Circulation Managers: E-mail Lifts Renewal Rates

Circulation directors from Ziff-Davis told their industry peers earlier this month about the benefits of using e-mail in their renewal efforts for both paid and controlled circulation magazines at the Circulation Management Conference & Expo in New York.

Steve Sutton, Circulation Director for the Interactive Media Group at Ziff-Davis, reported that e-mail increased subscription revenues by 20 percent, or $1.3 Million in incremental revenue.

Heather Kay, Controlled Circulation Director for the Interactive Media Group at Ziff-Davis, explained how sending an e-mail message two weeks before the magazine arrived in the mail with a "wrap" cover asking readers to requalify for their free subscriptions resulted in a 30 percent lift in response for the first effort.

"And sending another e-mail before the last effort results in a big lift as well," Kay said. "E-mail can really make a difference in pulling response in time for your BPA Audit statements." Kay is busy testing sending a reminder e-mail in the middle of the series.

"Besides improving response rates," Kay added, "e-mail gets people to re-qualify faster, reduces printing and return postage costs. We saw a 3 - 5 percent lift in response in general."

"We’re seeing fifty percent of our renewals done online and we’re at the point where we have more e-mail addresses in our database than fax numbers."

Deb Goldstein, president of IDG Lists, addressed privacy issues stressing the importance of developing opt-in lists. To illustrate this point, Goldstein described how IDG e-mailed the vast database the company has developed from its webzines JavaWorld and SunWorld Online.

"Twenty percent opted out when asked if they wanted to receive third party relevant e-mail. After that first message only 1/30 of one percent opted-off the list in response to subsequent mailings."

Goldstein has seen her list company rentals grow 500% in the first two years it has been offering e-mail lists. The major repeat customers are seminar and trade show companies, hardware companies and other business-to-business mailers.

"Right now our mailers experience an e-mail response rate that is 2 - 3 times greater than postal response. We also have a 3 - 1 repeat business ratio with our customers."

(Contact: Steve Sutton, Ziff Davis, 212-503-5396; Heather Kay, Ziff Davis, 212-503-5211; Deb Goldstein, IDG Lists, 508-370-0820)