How To Run Email Marketing As A Subscription Brand

Hey, it's Max from the Inbox Newsletter.

Email strategy for subscription brands is fundamentally different from regular ecommerce.

The biggest mistake I see brands make is treating every customer the same. Same flows, same campaigns, same messaging.

But when you're running a subscription business, you need to think about your list in two buckets: people who haven't subscribed yet, and people who already have.

One-time purchasers are offense mode. You're driving them toward subscription.

Active subscribers are defense mode. You're preserving revenue and preventing churn.

The tactics for each are completely different, and if you're blending them together, you're leaving money on the table and probably annoying your best customers.

Here's how to approach both.

Key Takeaways:

• Your goal should be 50%+ of new customers coming in on subscription

• One-time buyer flows should educate first (days 1-14), then push subscription (day 21+)

• Active subscribers should only get 1-2 campaigns per month maximum

• Customize your transactional subscription emails in Klaviyo (billing reminders, etc.)

• Segment your list into never subscribed, active subscriber, and churned subscriber

Pre-Conversion: Getting People On Subscription

Your only goal with non-subscribers should be:

Get them to subscribe.

You want at least 50% of new customers coming in on subscription from day one. That number might sound high, but it's achievable if you set things up correctly.

It starts before email even enters the picture. Your product page needs to be optimized for subscription. Make subscription the default option, not the one-time purchase. Show the savings clearly and make the math obvious.

Look at how Man Cereal does it on their product page. Subscription is pre-selected, the discount is prominent, and cost is broken down into a per-serving number so people can associate their purchase with the smaller number.

Once someone hits your email list without subscribing, every core flow should lead with subscription messaging. Your welcome flow, your browse abandonment, your cart abandonment. The primary goal is getting them to commit to a subscription, not just a single purchase.

Getting One-Time Buyers To Subscribe Flow

When someone buys once but doesn't subscribe, you have a window to convert them.

But timing matters. A lot of brands make the mistake of pushing subscription immediately after purchase. "Hey, loved your order? Subscribe now and save 15%!"

That almost never works because they just bought the thing. They don't need more yet, and they haven't even experienced the product.

The better approach is to think about the honeymoon phase.

Days 1-14 should be pure education. Help them use the product correctly, set expectations for results, and get them into a daily habit. No subscription push during this window.

Around day 21-28, that's when you hit them with the subscription offer. By this point, they've been using the product for a few weeks.

If it's a consumable, they're starting to run low. Now the subscription pitch makes sense because they're thinking "I need to reorder anyway."

I'll be honest, the conversion rate on these flows isn't massive…

Usually 5-10% of one-time buyers will come back and subscribe.

But that 5-10% adds up over time, and the flow runs automatically, so it's worth building out.

Post-Conversion: Keeping Subscribers Happy

Once someone subscribes, your entire approach needs to shift.

With one-time purchasers, you're trying to drive action… More emails, more offers, more touchpoints.

With active subscribers, you need to back off. These people are already paying you on a recurring basis.

Every campaign you send them is a reminder that they have an upcoming charge, and that reminder can trigger the "wait, do I really need this?" mental spiral that leads to cancellations.

Limit campaigns to 1-2 per month maximum.

I know that sounds counterintuitive. We talk all the time about sending more emails, not fewer. But subscribers are different.

They need to feel good about the purchase they already made.

The emails you do send should be reinforcing their decision, not pushing more product. Share tips on getting better results. Highlight customer success stories. Give them content that makes them feel smart for subscribing.

Nail your post-purchase education.

The first 7-10 days after someone subscribes are critical. You want to indoctrinate them into using the product every single day and help them understand that results take time.

If someone subscribes to a skincare product and doesn't see results in the first week, they might cancel before month two. But if you've educated them that real results come at the 30-60 day mark, and you've gotten them into a daily routine, they'll stick around long enough to actually see those results.

Your post-purchase flow should:

1. Educate on long-term benefits (days 1-7)

2. Drive daily product usage with tips and reminders

3. Back off after day 7 and let the product do its job

Customize your transactional emails.

This is a high-leverage move that most brands skip.

Your billing reminder, shipment notification, and subscription confirmation emails are some of the most-opened emails you send. They're transactional, so people actually read them.

Get these emails into Klaviyo and customize them. Add branding. Include a helpful tip. Reinforce the value they're getting. Turn a boring "your card will be charged" email into a touchpoint that makes them feel good about the subscription.

How to Segment Your List

Not all customers need the same messaging. For subscription brands, I think about three segments:

Never subscribed

These people have either never purchased or purchased one-time only. They need to understand the value of committing. All your offers should push them toward subscription. Emphasize the benefits of subscribing. Make the one-time purchase feel like the worse deal.

Active subscriber

Since they’re already in, your job shifts to retention and upsells. Don't keep selling them on the core product they're already subscribed to. Sell them on add-ons, bundles, and upgrades instead. Expand their order value rather than trying to re-convince them of something they already bought into.

Churned subscriber

This is your win-back segment, and the messaging is completely different from acquisition. You're not trying to convince a stranger. You're trying to bring back someone who already said yes once.

"Reactivate your subscription." "We've missed you." "Here's what you've been missing." "Come back and we'll give you X."

These people already know your product. They already went through the purchase process. The friction to reactivate is way lower than acquiring someone new, so don't treat them like a cold lead.

Final Thoughts

The core mindset shift for subscription brands is understanding that you don't make money by emailing active subscribers constantly. You make money by keeping them subscribed.

Offense mode for non-subscribers: push hard, educate, drive toward subscription.

Defense mode for active subscribers: back off, reinforce their decision, protect the recurring revenue.

Get your flows set up for both, segment your list properly, and customize those transactional emails that everyone ignores.

If you want Well Copy to build out a subscription-focused email strategy for your brand, book a call here.

Email Inspiration Of The Day

Brand: Nick’s

Email Design: https://drive.google.com/file/d/13RgmLRDOjI0ovHnIkpf92aZe6tIDBTn0/view?usp=sharing


Notes:
Simple design that follows all the core email principles. Good hero section with button above the fold. And skimmable, easy to digest sections.

Reply to this email if you have any questions or further content you want covered.

Cheers,

Max Sturtevant | Well Copy

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