# How do you write order reminder emails that keep subscribers? > Source: https://zubs.app/playbooks/order-reminder-emails > Title: Order Reminder Emails That Keep Subscribers — Zubs > Author: Alexander Kohout (https://zubs.app/authors/alexander-kohout) > Published: 2026-10-07 > Updated: 2026-10-07 > Language: en ## Short answer Treat the email before each order as a reason to stay, not a payment notice. Restate what the subscription does for them, show what's in the next order and put skip, reschedule and a new delivery interval one link away. Zubs sends the reminder before every order on the days you choose and passes the same moment to Klaviyo and Shopify Flow. ## Why does the email before each order matter so much? It is the message subscribers open most, because it is about their money. It also arrives at the moment they ask themselves whether they still want the subscription. A plain "your card will be charged" note invites that question and leaves only one answer in sight. Silent charges are worse. A subscriber who only notices the renewal on their bank statement writes to support, disputes the charge or cancels. A reminder that comes early, says what's coming and offers an easy way to change it keeps that decision calm. ## What should the reminder say? Lead with the value, not the amount: 1. **Restate the outcome.** A headline about what the subscriber gets, for example "Your coffee for the next four weeks ships on Thursday", instead of "Upcoming charge". 2. **Preview the order.** The products, and anything new or special about this one: a gift, a seasonal item, an upgrade. For curated boxes, tease one or two items, so the order feels like something to wait for. 3. **Keep the facts below.** Date, amount and address belong in the email, but not at the top. ## How do you turn a surprise charge into a skip? Put the changes subscribers actually want right next to the order: skip it, move it to another date, or change how often it comes. Someone with too much product left skips. Someone going on holiday moves the date. Someone who always runs out late changes the delivery interval. Each of these keeps a subscriber who would otherwise cancel. The fewer steps between "I don't need this right now" and the change, the fewer of them take the cancel button instead. Link straight to the place where they can make the change, and say in the email that it takes a moment. ## How do you build it in Zubs? - **Built in:** a reminder email before each order. You can send it more than once, for example a week ahead to plan and a day ahead as a final heads-up. - **Built in:** the [customer portal](https://zubs.app/features/customer-portal) lists upcoming orders, each with skip and reschedule right next to it. Subscribers can also change the delivery frequency, swap products or ship an order now. Link your reminder there. - **Built in:** [Sequential Flows](https://zubs.app/features/sequential-flows) add a gift or a discount at the order you choose. Subscribers see the change on their upcoming order before it bills, marked with a "Scheduled change" badge in the portal. - **With Klaviyo:** a [reminder event](https://zubs.app/features/klaviyo-subscription-events) on your reminder schedule, even when the Zubs reminder email is off. Each event carries the subscription, product and customer details your templates need, so you can write the value-first email yourself. - **With Shopify Flow:** an [Upcoming Order Reminder trigger](https://zubs.app/features/shopify-flow-subscriptions) on the same schedule, so a flow can take over that moment entirely. Set it up in the help center: [the upcoming order reminder](https://help.zubs.app/docs/subscription-management/merchant-portal/settings-notifications/). ## What should you measure? In the [Zubs analytics dashboard](https://zubs.app/features/subscription-analytics), compare a few months before and after you change the reminder: - **Skips and order changes**: these should rise. A [skip](https://zubs.app/glossary/skip-rate) is a subscriber who stayed. - **Cancellations**: these should fall, or at least not rise with the skips. - **Cancellation reasons**: reasons about timing or having too much product should come up less often. Outside the dashboard, watch your inbox. Fewer "why was I charged" emails show the reminder lands. ## Bottom line The email before each order is read more than anything else you send, and it arrives when subscribers reconsider. Make it about the value and the next order, keep skip and reschedule one link away, and a would-be cancellation becomes a change. ## Frequently asked questions ### How early should the reminder go out? Early enough to change the order calmly, for example a week ahead on a monthly plan. A second reminder shortly before the order catches anyone who missed the first. ### Can I send the reminder from Klaviyo instead of Zubs? Yes. The Klaviyo reminder event follows your reminder schedule even when the Zubs reminder email is off, so Klaviyo can take that email over completely. ### Can subscribers skip or reschedule from the reminder? Link the reminder to the customer portal. There, each upcoming order has skip and reschedule right next to it, and subscribers can change the delivery interval. ### Won't a reminder make more people cancel? A charge they didn't see coming is the bigger risk. A reminder that offers a skip or a new date gives subscribers who are unsure a smaller step than cancelling. ## Related - [Feature: the customer portal with skip and reschedule](https://zubs.app/features/customer-portal) - [Feature: Klaviyo events, including the order reminder](https://zubs.app/features/klaviyo-subscription-events) - [Feature: Sequential Flows for rewards on upcoming orders](https://zubs.app/features/sequential-flows) - [Playbook: keep new subscribers past their first 90 days](https://zubs.app/playbooks/reduce-early-subscription-churn) - [Glossary: skip rate](https://zubs.app/glossary/skip-rate) - [Help center: the upcoming order reminder](https://help.zubs.app/docs/subscription-management/merchant-portal/settings-notifications/)