It’s that time of year again – preparing for our association’s annual membership renewal campaign. That makes it the ideal time to reassess the content and formatting of our renewal communications. The essential question to consider: are your renewal communications designed for scanners or readers?
How long is your communication?
Does someone really have to read the whole thing to get the message?
There is a considerable amount of information to convey in renewal communications – the renewal process, highlighting member benefits, renewal dues, deadlines, making the ask and thanking the members. This is all important information to include in our membership renewal communication. However, your renewal communication doesn’t do your association any good if your members don’t read it.
Recognize that most people will just skim a letter or email, rather than reading it in detail, then work with this reality rather than fighting it. Adapt your communications to the scanner. Consider using some eye-catching tricks to emphasize important information.
- Introduce more white space to make the communication more reader-friendly
- List steps or tasks in bulleted lists
- Add relevant, helpful links to your renewal emails
- Emphasize content strategically by bolding or highlighting important concepts
- Send a colorful postcard as a renewal reminder instead of a regular letter
The scanner will focus on the most important information at a glance. The idea is to draw them in with the key points and hook their interest. Have you pulled out the most interesting and relevant words; words that will pull your scanner in and turn them into a reader?
