Declined patron follow-up e-mail

[steve]

I have a long-term patron (at the $15 level) whose payment was declined. I’ve been keeping an eye on it - suspecting the payment may go through at any time. That said, I want to reach out and leave nothing to chance. I was looking for an example of an e-mail other creators have sent to declined patrons but no luck. Here’s what I came up with (as a cartoonist, I added a graphic).

FYI - he’s due some rewards this month which he’ll be getting either way as thanks for his long support. I kind of throw Patreon’s “system” under the bus, but I want to reinforce to my kind patrons that I have their backs.

Hopefully this will help others.

Joe,

Hi! Hope all’s well!

I saw your Patreon charge was declined. FYI - Patreon’s system will likely pester you with reminders - sorry about that. If you’d like to update your card, edit, or ‘pause’ your support, here’s a page with step-by-step instructions how:

https://patreon.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000126286-How-do-I-edit-my-membership-

Thanks again for your long support! Look for your pin and sketchbook later this month!

Best wishes!

– Steve

[mindy]

Thanks for getting this thread kicked off about declined patron emails! I think that message looks great - friendly and helpful. Let me know what kind of response you get to it, and I hope other creators chip in with their learnings too.

[FutilityCloset]

Thanks for posting that, Steve! We try to reach out to declined patrons ourselves, and struggle with how to word it. Love the cartoon you put on the bottom for a personal touch!!

[steve]

My patron ‘Joe’ just updated his card information and is a patron again! So that note is 100% effective with a very small sample of one.

[mindy]

100% effective!

[intrinsicpaths]

I was just about to post a new thread, but found this thread and thought I would bring it back to life. Thanks, Steve for getting it going and I love the way you circled up with an individual.

I wanted to share the message I sent to Declined Patrons a couple of days ago. I have 35 of them (some have been declined for months, maybe even a year, and some just recently). I prefer not to single people out and make them feel cornered, but I could see where that strategy might be strongest if done well (like Steve’s above). I sent the message below to all 35 people and three jumped back in. I would love to see any other messages you all might be sending to declined patrons (especially if you send to individuals). I would also love to know if anyone has strong feelings around not engaging declined folks at all… anything… ; )

Peace, Everyone!

I’m sending this with gratitude and love. You are receiving this message if you are in the Patreon system as “declined” or not having formally exited as a Patron.

Please know I never want to place pressure on you for staying or resubscribing. I am only occasionally reaching out in case you are still energetically wanting to be connected in this way.

I also just sent a Patron-only post titled: {Audio Meditation & EOY Giving} Co-ops, Collectives, and Creatives. It’s rooted in expanding our ideas around how we nourish and inspire cooperatives, grassroots organizations, artists, etc.

If you DO still want to be engaged as a Patron in this way, please log-in to your account and update your card settings. If it’s best and healthiest for us to be connected in other ways, please formally exit as a Patron and you won’t receive these reminders/nudges anymore! ; )

Much love and gratitude for who you are, as you are, alongside my journey… always…

Blessings,

Jonathon

[steve]

A lovely note! Nicely done! <3

[intrinsicpaths]

Thanks, Steve! Do you stick with sending folks individual follow-ups? Or, what’s your strategy ongoing? Or, do you experiment with different things? Thanks for anything you want to share.

[steve]

I still send individual e-mails. I’ve tweaked my e-mails a little.

Since I do a webcomic, I usually include the latest high-resolution episode or download code since the patron wouldn’t have received the latest e-mail update. I do this partly as thanks and partly as a reminder of what they get for their support. If I don’t hear from the patron, I presume they used the expiration of a credit card as a graceful was to avoid “breaking up” with me (that’s a bit how I’d feel about ending support for a Patreon creator).

I have made sure to have a very soft touch in these e-mails as so many people are struggling now and I want their support of me to be the least of their concerns.

[intrinsicpaths]

Yuuup. I feel all of the exact same things. Yeah, I think most of the declined folks are what you named as a certain path to breaking up. Thanks, Steve!

[sambeawesome]

Sharing the email I sent over the holidays to my declined patrons. I took some inspiration from the messages here, so thanks so much for sharing them! It was very helpful ^^ I sent it BCC to all their emails. Unfortunately none of them jumped back on, but it was still worth a shot

Hello and Happy Holidays,

I hope you’ve been well! I’m sending out this email to all Patreon supporters who are marked in the system as “declined”.

Please know there is never any pressure to jump back on to support, and I greatly appreciate all the generosity you have given thus far! I’m only reaching out in the case that you might not have been aware and could want to return.

If you’ve been curious about goings-on with me, I’ve attached some of my more recent artworks. All of them have walkthroughs and tips if you’ve been needing some help with your art journey!

If you would like to continue supporting, please log in to your account and update your card information. More information on how to do that here: Declined payment – Patreon Help Center

If my Patreon page isn’t for you any more, no hard feelings! You can read about canceling your membership here: Editing your membership – Patreon Help Center

I’ve still been creating lots of art and resources, so if you’d still like to keep up with me, you can find all my social media pages here: @sambeawesome | Linktree

Thanks again for all the support, I really appreciate it! I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and Happy New Year.

-Sam