If Your Direct Mail is Lagging, Take a Look at the Message Folio Magazine, February 05 Email this Article  |  Back to Articles Readers don’t always renew subscriptions to magazines because they like the price. So why do publishers continue to send out generic renewal notices that tout special pricing offers? Metro Corp., publishers of regional titles Boston and Philadelphia, decided earlier in 2004 to focus its renewal efforts on what it believed was the real reasons people subscribe: Unique content. And the results were impressive. Both multi-tier efforts (six for Philadelphia; seven for Boston) yielded cumulative response rates of 56.6 percent (Boston) and 57.9 percent (Philadelphia), well above the industry average of 46 percent, and well above what the magazines had been doing. Research Provided Clues Lori Birney, circulation director for Boston and Philadelphia, admits that the publications’ renewal series hadn’t been redesigned in years and renewals were down slightly. “When you looked at our old renewal notices, they didn’t focus on what the book was all about,” says Birney. The new designs were tested on readers in mailings this past April, May and June. “The new notices are fresh. The previous mailings were old and stodgy. That’s not our image now. The magazines have more pop and sizzle than they used to.” Birney enlisted the help of a Westboro, Massachusetts-based creative agency Sage Communications, which conducted research that indicated that more than 91 percent of Philadelphia readers use the magazine to choose a restaurant. Sage concluded that the audience was responsive to editorial premiums, and suggested a restaurant guide. “The guides cost pennies since this information was already in the magazine,” says Sage partner Anne Kottler. Renewal letters help both titles reinforce their image. For example, a letter to a Philadelphia subscriber reminds him that the publication helps him obtain tickets to sporting events and provides traffic shortcuts. Another letter outlines the financial benefits of a three-year renewal while also reminding the subscriber of the publication’s ability to locate the best pizza in town. “We’re going away from general business-sounding renewal series,” says Sage partner Josef Kottler. “You have to reference back the magazine’s promise.” For more information on creating a branded renewal series, contact: Anne@sagecommunications.com Top of Page < Back to Articles © 2006. Sage Communications. All Rights Reserved.