distributedlife

Last week I received a Ralph magazine for reasons I cannot decipher. I don’t remember having a subscription. I suspect that it was a marketing ploy much akin to the FHM one I received earlier in the year. Neither marketing ploy worked on me but it got me thinking on whether or not this kind of marketing works and if there is a better way to do it.

The biggest problem I see with it is that the magazines are targeting ex-readers. Its kind of like hitting up an ex-girlfriend, they left you for a reason. Unless something has changed drastically they won’t be coming back. FHM tried that with their new “thinking man” approach. Ralph did nothing different. Neither worked.

In my opinion a better idea is to send out either three copies of the magazine or three cut down versions. The cut down versions have zero ads and a sample from each section. The purpose of the three is this:

The first is for the target and has a big sticker that says “Subscribe and save 50%“. The other two have an equally large sticker that says: “Give this magazine to a friend or mail it to someone random in Australia. We don’t care! Whoever it is, they are getting 25% off!“.

What this does it gives the lucky recipient a reason to talk about the magazine with their friends. They have to give it to them and that is hard to do quietly. We all like “free” stuff and we like to talk about it even more.

You are reducing the cost of entry. Everyone gets a discount and the original subscriber get a bigger one. This a reward for passing on the magazine.

You are reaching more people. Before it was one, now it is three. This now is like hitting in your ex-girlfriend and her two friends without the complications. This is also where I stop this analogy. Trust me, its for the best.

You could then supplement each issue that is purchased via subscription with another cut down version of the same edition that is designed for giving to a friend. Naturally this has a large discounted subscription sticker on it. You only give this to subscription readers as you need to reward people who subscribe rather than casual shoppers. You let the subscribers know that this special cut down version is for their friends because you like them so much.

My rationale is that the money a magazine makes off the subscription is probably minimal if it is even in the positive numbers. The money is made by having a subscriber base they can use to leverage advertising. More subscribers means that each advertising slot is worth more. Getting a subscriber base is hard work but is made easier if your readers are doing the work on your behalf.

note: It may appear that I referenced my girlfriend in the last post and then my ex-girlfriend in this post. You’ll be happy to know that my love life, if I had one, is going swimmingly.