Email communication to members: best practices for associations

Digitalisering Published: 2026-01-16

The importance of a good subject line

The subject line determines whether your email is opened. Keep it concrete and relevant. Avoid generic texts such as "Newsletter March" and opt for something like "Saturday: helping hands wanted for the setup" or "Your 2026 membership fee is now due".

Personalisation helps: if you can include the recipient's name in the subject line ("Dear Jan, your membership expires next week"), the open rate rises significantly.

Types of emails for an association

Transactional emails

These are automated messages sent in response to an action: booking confirmation, payment receipt, registration confirmation for a workshop. These emails have the highest open rate, so ensure they are informative and complete. Verenigingsplanner handles this automatically and you can tailor the content to suit your needs.

Reminders

Reminders for unpaid membership fees, upcoming events or expired memberships. Keep the tone friendly and direct. Send no more than two reminders before issuing a formal demand.

Newsletters

A monthly or quarterly newsletter with news, upcoming activities and a recap. Keep this short: people read emails on their phones. Use clear headlines, short paragraphs and one clear call to action per email.

Timing and frequency

Don't send too many emails to your members. Best times to send in the Netherlands:

Keep your mailing list clean

Remove email addresses that consistently bounce (messages that never reach the recipient's inbox) and members who haven't opened emails for years. A smaller but active list is better for your sender reputation than a large list of inactive recipients. Also make unsubscribing easy, as required by the AVG.

Measuring what works

Good email software shows you open rate and click-through rate. An open rate of 25–40% is good for associations. If less than 15% of your emails are opened, it's time for better subject lines or a tidy-up of your list.

Coming soon: newsletters and social media via Verenigingsplanner

We are expanding the communication capabilities within Verenigingsplanner. Soon you will be able to send newsletters directly from the platform to your members and automatically post messages to your social media. This lets you manage all communication with your members and followers in one place.