Failed payment email template with subject lines
A failed payment email for a SaaS subscription: the words Kicklace sends the day a card is declined, payment failed subject lines, and when it stops.
- Goes
- Right away, when the card fails
- To
- A paying customer whose card was just declined.
- Stops
- Once the payment goes through.
The email
Your payment didn't go through
Hi {{first_name}}, Your last payment for [Product] didn't go through. Updating your card sorts it out, and nothing is lost in the meantime. If something's wrong, reply and I'll help.
{{first_name}} is each person’s first name. If your tool uses another tag, swap it in.
Subject lines
- Your payment didn't go throughin the email above
- Your [Product] payment didn't go through
- Please update your card for [Product]
- A quick fix for your [Product] payment
- Your [Product] account is still active
- Payment declined for [Product]
Why it works
A failed payment is usually a dull accident: an expired card, a new number, a bank being careful. The person did not decide to leave, so the email's whole job is to make the fix easy and to say plainly that nothing is lost.
It reads best as a note from somebody who noticed, which is why it comes from you and not from a billing system.
Make it yours
- The words above have no link yet. Add one that goes straight to where a customer updates their card, such as your billing page.
- If your account pauses after a failed payment, say when. If it does not, say that.
- Keep the line that invites a reply.
More examples
When the card has expired
Your [Product] card has expired
Hi {{first_name}}, The card on your [Product] account has expired, so the latest payment didn't go through. Updating it takes a minute, and nothing is lost in the meantime. If something else is going on, reply to this email.
The shortest version
A quick fix for your [Product] payment
Hi {{first_name}}, Your latest [Product] payment didn't go through. Updating your card fixes it, and you can reply to this email if you'd rather talk.
Write yours from your URL
Paste your site's address and the generator writes this email for your product, in your site's own voice.
Where it goes
On your Lifecycle map this email hangs off the Card failed side road. The emails there, in the order they go:
- Your payment didn't go throughthis pageRight away, when the card fails
- Still not through3 days after the card fails
How Kicklace sends it
Connect Stripe under Settings, Connections, with one restricted key and no code (Stripe has the steps). When Stripe reports a failed payment, Kicklace records it on the person and they land on the Card failed side road, which sends this email. It is an account email, so it goes unless the address bounced or the person complained. Kicklace only reads Stripe, so it never retries a card or changes a payment. The events behind it are in the Stripe events library.
Kicklace writes a first version in your voice from what it reads on your site, and you change whatever you like. Nothing sends until you switch it on. Before you do, it shows who would have got it over the last 30 days, and you can send yourself a test. Each person gets it once.
Questions
How soon should I send a failed payment email?
The same day it fails, because a card that failed this morning is easy to fix this afternoon, and a week later the person may have forgotten what the charge was for.
What should a payment failed subject line say?
That it is about their payment for your product, and that it is easy to fix. A plain line like “Your payment didn't go through” reads as a note from a person, which an alarming one does not.
What comes after the first email?
A short reminder three days later if the payment still has not gone through. That is the failed payment reminder email.
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