Don't deal yourself out of card decks

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, August 1, 1997 by Robert Spiegel

With larger sizes and a host of niche consumer lists to choose from, now's the time to take a second look.

Card decks are like the utility pickup truck of the publishing world-they're not particularly sexy or fun, but they work. And lately, they're working better. With direct-mail results dwindling and new media offering uncertain returns, card decks are emerging as a reliable option for circulation growth. Even more enticing, deck formats are now larger and there's a broader choice of markets available. If you've never considered using a card deck, now might be the time.

One great reason to try a deck is that it's so easy. Simply design an offer for your magazine in a standard-size space. The card deck publisher handles all the printing and mailing. You can pick your lists from an assortment the publisher offers (typically magazine sub lists and direct response lists), and mail dates are available throughout the year. You can also split the mailing to test different offers.

Though decks were developed primarily as b-to-b vehicles, consumer decks have been showing solid results lately, primarily in special-interest niches like outdoor, hunting and gardening. The health/fitness category is also returning good numbers, and when I was at Chile Pepper, we used decks to target the culinary market.

"There are enough business decks. Most future growth in is consumer, especially anything hobby- or pastime-oriented," says Jeff Kirchman, vp/marketing at Select Publishing, a deck publisher. The one trade category where experts still see room for growth? Home-based businesses.

Larger formats. A recent trend in decks is the larger format (6" x 7.5", as opposed to the older 3" x 5"), which allows you to be more graphically innovative and offers more space for copy. Rich Baumer, president of Venture Communications, a publisher of larger decks, says some magazines are testing offers that show excerpted editorial in the card deck insert.

Stay with soft offers. Card decks work with soft offers, and the softer the better. A free issue is standard. Toughen the offer even slightly and response drops off. This brings a lot of tire-kickers, but your investment is low, and even a small payup percentage can give you a lower cost-per-order than direct mail. "Most of our magazine offers are soft," says Dan Cohen, president of Trump Card Marketing. "If you want to keep the freebie seekers away, you can use a `bill-me,' which for decks is considered a hard offer."

Rates of response. A soft offer sent to a respectable list should pull 0.5 to 1.5 percent response. Payup is where things get interesting, ranging from 2 to 40 percent. Your breakeven point usually falls at about 20 to 25 percent payup. (For the decks I used at Chile Pepper, we averaged about 1 to 1.5 percent return, with 25 to 33 percent payup.) The conversion just about always works better with a premium. You can test presenting the premium on the card, or introducing it in a welcome letter with the invoice.

Trade your list for savings. Card deck publishers are always looking for fresh lists, and most deck publishers will trade for list usage if your list meets their criteria. Magazine lists are a favorite for deck publishers, so you'll find an open ear when you mention trading. Just make sure your portion of the overall mailing still leaves you with a high percentage of new names. At Chile Pepper, we made sure that at least 80 percent of the names were fresh, or we went out in a different deck with all fresh names, taking a discount on the names we delivered.

Is there a deck hiding in your list? Many of the new deck lists now in use are magazine subscription lists. As Venture Communications' Baumer says, "We're always looking for magazine partners, but we're selective. We look for magazines that target our base or open new markets." For the magazine, it's similar to list income, except that the magazine is presented as the host of the mailing and the deck publisher handles most of the rest. This saves on the considerable cost and effort of launching a deck and selling the cards.

Baumer adds that the minimum mailing is 50,000, and because the deck should go out to only a portion of the list at any given time, he needs decks with 100,000 to 150,000 paid subs minimum.

Before you test a deck, take a look at past mailings to see which publications are running regularly. If you see noncompetitive titles, call up the circulation manager and ask about results. You can learn a great deal in a short conversation, and you may be surprised at how well some of the regular deck promotions are doing.

RELATED ARTICLE: Resources

MTD Marketing 420 Alcott Court Colorado Springs, CO 80921 800/320-7507

Select Publishing 10 Odana Court Madison, WI 53719 800/278-5670

Target Market Card Decks 240 Frisch Court Paramus, NJ 07652-5240 800/937-9970

Tri-Media Marketing Services 5200 Main St., Suite 205 Skokie, IL 60077-2158 800/874-0338

Trump Card Marketing " 1086 Teaneck Rd. Teaneck, NJ 07666 201/862-1300

Venture Communications 60 Madison Ave., 3rd FI. New York, NY 10010 212/684-4800