Thoughts on Renewals

Renewals are the life-blood for most publishers so never take your subscribers for granted.

By Roy Beagley 10/04/2012 -10:18 AM

Being circulators ourselves, we tend to view material relating to our business from a different perspective than the intended recipients.

In many respects, renewal promotions are great to get. Each should tell the recipient how important he or she is, how great the magazine is and why the subscriber’s life will be sadder if they don’t renew.

Renewals are the life-blood for most publishers so never take your subscribers for granted. It probably cost you a lot of money to get that subscriber, so do all you can to keep them on the subscriber file for as long as possible.

Many publishers send out an early renewal well in advance of expiration. This is a good idea as it costs little and gives the publisher some cash flow early in the renewal cycle. Once your renewal series starts on a regular basis, remember your subscriber knows a few tricks as well. Make your best offer up front and with each effort thereafter, make a slightly less attractive offer, or an offer that is not quite as good as the previous one. This way your subscribers will pay you earlier in the series, as they know holding out for a better offer is a waste of time.

Try various formats with your mail efforts—monarch size, #10, maybe a 6 x 9 effort or perhaps a postcard pushing the renewal to your website to renew. Use persuasive copy on outer envelopes and make sure each successive envelope is more “urgent” than the previous effort.

Making promises or threats can be dangerous and rebound on you, as can saying things like “This is Your Last Issue” on a tip-on when it is not the last issue. My life is quite boring at the moment (sometimes boring is good), however, I am getting a great deal of pleasure in seeing if I get this week’s issue of a national magazine that told me five weeks ago “This is Your Last Issue”—I still am, so why should I part with my money when I am still getting copies?

As with all things, test, test and test again because you learn so much. In the case mentioned above, the “circulator” in me understands the magazine concerned has tested the tip-op approach, and it works for them. The “consumer” in me thinks I am getting something for nothing. We all know as soon as I stop getting the magazine, a renewal effort asking me if I miss my weekly fix will come through and I will be missing my weekly fix, so I will renew and all will be right with the world.

As for how many renewal efforts you send, well, that in entirely up to you, but once the cost of sending the renewals out is more than the average cost of a new subscription, you may want to start considering it is time to stop the renewals—just for a while, and start working on that “Welcome Back” offer.

Roy Beagley is Director of Publishing Services for Tyson Associates Inc. Roy started his career at The Economist and then The Spectator in London. He moved to the United States in 1992 and since then he has worked with Tyson Associates handling many controlled and comsumer publications. He is editor of Circspot.com, a website for circulation and audience development professionals.