This document explains everything related to renewal reminder notifications, customization options, email details, and activation instructions.
Note: You can set two renewal reminders in Sublium Subscriptions, one X days before and another Y days before. For example, 7 days (X) and 2 days (Y) before the renewal date to ensure users don’t miss it.
Overview
“Renewal Reminder: Before X Days” is the email notification automatically sent to customers a certain number of days before their subscription renewal date.
Its purpose is to give customers an early heads-up so they can review their payment method, avoid failed renewals, and enjoy uninterrupted access to their subscription.
The email includes:
- Subscriber’s first name
- Subscription renewal date
- Subscription start date
- Subscription ID
- Payment method
- Product details (title, variation, quantity, and price)
- Subtotal, shipping, taxes, discounts, and total amount
- Call-to-action to review or update payment details
Pre-requisites: Before enabling email notifications, ensure your WordPress site is configured to send emails:
- SMTP plugin required: WordPress doesn’t reliably send emails by default. Install and configure an SMTP plugin like WP Mail SMTP.
- Email service provider: Connect your SMTP plugin to a transactional email service (Brevo, Mailgun, SendGrid, Amazon SES, or your hosting provider’s SMTP).
- Match sender details: Ensure that the From Email and From Name values configured in Sublium Subscriptions email notifications exactly match the sender details set in your SMTP plugin.
- Test your setup: Send a test email from your SMTP plugin to confirm emails are delivering before enabling Sublium notifications.
Without proper email configuration, notifications will fail silently.
For more details, refer to our doc on how to set up WP SMTP.
Access “Renewal Reminder: Before X Days” Email Notification
Navigate to Sublium Subscriptions ⇒ Retain ⇒ Email Notifications.
Under the Reminder Notifications section, you will find the Renewal Reminder: Before X Days email notification.
When It Is Sent
This email is triggered when:
- A customer’s subscription is set to renew soon
- The reminder schedule matches the configured number of days before the renewal date (Example: 7 days before renewal)
Audience
By default, this email is sent to the customer.
Email Customization
You can customize this reminder email using:
- Rich Text Editor
- Visual Editor
A prebuilt Renewal Reminder: Before X Days template is available in both editors and can be customized or rebuilt completely to match your brand.
Guide:For more details, check our documentation on email customization.
Personalization
Sublium Subscriptions offers merge tags to personalize the subject line, preview text, and email body.
Simply copy and paste the tags into your desired section.
Here are the merge tags used in the prebuilt template:
- {{subscriber_first_name}} – Subscriber’s first name
- {{subscription_next_payment_date}} – Next renewal date
- {{subscription_start_date}} – Initial subscription start date
- {{subscription_id}} – Subscription ID
- {{subscription_item}} – Product linked to the subscription
- {{subscription_total}} – Total renewal amount
- {{sublium_my_account_url}} – Customer’s subscription management page
- {{admin_email}} – Store owner’s email
Guide: For more details, check our documentation on Merge Tags
How To Activate
To activate the Renewal Reminder: Before X Days notification, turn ON the toggle next to the email inside Sublium Subscriptions.
This setup ensures customers are notified before their card expires, allowing them to update payment details and maintain uninterrupted access to their subscription.
Troubleshooting
Emails not sending
- Confirm your SMTP plugin is configured and sending test emails successfully
- Check your SMTP plugin’s email logs for failed delivery attempts
- Verify the notification toggle is enabled
- Ensure the customer has a valid email address on their order
Merge tags showing as plain text
- Confirm you copied the full merge tag, including the curly braces, e.g., {{subscriber_first_name}}
- Check for extra spaces inside the merge tag
- Use only merge tags from the official list; custom tags won’t work
Email is going to spam
- Configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for your sending domain
- Avoid spam trigger words in your subject line
- Use a reputable transactional email service
Email looks broken or unstyled
- Test across multiple email clients (Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail)
- Avoid complex CSS, as email clients have limited style support
- Use the Visual Editor’s built-in templates for better compatibility
