Subscriptions are core to most publishers, both consumer and b2b. Yet marketers must work harder these days to acquire new subscribers and test out new marketing channels. Publishers and marketers at the first SIIA UK Issue Brief on Tuesday 11 June got an insider view on the latest subscription marketing techniques from Carola York of Jellyfish Publishing and Robin Crumby of Melcrum. Here’s the main insights from the session:
Make your PPC ads work harder
PPC ads for magazine subs must be specific about the reader benefit, not just list the magazine title, and include keywords in headline, copy and URL. Build site links to your subs offer into the copy. And make sure your landing page is single minded – maybe build a custom landing page so visitors don’t get distracted from buying a subscription. Test all the action words – join, claim, get, receive, order – as each market behaves differently. And check your PPC campaign stats daily and adjust the campaign.
Make print and digital choices clear
Keep the options for print and digital bundles simple, and maybe highlight the best offer, but allow readers to choose. And don’t assume people viewing your marketing on mobile devices want a digital subscription – print is very definitely not dead!
Follow your best prospects online – remarketing works
Many people don’t buy first time round, or abandon a basket part-way through. These are your best prospects, so don’t let them go. Carola explained how publishers can use Google Display network to follow prospects around the web with either text only or image based ads. Prospects can be offered a special deal, ideally with a time limit.
Make a compelling offer
Keep your subs landing page uncluttered, and apply a time limit to the offer if you can. Provide instant gratification such as a free article or report download as soon as the order is made.
Test social media channels.
If you have an email list, you can use Facebook Custom audiences to serve very specific ads to these people within facebook. This is small scale but has worked for Jellyfish clients. Integrating your Google plus page into your PPA ads does grow click through rates. Jellyfish as yet hasn’t found a cost effective route to using LinkedIn and twitter – ad rates are still too high. And Youtube is also proving effective – can have a short ad before targeted videos and only pay for those that are fully viewed. Works well for publishers with content rich videos plus offer at end.
How to sell high-value subscriptions online
Direct online marketing channels work well for subscriptions up to c£250, but for higher ticket b2b subs, the role of online marketing shifts to lead generation. Robin Crumby of Melcrum uses web content, SEO. PPC and social to create a large pool of prospects, then captures emails via webinars, e-letters and report downloads, and then those who complete an enquiry form are followed up by sales people.
The challenge is increasing the conversion rates at each stage of the process and also scoring the prospects so sales teams follow up the hottest leads. With good analytics you can track back to see which traffic driving activities ultimately deliver quality leads.
The focus of marketing shifts to lead generation, and then the big challenge is conversion, as sales cycles are long and high ticket subscriptions require approvals. It helps to provide prospects with documents to help them convince the boss.
When selling corporate level subs, track the activity of all employees of that organisation, to identify heavy users, and market to them, ideally enlisting a groundswell of support for a corporate subscription.
Thanks to our speakers, Robin Crumby, CMO of Melcrum @robcrumby and Carola York, MD of Jellyfish Publishing @jfpublishing.
Attendees were able to ask their own questions and swap ideas with their peers in a supportive small group – and get copies of speaker presentations.
The next Issue Brief is on 3 July, on the topics of Monetising mobile publishing. We have case studies on British Journal of Photography, Fade to Black, PR newswire, Lexis Nexis and CQ Rollcall.
It takes place 9-11am at Dow Jones offices in Farringdon, London. Free to SIIA members and $95 for non-members. Places limited to 25, so book early.
More info and how to register here.
Carolyn Morgan has launched, acquired, grown & sold specialist media businesses in print, web and events. She launched the Specialist Media Show in 2010 and grew a community of ambitious publishers keen to grow their digital activity. SIIA acquired the Specialist Media Show in 2013 and Carolyn is now Programme Director for SIIA UK. Follow Carolyn on twitter at @siiauk.