Is direct mail dead as a source for new subscribers for consumer magazines?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by DiAnne Walsh on April 23, 2009 at 11:24am

Hi Ken:
I believe that DM is still viable for increasing circulation. However for business journals or newspapers the voucher works best. I would have done a glossy self-mailer for Alpinist if they had not closed. Why? because we were an archival magazine and I would want to show us off.

Loyalty comes from delivering what the DM piece promises. I once luanched a magazine with an award winning DM piece and received a 4% response....unheard of. However the editorial product did not deliver and I had a 50% cancellation rate. Ouch!

In a nutshell they are not gone. Hang in there.
DiAnne

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ken Schneider on April 23, 2009 at 12:17pm

Hi DiAnne:

Small world, I did the launch package for Alpinist. 4-color outer, brochure, etc. FYI: I've had packages pull 8% and better. But you're right, the editorial has to deliver. So many bad magazine ideas get funded -- and then predictably fail. The best concept out there now that I feel has legs is Garden & Gun. I launched it. Horrible name, but a great product well executed.

Ken

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Peter Lebensold on April 23, 2009 at 5:32pm

It seems to me, Ken - and I hope this isn't merely wishful thinking - that, as the "business model" for magazines reverts to its roots (with readers paying a larger share of the shot, and advertisers less), there'll be a regained emphasis on obtaining *quality* subscribers - the kind that pay, convert and renew well ... that generate meaningful "lifetime value" ... that boast the kind of relationship with the magazine that no mere website can duplicate ... and that, in turn, will be that much more attractive to advertisers. Under those circumstances, D.M. packages that are able to talk meaningly about "the product", that can intrigue and engage - rather than just "take the order" - will once again have a place in the marketing firmament. When almost "everyone" is mailing a voucher package, the ol' 6"x9" will really stand out. If nothing else, this theory is helping me weather the current "perfect storm", so I can sleep nights!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dick Benson on April 27, 2009 at 1:19pm

Unfortunately for many of our customers direct mail is becoming a lost resource. They view print and paper costs as an area they can cut (along with the veteran staff who remember how effective direct mail was) and turn to rely on web generated orders. Which is fine for converting customers who seek you out. But so much about publishing a special interest magazine is getting exposure for your magazine. If you are a special interest title it is difficult to get great newstand exposure and supply the number of copies needed to do a good job in distributing the magazine.

For special interest publishers the economics of direct mail make sense. Using current marketing technology you can selectively target your message to a much more defined target and using print technology along with variable messaging it can be very cost effective to test various offers in even small test cells. BUt the process starts at the beginning- a good package design, with relative editorial copy combine for a success- not that will be measured in the response to a single effort but to the process of generating long term subscribers who will support your magazine and your advertisers.

After all isn't that kind of the goal we are all working toward?

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ken Schneider on April 27, 2009 at 2:34pm

Thanks Peter and Dick for your comments. Any further thoughts on how to educate current subscriber acquisition practitioners on how vital "real" direct mail is to a special interest title? Business models simply must be rewritten to the new realities of the marketplace, i.e. the expense of conducting a truly significant -- and ongoing -- direct mail campaign must be recognized as part of the production process of business. Getting subscribers on the cheap has grossly failed the publishers who've succumbed to the attractiveness of that proposition. If magazines are going to survive, they HAVE to be "sold" to their target audience -- at a cost that OVER TIME builds a loyal and renewing audience.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Peter Lebensold on April 27, 2009 at 6:49pm

Sadly, no one seems to be thinking "over time" any more: It's all about last quarter and this. It's going to require some changes (or changes *back*) at the top (among CEOs, Publishers, and the like), to encourage today's subscriber-acquisition practitioners to think more long-term. Perhaps a look at the ad-sales numbers might help them along! But I worry that - like educating subscribers NOT to wait for the final renewal effort (in the all-too-well-founded expectation that they'll get a more attractive offer the longer they wait) - it may take a generation. Einstein, I think, once said something about people never really changing their minds; all that happens is that those who used to think one way eventually die.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Vince Wolff on April 28, 2009 at 11:53am

Speaking from the perspective of an agency that was built on direct mail.....

We have seen our numbers slide a great deal, but we won't abandon dm yet. It gives us a chance to gain renewals, but also introduce new offers, cross marketing, etc. I am trying to integrate email marketing in conjunction with our mailing drops, although our in house list isn't very large yet.

But we do gain some new business from out dm's, just not like we used to

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Melissa Virk on May 19, 2009 at 3:27pm

Hi Ken,
Direct mail isn't dead. It's what you use and how you use it. As a consumer, I've seen many of those 6x9 inline packages show up in the mail. I've always opened them with the hopes of a lottery check being in them but the minute I see a letter and alas, no check, I throw it away. I don't have time to sit and read a long letter describing offers and the benefits of a subscription. Today's consumers need something intriguing, simple and tangible. That's where direct mail comes in. Too much information on a DM...boring. The days of stuffing an envelope with every bit of information possible on a product and service are over (unless it's requested). Consumers are more in control of their buying experience and often take pride in researching some information on their own and in their own time.

Johnson Anderson released a product today that was for the last 10 years, a kept secret for a few magazines to boost their responses. It's worked quite well for them and they haven't switched for about a decade. postcardplus.net has some information if you'd like to view.

Basically, direct mail needs to be more creative than ever. Creative in image, creative in content and creative in call to action.

Melissa

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Peter Milburn on May 27, 2009 at 8:39am

Greetings to all,

Hmmmmm, I don't think the DM package is in danger. I think the print publication is in danger.

▶ Reply to This