A couple years ago we released recurring subscriptions as part of ConvertKit Commerce.
With the options to charge your customers on a monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis, subscriptions are an incredible way to generate recurring income as a creator.
With so many options, we know there are inevitable questions: What happens if I delete a subscriber? What happens if I don’t want to sell a product anymore?
Well we’ve got all the answers for you right here 👇
What happens if…
1. A subscriber cancels their subscription to a recurring product?
When a subscriber cancels their subscription to your product, they will no longer be charged on their next billing date. They will, however, continue to receive the paid product up until their next billing date.
For example, if your product is a paid newsletter and the subscriber cancels early in their billing period, they will continue to receive the paid newsletter until the next billing date occurs.
The subscriber will also receive a confirmation email at the end of their billing period, letting them know their paid subscription has been canceled.
2. A subscriber unsubscribes from your list?
If a subscriber unsubscribes from your email list (via the unsubscribe link), the subscriber will no longer be charged for any paid subscriptions. Since they’re unsubscribed, they’ll no longer receive any type of content from you.
A confirmation email will also be sent to the subscriber at the end of their billing period, letting them know their subscription has been canceled for any paid products they were subscribed to.
3. You (the creator) delete a subscriber that is actively paying for a subscription product?
If you delete a subscriber yourself (either the “delete subscriber" option on the profile page or via a bulk action), the same situation described above applies. See question 2 for more details.
4. A subscriber is marked as unpaid?
If a subscriber is marked as unpaid after four payment retries, the subscriber will be marked as ‘canceled’ from the product. See question 1 for more details about canceled subscribers.
5. You (the creator) delete your subscription product?
If you decide that you no longer want to sell a subscription product, deleting the product will automatically stop any active subscribers from being billed.
An email notification will be sent to the subscribers at the end of their billing period, letting them know that the product is no longer available and that they will no longer be charged.
6. You (the creator) sell a subscription product but your account gets closed?
If your account gets closed or you cancel your own account, any active subscription products will be canceled. This means anyone who was paying for your subscription products will no longer be billed.
An email will also be sent to subscribers letting them know that the product is no longer available and that they will not be billed again.
7. You (the creator) cancels a subscription for a specific subscriber?
If you decide to cancel an active subscription for a specific subscriber through their subscriber profile, they will no longer be charged on their next billing date. They will, however, continue to receive the paid product up until their next billing date.
The subscriber will also receive a confirmation email upon cancellation, letting them know their paid subscription has been canceled.
Quick Takeaways
A subscriber cancels their paid subscription = no more paid content
A subscriber unsubscribes from your list = no more paid or free content
You delete a paid subscriber = no more paid or free content
A subscriber is marked as unpaid = 4 retries then their paid subscription is canceled
You delete your subscription product = subscribers stop getting billed
Your account gets closed = subscribers stop getting billed