Just as important as selling the initial membership to a user is having them renew when the times comes. Member Management has several features that simplify managing some aspects of membership renewals.

This article provides information about and set-up details (as applicable) for:

the site-wide banners that prompt users to become members and remind members of upcoming renewals;
the series of automated email messages that remind members of their upcoming membership renewal;
the user profile-based features of Member Management; and
the Auto-Renewal feature, which simplifies membership-renewal payments.

Site-wide Membership banners

Admins can enable this option to have preconfigured message banners display at the top of Higher Logic Thrive Community (Thrive Community) pages. These "call to action" messages are membership-related (join [shown below] and renew), and having them front and center in the user experience increases the likelihood of engagement.

The banner messages:

remind users that they don't currently have a membership and include a link to the page where they can review membership options and easily select one.
remind members that their current membership is set to expire and include a link to the membership-renewal page.

NOTE: The "join" and "renew" links in the banner messages take users to the Membership Plans page where they can choose which plan they want to subscribe to. Refer to Membership Plans page example, below, to see how the various membership options display to your Thrive Community users.

Enable the banners

NOTE: The enable-banners option used to be accessed via a gear icon on the Membership > Membership Types page. It has been moved to the revamped Settings page as we consolidate some of the set-up options.

Super Admins can enable the banner messages for the community as described in this section.

In the Admin Toolbar, click Admin.

Navigate to Membership > Settings.

On the Settings page, scroll down to the Membership Information section.

Check/uncheck the Enable membership banners box to enable/disable the banners.

Optionally, add custom text that will display on the Membership Plans page, right above your membership-plan options. Refer to Membership Plans page message, below, for information.
TIP: If you specify a lot of text, you can "grab" the lower-right corner of the text box and drag it right, left, up, and down to resize it.

Click Save.

Membership Plans page message

This is an optional field that you can use to create an account-specific message that displays on the Membership Plans page. For example, an Admin types:

Welcome! We're glad you've decided to explore our membership options. There are several to choose from, and the higher-level plans offer the most benefits. Read through the plan descriptions and choose the one that's right for you... We look forward to having you join us!

...the message displays in a shaded field above the plan options on the Membership Plans page:

Automatic email reminders

Member Management automatically sends email reminders to members when their memberships are coming due for renewal. The reminders:

are sent 90, 60, and 30 days before the scheduled renewal date and
contain a link to the membership-renewal page.

NOTE: Super Admins can change the default text in the templates of these messages, but they cannot change the send intervals.

Membership email templates

In addition to the membership-reminder messages, there are other out-of-the-box messages that are specific to Member Management-related activities - and you can create your own.

To manage these message templates:

In the Admin Toolbar, click Admin.

Navigate to Email > Email Management > Email Templates.
Select Membership from the Category dropdown to display the list of email-reminder templates.

Click an email template's title (or Edit button to the right) to open the editor.
Make your text (e.g., font, size, color, content) and formatting (e.g., styles, indents, links) changes.

WARNING: Do not change any of the personalization placeholders (the highlighted values below); these are system variables and changing them will cause them to not work as expected.

Click Save.

User profile changes

When Member Management is enabled, a few changes automatically occur on user profiles in your community.

The My Membership Summary widget displays by default on the left side of the profile page. It lists the member's current membership status. If the membership is within the renewal period, it includes a link to the membership-renewal page.

TIP: Super Admins can reposition this widget in Page Designer.

The Membership page is added to user profiles and the Membership option displays in the My Account dropdown. On the new page, members can:
- view their current membership status,
- click to view their personal membership history on an overlay dialog, and
- access their membership-payment invoices.

NOTE: If a user does not have any memberships, a message will "nudge" them with a link to the Membership Plans page.

Member profile bubble

When a user becomes a member, the Membership option is added to their Member Profile bubble at the top of community pages. This is the quickest way for members to access their profile Membership page.

Auto-Renewal feature

If the Auto-Renewal feature has been enabled for a paid Membership Type, your members can choose to have their membership dues automatically paid when their membership comes up for renewal.

A check box displays on the registration/subscription page, along with the date on which the payment will occur.

NOTE: Users can only opt-in to the auto-renewal feature during (a) the purchase of a membership or (b) its associated renewal period. However, users can opt-out of auto-renewal at any time from their profile.

See Member Management - Membership Types to learn how to enable the Auto-Renewal feature for a Membership Type.

Benefits of Auto-Renewal

The Auto-Renewal feature has benefits for community Admins and members. The feature:

means less "management" for account Admins,
simplifies the renewal-payment process for members,
has a set of notifications and email messages (refer to Auto-Renewal messaging, below),
lets members choose whether to enroll, and
lets members cancel their enrollment when they want.

Auto-Renewal notes

If you're considering enabling the feature, keep in mind:

The Auto-Renewal feature is not applicable to free Membership Types.
If the feature is used, the Membership Type must offer a minimum 5-day grace period.
If the auto-renew process:
- Fails - the member must manually renew and specify payment details, and can re-enroll in auto-renew
- Succeeds - the member is automatically sent "payment-processed" confirmation email messages
Membership payments are processed through Stripe.
- Payment information is secure on Stripe; Higher Logic does not store or maintain any member's credit card details.
- Stripe automatically processes renewal payments on the expiration date of the current membership term.

Auto-Renewal messaging

The Auto-Renewal feature has its own set of email messages and on-page notifications.

When the feature is enabled and members have enrolled, those members will be reminded that their membership will auto-renew and when that renewal will occur:

in email notifications,
in the banner at the top of community pages, and
on the Membership page of their profile.

NOTE: Members are also notified in these places if there's a problem with their auto-renewal and that they have to manually renew their membership.

Membership Plans page example

The image below shows how your Thrive Community's membership options display to users.

NOTE: The spotlighted text is optional and is specified on the Membership > Settings page in the Admin interface (see Member Management - Set Up Your Payment Provider).

Member Management - Membership Renewals