Broke Ass Stuart wins back canceled members with this 'thank you' note

Stuart Schuffman, aka Broke-Ass Stuart is a TV host, writer, activist, former San Francisco mayoral candidate and angelic troublemaker.

Back in the far-off, pre-pandemic days of 2018, I gave a talk at Patrecon about how to turn your side hustle into your main hustle. It was a lot of fun; I got to meet other awesome creators and listen to talks that taught me interesting ways to make my own Patreon better. Surprisingly though, the most helpful thing I picked up happened not during someone’s talk, but while I was eating lunch.

I was sitting around the table, munching with some other creators, sharing tips about what we do with our Patreons, when a guy (whose name I’ll unfortunately never remember) says something so simple and so brilliant I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it. He said, “I personally email every single person who cancels their membership to thank them.”

If I was an illustrator, this would be the part of the story where I’d draw a light bulb going off over my head. 

I was like “Duhhhh!! Of course I should be doing that.” 

Not only is it an honest and earnest way to thank someone for supporting you, I’ve also found that it’s one extra touch that helps encourage folks to come back and rejoin in the future. I don’t have exact stats on it, but I’d say at least 10% of the people who cancel my Patreon rejoin later on. 

So, here’s the email that I send to everyone when they leave my Patreon (and I send it to their email just to make sure they get it):

Subject: Just a Note to Say Thanks

Hey xxxxx!

I just wanted to drop you a note to thank you for the very generous support you gave Broke-Ass Stuart on Patreon. It means a lot to me that you care enough about what we do to have become a member in the first place. I literally couldn't have kept this thing alive without you.

The fact that you were willing to be a Patron for any amount of time at all, is truly heartening.

So, thank you again for being awesome. Seriously, thank you!

Stay safe and healthy! Sending you lots of love and solidarity during these insane times.  

Stuart 

p.s. Please feel free to send me any constructive criticism you might have for the BAS Patreon. I'd love to make it better for everyone involved. ❤️

I’ve found that there are some people who have joined and cancelled a number of times for various reasons (like money etc.) so before I send that thank you email, I always double check to make sure I haven’t sent it to them before. If I have, I modify it so that it’s got the same sentiment but is different from the original one. 

Hopefully you can put together your own Thank You email and bring some of your members back in the future.