.
Unlike renewal reminders, these aren’t tied to billing or behavior — they’re sent at fixed, significant points (30 days in, after 3 boxes, etc.) to celebrate progress and reinforce satisfaction.
Rather than just passively recording how many orders they’ve placed or money they’ve saved.
For example, Upwork sends you an email when you hit big earnings milestones (your first dollar, $10k, $100k, etc.).
(Email’s old, apologies for the broken icon links.)
That helps the user see just how far they’ve come and reiterates how valuable Upwork might be to them. It happens right at big round 10-based numbers. Hits the psyche just right.
Notice Upwork also says “over the 2 years you’ve been on Upwork.” Another data point that reinforces how far I’ve come.
I bet Upwork could also show:
- X clients worked with on Upwork
- X contacts completed on Upwork
- X average freelancer rating (out of 5 stars)
Oh, and see how they encourage me to share on social media? Boom. That’s plenty of free UGC.
5. Pause Option + Downsells Before Official Cancellation
Pause and downsell options send when a customer shows intent to cancel. That often means when they click “cancel” in their account or send in a support request to cancel.
See, customers don’t always cancel because they dislike the product. They may be going on a long vacation, overwhelmed, or temporarily tightening their budget.
If they cancel, it’s harder to win them back. It’s also more psychologically difficult for them to do it… and they might even lose things like a “price lock.”
Easy pauses and downsells give them a middle ground. They don’t have to leave for good or lose those perks.
It also boosts the customer experience by showing your flexibility and willingness to accommodate each customer. Crucial for retention.
Here are some specific types:
- Skip your next shipment
- Pause for X weeks
- Drop from biweekly to monthly delivery
- Downgrade to a lower tier (smaller box, lower software plan, etc.)
The last one lets you keep some revenue while the customer saves some money.
But all of these also let you design specific sequences and campaigns to reactivate or re-upsell them.
For example, I once worked with a meal kit brand that offered customers the option to pause when they signaled intent to cancel.
But the brand identified that pausers had a high churn rate and thus considered anything longer than 30-day pauses to be “churn.”
I crafted a reactivation sequence for these customers to unpause after 30 days, preventing them from truly churning.
It had email AND SMS, some encouraging replies to start conversations with company sales reps.
Once the sales rep takes over, they could have a more in-depth conversation to address potential cancelation reasons and gently sell them on reactivation.
6. Customer Feedback Requests For Cancellations
Post-cancelation feedback requests send after a customer formally cancels their subscription. They ask why — usually a short survey, one-click response, or even just “hit reply” — WITHOUT pushing a hard sale.
This feedback is retention GOLD because you see why people leave. If you notice patterns (shipping times, product confusion, “cost” which really means “lack of perceived value,” etc.)…
You can act to fix those. That might mean changing your offer, tweaking messaging, or something else.
Similar to the Pause and Downsell options, you use the feedback data to craft reactivation campaigns or winback sequences (see the next section).
Don’t JUST ask “What made you cancel?”… but also “What would’ve made you stay?” That way you get both ends — what doesn’t work AND what customers want.
Make it clear you won’t be offended, either, and their feedback is used to improve the product and experience.
Here’s a good example I found in a Hubspot blog post:
(Image Source)
This email lets them log in and reactivate WITHOUT pushing it… while bolding the area that links to the cancelation survey.
7. Winback Sequences
A winback sequence is the last big attempt to get a customer who has churned to resubscribe. It’s a sequence of emails (and SMS, optionally) that triggers X days (such as 30 days) after they cancel.
Churn isn’t necessarily permanent. Customers may cancel for various reasons, even if pauses and downsells exist. So nailing your winback sequence can scoop up some of these customers.
You can push value, an incentive, or both. Here’s what each might look like:
- Value: Benefits reiteration, new features/options, products back in stock, social proof
- Incentive: Limited-time X% off your first order back, free gift with your next order
I use both.
Either value up front with the incentive introduced later in the flow… or a discount ladder style of sequence where each email also has value.
I don’t have an example (since I would have to show you an entire flow), but I will tell you that winback sequences are one of the key sequences I look at with most clients.
How To Spot Churn Risk Sooner
Churn builds slowly, as I said before. Addressing it’s like catching a potential sickness — the earlier you intervene, the better your chance of recovery.
Knowing when to intervene starts with knowing what to look for. Some common early indicators of churn risk include:
- Decreased email open/click rates
- Multiple consecutive kipped shipments or delayed renewals
- Lack of login or product engagement (for digital subscriptions, like software or memberships)
- Negative survey responses or support interactions
- No customization or preference updates (for personalized subscriptions)
Once you identify those patterns, you can trigger automated churn-prevention flows like:
- A check-in email (“Still enjoying your subscription?”)
- A usage nudge
- A personalized discount or offer
- A “pause or modify” reminder
- A survey to ask what’s changed
Automate as much as possible and tweak every so often, especially if you notice churn start to rise again.
Keep More Subscription Customers, Grow That MRR
Reducing churn is proactive. You can’t wait until they hit “cancel.”
The best brands use email and SMS to stop churn early, recovering customers (and MRR) that might otherwise slip away.
Even a few of the strategies this article lays out will help you keep more subscription customers on board…
Giving you momentum to build up the next thing.
So start small. Roll out one or two. Watch what happens. Refine, improve, then move onto next.
Over time, you’ll have a bulletproof retention engine and stack MRR faster than you can spend it.
What To Do Next
- Share this article with someone who might find it helpful (or entertaining).
- Get my free eBook using the form below to learn the 5 things stopping you from turning “one-and-done” customers into repeat buyers.
- Reach out to me if you have a sizable email list, make less than 20% of your revenue through email… and want to slash your churn rate so you can stack more MRR.