How to Send Cancellation Emails (Using Zapier or Make)

⏱️ TL;DR

• Does Memberstack send cancellation emails natively? No. Memberstack only sends transactional emails like Welcome, Forgot Password, and Email Verification.
• The Solution: You can easily set up an automated cancellation email in under 10 minutes using Zapier or Make.com.
• The Recipe: Set your trigger to Memberstack's "Member's Plan Canceled" event, and set your action to send an email via your preferred provider (Gmail, Resend, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, etc.).

1. Why Memberstack Doesn't Send Cancellation Emails

To keep our core email system fast and focused on essential security, Memberstack only handles critical authentication emails.

Because cancellation emails are highly customized—often containing brand-specific exit surveys, win-back offers, or transition instructions—they are best handled by your dedicated marketing or transactional email platform.

By routing this event through Zapier or Make, you can design beautiful emails using the tools you already use.

2. Step-by-Step Zapier Recipe

This is the easiest way to set up cancellation emails. You will need a Zapier account.

[Trigger: Memberstack] ───> [Action: Email Provider]

(Member's Plan Canceled)       (Send Cancellation Email)

Step 1: Set Up the Trigger

1. In Zapier, click Create Zap.
2. Search for and select Memberstack as the Trigger app.
3. Select Member's Plan Canceled as the Event. Click Continue.
4. Select your Memberstack account and click Test trigger to pull in a recent cancellation event (or test data).

Step 2: Set Up the Action (Your Email Provider)

You can send the email using almost any tool. Here are the two most common options:

• Option A: For simple text emails (Gmail/Outlook)
  1. Select Gmail as your Action app and Send Email as the Event.
  2. Map the Member Email from Step 1 to the "To" field.
  3. Write your subject line and paste one of our templates below into the Body field.
• Option B: For marketing platforms (Mailchimp/ActiveCampaign/Klaviyo)
  1. Select your email tool and use the event Add/Update Subscriber.
  2. Map the member's email and add a specific tag like Canceled Member.
  3. Inside your email tool, set up an automated campaign that triggers whenever a subscriber is tagged with Canceled Member.

Step 3: Test and Publish

Test the action step to ensure the email formatting looks correct, then click Publish to make it live.

3. Step-by-Step Make.com Recipe

If you prefer Make.com, the setup is virtually identical:

1. Create a new scenario.
2. Add the Memberstack module and select the Watch Events trigger.
3. Create a webhook and select Member's Plan Canceled as the event.
4. Add your email module (e.g., Gmail, Resend, or Mailgun) as the next step.

5. Map the email address and write your message. Save and turn the scenario on.

    

4. Cancellation Email Copy Templates

Feel free to copy and customize these templates for your brand.

Template 1: Friendly & Helpful (Best for SaaS/Software)

Subject: Your [Your Brand] subscription is canceled

Hi {{Member First Name}},

This email confirms that your subscription to [Your Brand] has been canceled.

What happens next?
You will continue to have full access to your account and premium features until your current billing cycle ends. After that, your account will automatically downgrade to our free tier, and you won’t be charged again.

Changed your mind?
You can reactivate your subscription at any time by logging into your dashboard and going to your Billing settings.

We’re sad to see you go! If you have a moment, we’d love to know how we could have made your experience better.

Thanks for being a part of our community,
The [Your Brand] Team

Template 2: Exit-Survey Focused (Best for Content/Communities)

Subject: We're sorry to see you go! (Subscription Canceled)

Hi {{Member First Name}},

Your [Your Brand] membership has been canceled. 

We are constantly trying to improve our community, and your feedback is incredibly valuable to us. If you have 60 seconds, could you let us know why you decided to leave?

👉 [Click here to take our 3-question exit survey]({{Link to Typeform/Tally}})

Thank you for your support, and we hope to welcome you back in the future!

Best,
[Your Name]

5. Pro-Tip: Collect Cancellation Feedback (The Exit Survey)

Instead of just sending a "Goodbye" email, turn cancellation into a learning opportunity by collecting feedback.

1. Create a free survey using Typeform, Tally, or Google Forms.
2. Add a question asking: "Why did you decide to cancel today?" (e.g., Price, missing features, difficult to use, or no longer needed).
3. Include the link to this survey inside your automated cancellation email (as shown in Template 2).
4. Advanced: Pass the member's email or ID as a hidden query parameter in the URL (e.g., tally.so/r/123?email={{Member Email}}) so you know exactly which member left which feedback without making them type their email again!

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Does the "Plan Canceled" event trigger immediately when a user clicks cancel, or when their access actually ends?

It triggers immediately when the cancellation request is made. If your Memberstack cancellation settings are NOT set to "Cancel subscriptions immediately (meaning they retain access until the end of their billing cycle), the "Plan Canceled" event fires immediately so you can send them a confirmation email and let them know exactly when their access will expire.

Q: What if a member cancels their plan during a free trial?

The "Plan Canceled" event will still fire. You can use Zapier's built-in Filter tool to check if the member's status was "Trialing" and send a specialized "End of Trial" email instead of your standard cancellation email.