Circ Day Takeaways from a Creative POV (Point of View) -- Part II

Last year, I referred to Circ Day as an idea fest, and this year proved to be another gala of effective tips and tactics. Here are some valuable nuggets from this year’s panelists. I’ll be posting more tips to my blog soon.

1. Conde Nast sends three ebills before their mailed billing series. This has led to double digit increases and lower costs. Volumes are small but increasing yearly. They have found 11 AM EST is the best time to Email.

2. Stack your best offers at the front end of your renewal series. Otherwise, you are training subscribers to wait. U.S. News only offers renewal premiums in efforts 1 and 2.

3. On your homepage, try two colors, such as red and yellow, top and bottom, for your subscribe buttons, as different colors attract different people. Make Subscribe the first tab on your toolbar.

4. Reader’s Digest found that adding a second window to their Statement of Benefits voucher package lifted response. They are currently testing a third window. White is the envelope color of choice, which beat kraft. Faux labels, a scratch-off contest and an express mail look were all unsuccessful.

5. The New England Journal of Medicine found that adding a lift note from the editor-in-chief lifted response to their voucher 25 percent. A brochure resulted in a 30 percent lift. Emphasizing online benefits boosted response 25 percent. Collecting email addresses actually lifted response 30 percent. And a premium (especially a jump drive) increased response 23-25 percent. They have tried a duffle, pliers’, and mug and will test an optical mouse and pad next.

6. U.S. News recommends adding labels to change of address and cold donor mailings.

7. A Fast 20 KitchenAid mixer is working for Martha Stewart Living and they can’t test out of it, whereas a sweeps depressed response.

8. A combo mailing between Martha Stewart Living and Everyday Food produced a 15-20 percent lift. A $4.95 shipping cost is added without much resistance.

9. Niche publishers can partner with competitors to get into retail stores. A deal could involve a listing in the publication, a page on the website, and 10 copies of each issue, for one up-front payment. This is bringing in 10 percent of the circ for NewBay Media.

10. Bruce Miller, Bonnier Corporation indicates generic renewal forms almost always win over custom forms.

11. People Magazine uses freemiums in bills for a heftier package…and because they add value and guilt. They’ve been successful with bubble bath, lotion and a pocket calculator.

For copy that gets results or a copy critique, contact Shira at 203 371-0654, via email at shira@promowriting.com or her website www.promowriting.com