Associations and member organisations · Onboarding

What should a new member welcome series include in the first 30 days?

By BREME · Updated 21 October 2026

Who this is for: Membership managers, executive officers and small teams at Australian associations, professional bodies and member organisations who want new members to use their membership early and renew at the end of year one.

Why the first 30 days matter

First-year members are the ones most likely to leave. The 2024 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report from Marketing General Incorporated, a US survey of mostly US associations, found the median renewal rate for first-year members was 75%, against a median overall renewal rate of 85%. This is overseas data and we couldn't find an Australian equivalent with published figures, but the gap is a useful warning.

The same report found welcome emails were the most common way associations greet new members (81%), followed by an emailed welcome kit (42%) and an invitation to follow the association on social media (35%). Fewer used a welcome phone call (29%), a new member webinar (20%) or a new member survey (12%).

So most associations send a welcome. The difference is whether the welcome gets a new member to actually use something before the first renewal notice arrives.

The five-email sequence

Each email asks for one small action. A long first email that lists every benefit is easy to file and forget; five short ones each give the member a reason to come back.

• Day 0, welcome: thank them, confirm what they joined, and give one link to log in and finish their profile. Nothing else.
• Day 3, first benefit: the one thing most new members find useful first, such as a resource library, a member directory listing or CPD tracking. One benefit, one link.
• Day 10, orientation: an invitation to a short new member session, webinar or upcoming event. Give the date, the length and a one-click registration.
• Day 20, connection: a way to meet people, such as a local branch, a special interest group or an online community. Name a real person they can contact.
• Day 30, check-in: a short, personal email asking how it's going and whether anything isn't working, with a plain reply address.

Make the orientation easy to say yes to

Keep it short and online. The Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology, for example, runs a free 30-minute Zoom welcome and orientation webinar for new members, covering how to navigate the website and the key things members need to get the most from their membership.

If you can't run a regular live session, record a short walkthrough and send the link in the day 10 email instead. Then invite them to the next event that suits their stage or location.

Setting it up

1. Write the five emails once, using the templates below, and load them into your membership or email platform as an automation triggered by the join date.
2. Personalise what you can: first name, membership category and, if your system holds it, their state or branch.
3. Track one action per email, such as profile completed, benefit used, session registered, group joined, reply received.
4. Flag anyone who hasn't logged in by day 10 or opened anything by day 20, and have a staff member or board volunteer call them.
5. Review the sequence after the first full intake: which links got clicked, and what new members said in reply to the day 30 check-in.

Subject: Welcome to [association], [first name]

Hi [first name],

Welcome to [association]. You're now part of a community of [type of members] across [state or Australia].

Your first step takes two minutes: log in and finish your profile here: [link]

Over the next few weeks we'll send you a handful of short emails, each with one useful thing to try. If you have a question before then, just reply.

[Name]
[Role], [association]

Subject: 30 minutes to get the most from your membership

Hi [first name],

On [date] at [time] we're running a short welcome session for new members on [Zoom / at location]. In [30] minutes we'll show you [the website, the member directory, CPD and events] and answer your questions.

Register here: [link]

Can't make it? Here's a recording you can watch any time: [link]

[Name], [association]

Subject: How's your first month going, [first name]?

Hi [first name],

You've been a member of [association] for a month now, and I wanted to check in personally.

Is your membership giving you what you hoped for when you joined? If anything is confusing or missing, hit reply and tell me. One line is plenty.

If it's helpful, the thing most new members tell us they wish they'd found sooner is [benefit + link].

[Name]
[Role], [association]