THE CIRCULATION & AUDIENCE EXECUTIVE’S PLAYBOOK TWENTY WINNING PLAYS Bill Huffhine www.billhuffhine.com
THE CIRCULATION & AUDIENCE EXECUTIVE’S PLAYBOOK Circulation and audience growth professionals in our industry must own a philosophy and execute a skill set foreign to those from a generation ago. We must learn constantly, pivot quickly, innovate boldly, and lead our teams as explorers, revolutionaries, generals, and humanitarians. Twenty Winning Plays
CREATING LEGENDARY CUSTOMER SERVICE PLAY #1 Invite conversations with subscribers about their service to reduce “passive” stops. Twenty Winning Plays
CREATING LEGENDARY CUSTOMER SERVICE PLAY #2 Create and use a “happiness” survey and track and discuss your score with the same attention as your CPM. • Host the survey online with a link on your website. • Use mass email to send link to subscribers. • Publish the link to the survey in the paper. • Share the link on subscriber invoices. Twenty Winning Plays
CREATING LEGENDARY CUSTOMER SERVICE PLAY #3 Reward your contractors with a monthly “perfect service” fee. Twenty Winning Plays
CREATING LEGENDARY CUSTOMER SERVICE PLAY #4 Utilize a special “exceptional delivery” hot dot system. • A special color dot for a unique placement • A special color dot for history of complaints Twenty Winning Plays
ACQUIRING HIGH-QUALITY, LOW-COST SUBSCRIBERS PLAY #5 Maximize voluntary starts through your website. • Link to subscription page at the top in main nav bar. • “Subscribe now” button at end of each story. • These cost you nothing and retain longest. Twenty Winning Plays
ACQUIRING HIGH-QUALITY, LOW-COST SUBSCRIBERS PLAY #5 Maximize voluntary starts through your website. Monthly Starts Via Internet 40 35 30 Number of Starts 25 20 Year 15 15 Year 16 10 5 0 Twenty Winning Plays
ACQUIRING HIGH-QUALITY, LOW-COST SUBSCRIBERS PLAY #6 Utilize email marketing. Your success is in your list! SOURCES OF EMAIL ADDRESSES • Subscriber & former subscriber database • Registrations for commenting on your website • Registrations for voting on contests i.e. “Best of” • Opt in for niche email newsletters • Registration for winning prizes and giveaways Twenty Winning Plays
ACQUIRING HIGH-QUALITY, LOW-COST SUBSCRIBERS PLAY #7 Mine your data regularly and put it to work. CASE STUDY: • Found 1,400 cancelled accounts with money on them • Called subscribers informing them they would restart • Mailed letters to addresses with disconnected numbers • Over 600 starts, with zero expense • Several hundred dollars donated to NIE Twenty Winning Plays
ACQUIRING HIGH-QUALITY, LOW-COST SUBSCRIBERS PLAY #8 Put your Facebook “Call to Action” button to use. Twenty Winning Plays
A SUBSCRIBER RETAINED IS CHEAPER THAN ONE ACQUIRED PLAY #9 Offer an “Early Bird” renewal bonus. Twenty Winning Plays
A SUBSCRIBER RETAINED IS CHEAPER THAN ONE ACQUIRED PLAY #10 Offer 24 or 36 month subscriptions for less. Twenty Winning Plays
A SUBSCRIBER RETAINED IS CHEAPER THAN ONE ACQUIRED PLAY #11 Offer auto-renewal on all terms subscription terms. Twenty Winning Plays
A SUBSCRIBER RETAINED IS CHEAPER THAN ONE ACQUIRED PLAY #12 Use automated dialing to contact all expiring subscribers by phone. Twenty Winning Plays
EVERY SINGLE COPY STILL MATTERS PLAY #13 Create a mobile app for your dealer network to improve positioning and drive store traffic. • Use geo-fencing to drive people to a store • Use push-notification to drive people from pay at pump inside • Insist that initial offer includes a copy of the paper Twenty Winning Plays
EVERY SINGLE COPY STILL MATTERS PLAY #14 Offer multiple Sunday copies to home delivery subscribers. Twenty Winning Plays
EVERY SINGLE COPY STILL MATTERS PLAY #15 Partner with rental car and oil change shops to provide complimentary copies. Twenty Winning Plays
EVERY SINGLE COPY STILL MATTERS PLAY #16 Segment your single copy price increase to drive revenue, yet protect volumes. Twenty Winning Plays
THE BOTTOM LINE IS STILL THE BOTTOM LINE PLAY #17 Create a “Good Samaritan” fund to retain and recycle revenue already in house. • Target stops for reasons of death or moving • Move balance to “Good Samaritan” fund • Use revenue to fund free or discounted subscriptions Twenty Winning Plays
THE BOTTOM LINE IS STILL THE BOTTOM LINE PLAY #18 Partner with advertising to sell bag sponsorships to create big revenue/expense wins for everyone. Twenty Winning Plays
THE BOTTOM LINE IS STILL THE BOTTOM LINE PLAY #19 Sell bill stuffers to offset your invoicing expense or raise revenue for NIE. Twenty Winning Plays
THE BOTTOM LINE IS STILL THE BOTTOM LINE PLAY #20 Charge a refund processing fee for cancellations before end of term. Twenty Winning Plays
THE CIRCULATION & AUDIENCE EXECUTIVE’S PLAYBOOK Circulation and audience growth professionals in our industry must own a philosophy and execute a skill set foreign to those from a generation ago. We must learn constantly, pivot quickly, innovate boldly, and lead our teams as explorers, revolutionaries, generals, and humanitarians. Twenty Winning Plays
THE CIRCULATION & AUDIENCE EXECUTIVE’S PLAYBOOK TWENTY WINNING PLAYS Bill Huffhine www.billhuffhine.com
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