It would be a brave subscription manager to stand up and say, recession, what recession? Everyone is affected in some way, but difficult circumstances also bring opportunities and it’s the brave subscription manager who seizes the day.
Everyone does, or should have, subscription and reader offer pages in their magazine if they are a paid circulation title; it doesn’t matter what the title is. These pages work at a relatively low cost if you can persuade the publisher that rather than leave the pages out of an issue because of the downturn in ad revenue, the business as a whole should capitalise right now on the testing opportunities that in a normal business environment might not be available.
Get the pages free if you can, that might take some relationship building in the editorial team, but don’t be backward in negotiating – have your business case ready and go for it.
Don’t do it just because you can. Strategies for all channels to market should be planned at the same time, and should support and feed each other.
I’ve seen some awful subscription space ads in my time with basic mistakes like:
* Leaving off the price! 30% discount sounds good, but not if you don’t mention the price? 30% of nothing is nothing!
* Not putting the return postal address on the page where you want them to post the coupon back to you.
* Putting the wrong phone number on so that all the inbound calls go nowhere or the responses get credited to another campaign.
* I’ve even seen one publisher ‘steal’ a coupon layout from another publisher and forget to insert their own details so that all the orders went to the competition!
But then I have seen some great ads too. That doesn’t mean the ads have necessarily won creative prizes; it means that the ad has been effective in its objectives to position the brand and deliver a breathtaking response.
So here are a few tips to keep you on the straight and narrow:
1. A magazine page is worth money
Whatever you pay or don’t pay, put a value on the pages you are using and include that when analysing response against other channel promotions. That gives you perspective.
2. All encompassing analysis
Don’t fool yourself when you review test results; make sure that you understand the dynamics of what you are analysing. For example, analyse responses from the newsstand copies versus the subscription copies. Track not only the response to the page, but the title that your ad appeared in. Title A appearing in title A, title B appearing in title A, title A appearing in title B etc. It’s illuminating and the more data you have the more you can develop your space ad strategy, and frankly sometimes that leads to terrific ideas for other channels and other media as well.
3. Split runs for subscription and newsstand copies
You have subscriber copies and newsstand copies; you wouldn’t want your long term subscribers to get upset by introductory offers. How you compose the ad is going to be different for each audience; existing subscribers know the magazine so you’d be trying to cross-sell, for newsstand you’ll have to work a bit harder to establish the editorial pillars as well as the key benefits of subscribing. Sounds simple but split runs are often off the agenda because of the cost, so phrase your copy accordingly and use the test results to support your case for split runs for the future.
4. Discount or premium?
That’s why you test – to find out which your prospective subscribers prefer. You may do both but remember that you shouldn’t ‘sell’ the premium. If it’s free, it’s free but always be careful when using that word that you don’t fall foul of best practice or legislation.
5. What turns your readers on?
A percentage off the cover price might sound better to a prospective subscriber than the actual amount saved in real money. Rule of thumb, the lower the subscription price, the more a percentage discount might hit the right note. If the subscription has a high cost then £££ off may sound more appealing. But do test because readers are a fickle bunch.
6. Where to position your ad?
Don’t let it get lost in the back pages; if you’re serious about making this work you want your ad up-front and visible. Better still, try and get an editorial endorsement. Best of all is in the editor’s page, or the contents page, or with an editorial product endorsement if you are offering a premium that relates to an internal department or regular magazine feature.
7. Editors and marketers
Don’t let the editorial team design your space ad. Over the years, I’ve seen multiple examples of this and it doesn’t work unless the editor is also a direct marketer and understands the principles of getting a response. Obviously editors want to make sure that a subs ad reflects the magazine itself, and subscription managers sometimes have to give in and accept an editorial driven test. In that case make sure you have a solid control against which the editorial subs ad can be measured. If you’re good, your marketing-led ad will win every time.
8. Make the page stand out
If it looks like a feature it may get lost. Use high quality images that reflect the brand values but remember this is a selling page, so it’s ok to use big headlines, and eye catchers like starbursts or call outs.
9. How do you want them to respond?
By post? Make sure the coupon size is big enough for them to fill in their details (but it cannot dominate the page). By phone? Make the phone number stand out. Via the web? Give them a URL and make sure that they click right through to the page where they start entering their details – if they have to navigate through pages, you’ve lost them. All three channels? Then highlight the one you want them to use, but only after you check its effectiveness by testing and analysing responses by channel.
10. Data protection statements
It’s always a challenge to squeeze an effective statement onto a printed coupon but it’s worth getting it right as the value of the data for cross selling is a business asset that must not be ignored. A customer-friendly clear and transparent script for inbound calls is worth it for the same reasons, so make sure that you brief your telemarketing agency to follow your script. It’s easier if you want potential subscribers to respond via the web, you’ve no need to put data protection statements on your space ads, just make sure that when they hit the URL that the appropriate data collection wording with channel choices is right there at the moment they start completing their details.
11. Testing
Don’t change more than one variable at a time and make sure that you have a control that has been tried and tested over time. And give the tests some validation. Don’t use just one issue to set your future strategy by; it may have been an unusual week / month for some reason – too cold, too hot, holiday season, out of season ... ie. for gardening titles. Rotate tests quarterly. You’ll think the recall for a subs ad over three months is high and therefore you want to keep it fresh. Sometimes the opposite is true and if they have seen a space ad regularly they’ll get familiar with it and respond when they’re ready.
12. Go for it at Christmas
Give enticing opportunities for gift subscriptions in the months leading up to Christmas, but if your January issue is delivered in January not December, then remove the Christmas trees and snow from your creative. Start planning early though – Easter is a good time to prompt you into action, so have your brainstorming time where you review everything whilst eating chocolate. It works every time.
13. Single page or double page spread?
If you are offering a discount rather than a premium, then two separate single pages might work better than a double in terms of costs. If you have a fabulous editorial related premium, you’ll need more space.
14. Tip-ons and gatefolds
These techniques will dramatically increase your response but may not prove cost effective. They’re fun though.
15. Volume and value
You’ll need to understand the relationship between volume and value and that is tied to subscription price and the title of the magazine you are promoting. Do you need more subscribers at any price to meet ABC targets or some other internal target? Or do you have to make the bottom line sing and the numbers fall into second place? Strategies will differ even within publishing houses, some titles being volume driven and others value driven.
Though responses may have dropped off a bit at the moment, you don’t want to let your readers down by letting go of the value-added products and services you introduce them to. Thin magazines with a reduced page count do not send out the right messages to your readers and subscribers. They’ll notice that you are cutting back and if your competitor is doing a better job, then you just might lose those valuable readers now and have the devil’s own job in getting them back when everything in the garden is rosy.
