Dunning 101: Email branding
Prevent dunning emails from looking like phishing attempts by applying your brand's visual identity, tone of voice, and clear CTAs. Learn how Recurly email template customization builds subscriber trust and boosts payment recovery rates.
Retain • Dunning 101
Email branding
Unbranded dunning emails look like phishing attempts. Branded ones look like a trusted business asking for help. That difference shows up directly in your recovery rate.
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Email branding
What branding your dunning emails means
By default, Recurly's dunning email templates are functional but generic — plain layout, no logo, no brand colors. To a subscriber, an unformatted email asking them to update their payment details looks like a phishing attempt, not a trusted message from a business they subscribe to. Brand recognition is what turns a suspicious-looking email into an actionable one.
Branded dunning emails match your other transactional communications — same logo, colors, tone, and footer. Subscribers recognize who it's from immediately, which increases open rates, click-through rates, and ultimately recovery.
Trail guide: configuring dunning email templates
~3 minVisual identity
Your logo, brand colors, and header image. Makes the email instantly recognizable and sets the tone before the subscriber reads a word.
Tone of voice
Write in the same voice as your other customer communications — friendly, clear, and direct. Avoid generic system language like "payment failure detected."
Clear CTA
A prominent, action-oriented button — "Update your payment method" — styled in your brand colors. The CTA is the only job of the email; make it impossible to miss.
Branded footer
Copyright line, links to your support page and terms, and your company address. Signals legitimacy and gives the subscriber somewhere to go if they have questions.
Use Recurly's dynamic variables to include the subscriber's name, the amount owed, the last four digits of their card, and the days remaining in the dunning window. A personalized email feels like it was written for that subscriber specifically — which drives action far more effectively than a generic one.