How to increase circulation income—not spending
[This is me writing in the “Monday Morning Expert” space for Circulation Management]
Do you treat all subscribers the same?
That question is the common denominator for two projects I am currently creating. And since CM caught me at work, take a look over my shoulder at the ideas driving these promotions. See if you, too, can increase revenue without new spending on subscribers or content.
Project A is for a professional weekly.** It’s the launch of a monthly newsletter — with a twist. The newsletter is offered only to the presidents among the publication’s current subscriber titles. And like a gift subscription, the presidents are not buying the newsletter for themselves. They subscribe on behalf of their board of directors — giving the newsletter free to their trustees 10 times yearly.
What’s in the newsletter? Articles drawn from the previous four weeks of the publication’s regular coverage that is of particular interest to directors. The format is PDF-only (which gives the newsletter the freedom to publish in odd 5- and 9-page editions). And each issue is emailed to the subscribing president who in turn can easily forward it to trustees, or print and mail it.
The marketing pitch hits several sweet spots. A president’s desire to quickly and efficiently inform the board without having to do so personally. A trustee’s natural desire to stay informed and avoid litigation (an increasing reality) without having to wade through hundreds of pages of otherwise boring information. And an organization’s desire to provide directors with useful tools that demonstrate appreciation of each trustee’s service.
Of course for my client this idea works on every level. There’s no new content. No printing, production or postage. And because it’s sold as a gift, subscriptions auger to renew easily and cancel rarely. It’s the ultimate in low-cost, low-maintenance, added-value, subsidiary publishing.
Even better, it’s in the tradition of “the more narrow the newsletter, the higher the subscription price.” So high, one barely needs to model it. The initial test featured 1-year rates that ranged from $500 to $3,000 (which is 6-to-36 times the cost of the very publication the newsletter is drawn from!) With a publishing architecture this rich, it requires scant few sales to make a winner. And our pilot test landed more than a few — and so easily we’re now skeptical! So step tests are underway. If the initial results are repeated, this will be one singular sensation.
Project B is for a consumer newsweekly.** This magazine is experimenting with a premium subscription — and it, too, has a twist. Typically a premium subscription provides a “basic” subscriber with a valuable, higher-cost extra. For example, Harvard Business Review grants premium subscribers unlimited online access to its deep archive of brilliant business advice (“Summon the Gods!” I wrote). While The Economist grants higher-paying subscribers gated content online (and successfully — unlike The New York Times who fenced the opinions of their op-ed commentators only to discover readers had an opposing opinion that was even more powerfully persuasive!)
Now the premium subscription program I’m helping develop is a decidedly different concept. Instead of promoting premium content, they are offering premium status. And instead of a premium subscription price, they’re after a higher subscriber commitment.
Here’s how: Subscribers who sign up for a 5-year renewal commitment — tied to a direct-pay arrangement — earn better than your average subscription gifts every year. (Think cash gift cards and exclusive signature swag). These high-value subscribers also get invitations to mix and mingle with opinion leaders at private social events in selected cities. (Think wine tastings, gallery openings, charity auctions, black tie galas, and such). This is a kind of American Express Green - Blue - Gold - Platinum - Black - rentention strategy that personalizes the magazine in the lives of its most dedicated readers, and turns faceless subscribers into first-name friends.
Next time:
• 8 circulation marketing mistakes I made so you don’t have to
Future articles:
• If you’re paying more than “FREE” for your circulation creative, you’re spending too much
• Why you need to sell subscriptions like it’s 1984
• Are you a secretly subversive circulator?—A self quiz
P.S. Two more rule-breaking, bonus ideas if you, too, find it wise not to treat all subscribers the same
1. Do like The Chronicle of Higher Education and build a grid of prices and terms and formats so subscribers can find an offer they like. This breaks the “one-path, one-price” subscription rule that says options only invite confusion, indecision, and analysis paralysis. Not true for The Chronicle. Its target market — like you and yours I’m sure — is smarter than that. An intelligentsia that actually responds to choice…and a little piece of “audience development” genius invented by Alex Levin.
2. Take it even further. If you publish a weekly, why not let putative subscribers choose their own term? Many who might find your title an expensive burden to read each week, may very well be more interested in reading you every other week. Or even once a month. Just because you publish weekly, why make that the only frequency you sell?
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**Names revealed only after circulation success is assured—and client permission is given!
