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Renewal series add regular cash to your coffers and build loyal, long-term relationships. Yet many publishers ignore them or consider them an afterthought, lavishing money and creative capital on new acquisition packages instead. They leave easy money on the table, since it costs less to renew a subscriber than acquire one.
Here are 30 established ways to turn your series into an efficient revenue generator.
1. There's no ideal number of efforts in a renewal series. Each series is different, just as each publication is. Whether it takes seven or 17 efforts to achieve maximum profitability, you'll discover the right number for your publication over time.
2. Many publishers don't send enough efforts before expiration. This contradicts subscriber complaints, but testing seems to confirm it.
3. If the last letter in your series makes money, add another effort. If that letter makes money, add yet another effort. Continue to add efforts until you reach a break-even point.
4. Put the most favorable terms in the first effort, and emphasize it won't get better than this down the road. Subscribers are smart. They often postpone renewing in the hope of snagging a better deal toward the end. By sweetening the pot in a later effort, you reward them for procrastinating. Also, it increases your mailing costs, and it's unfair to early renewers.
5. Position a strong effort up front. If a later effort pulls well, move it up in the series.
6. Don't assume that subscribers are inclined to renew. Even loyal readers need to be courted and reminded of the benefits of your publication, early and vigorously. In addition to reselling the benefits, you can leverage the existing relationship between subscriber and publication.
7. Highlight any new, improved or updated content to demonstrate the indispensability of your publication in these changing times.
8. Try to duplicate or play off the tone of the acquisition package. Prospects reacted to it, so it's reasonable to assume that some reiteration will strike a similarly responsive chord.
9. The urgency of your tone should dramatically increase as you get closer to expiration. Fear, guilt and exclusivity work particularly well: Show what the subscriber will lose, how his world will change for the worse without your publication, that others have renewed and are enjoying benefits he's relinquishing, the pain of saying good-bye, etc.
10. Focus on things coming up in the publication. Talking about what's ahead-articles, interviews, stories, features, departments, solutions-exerts a powerful pull on readers. No one wants to be left behind. Turn this to your advantage by enticing readers with things they have not seen yet.
Here are 30 established ways to turn your series into an efficient revenue generator.
1. There's no ideal number of efforts in a renewal series. Each series is different, just as each publication is. Whether it takes seven or 17 efforts to achieve maximum profitability, you'll discover the right number for your publication over time.
2. Many publishers don't send enough efforts before expiration. This contradicts subscriber complaints, but testing seems to confirm it.
3. If the last letter in your series makes money, add another effort. If that letter makes money, add yet another effort. Continue to add efforts until you reach a break-even point.
4. Put the most favorable terms in the first effort, and emphasize it won't get better than this down the road. Subscribers are smart. They often postpone renewing in the hope of snagging a better deal toward the end. By sweetening the pot in a later effort, you reward them for procrastinating. Also, it increases your mailing costs, and it's unfair to early renewers.
5. Position a strong effort up front. If a later effort pulls well, move it up in the series.
6. Don't assume that subscribers are inclined to renew. Even loyal readers need to be courted and reminded of the benefits of your publication, early and vigorously. In addition to reselling the benefits, you can leverage the existing relationship between subscriber and publication.
7. Highlight any new, improved or updated content to demonstrate the indispensability of your publication in these changing times.
8. Try to duplicate or play off the tone of the acquisition package. Prospects reacted to it, so it's reasonable to assume that some reiteration will strike a similarly responsive chord.
9. The urgency of your tone should dramatically increase as you get closer to expiration. Fear, guilt and exclusivity work particularly well: Show what the subscriber will lose, how his world will change for the worse without your publication, that others have renewed and are enjoying benefits he's relinquishing, the pain of saying good-bye, etc.
10. Focus on things coming up in the publication. Talking about what's ahead-articles, interviews, stories, features, departments, solutions-exerts a powerful pull on readers. No one wants to be left behind. Turn this to your advantage by enticing readers with things they have not seen yet.
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