Monthly Renewal Emails

Notes

• Renewal reminder emails are sent via Mailchimp near the end of every month (seven business days before the Altru renewal codes expire on the 4th of the next month is a good target but it’s flexible).
• The renewal emails are last-chance reminders before early renewal codes or memberships expire. Initial reminders are printed and mailed by Daniller at the beginning of each month, and the email list pulls people within the R1-3 renewal window who still haven’t responded to the mailing.
• Email lists should be pulled on the same day the email will be sent. If you pull the list a day or more before the email sends, you risk including someone who renewed in the time between.
• Images for the renewal emails should be updated at least once per year.

Updating the Mailchimp Renewal Reminder Emails

1. Under Campaigns in Mailchimp, replicate the last month’s renewal emails
2. Open the R1 email
3. Edit the email name to read R1 [Month] Email (Renewals)
4. Click Edit Design
   1. Edit dates and offer codes mentioned in the email to fit the current month’s email (if you’re doing the emails monthly, you only need to move the dates forward 1 month)
   2. Confirm that all the links in the email link to the correct pages
   3. Make any necessary language changes
   4. Click Continue and return to Campaigns
5. Repeat steps 3-4 for the R2 and R3 emails, making appropriate edits for those emails (expiration dates, offer codes, email names, etc.)
6. Send previews of each email to the Manager of Membership for edits, then to the Deputy Director, Operations for final edits and approval

Pulling the Lists from Altru

1. In the Information Library, go to the Member Email Lists folder
2. Edit the definition for the R1 Email Reminder query and set the Membership Expiration Date range
   1. If you’re doing these emails monthly, you’ll only need to move the dates forward 1 month
   2. For the R1 email, the expiration date be two months out (for example, if you’re creating an email to send at the end of January, the expiration date range should be March 1-31)
3. Run the query and check that all expiration dates are set to the last day of the month – if you find one that isn’t, go to the membership record and correct the date
4. Download the query results as an Excel file
5. Open the file
   1. Edit the column names to read:
      1. Last name
      2. First name
      3. Email address
   2. Delete extra columns
   3. Save the file as a CSV file, using the naming convention MMYYR1
6. Repeat steps 1-5 for the R2 and R3 Email Reminder queries, using the appropriate expiration dates and file naming

Importing the Lists to Mailchimp

1. In Mailchimp, go to the Audience Dashboard
2. Click Manage Audience, then Import Contacts
3. Select Upload File for the import option and click Continue to Upload
4. Select the CSV file to upload and click Continue to Organize
   1. Make sure the audience is set to Blanton E-Newsletter and the Status is Subscribed
   2. Click Update Any Existing Contacts
   3. Hit Continue to Tag
5. Add the appropriate tag, using the naming convention MMYYR1 and hit Continue to Match
6. Confirm the columns are correctly matched with the data and click Finalize Import
7. Review the import settings, and if everything looks right, click Complete Import
8. Once the import completes, locate the matching campaign draft and click Edit
9. Click Edit Recipients and select the tag you just created or updated
10. Click Save
11. Your email is ready to send!