Don't underestimate insert cards

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, July, 1986 by John Klingel

Don't underestimate insert cards

Insert cards are one of the most profitable subscription sources. Yet very few magazines pay much attention to them. There is very little testing--and what amazes me most is how many magazines don't use insert cards at all.

I have often run into situations where a publisher doesn't use insert cards or uses them only in occasional issues. When I ask why, publishers typically reply that the people receiving the magazine already subscribe. And since the magazine isn't sold on the news-stand, they don't feel insert cards would work. Or they comment on how much the cards cost and how few returns they receive.

Reaching the pass-along reader

On average, however, more than one person reads a copy of a magazine. And it is this person--the pass-along reader--that insert cards help you reach. If you are worried about cost, sit down and calculate the cost per order from insert cards. You'll probably find that the cost per order is the lowest of any of your sources of new business.

A simple bind-in card typically costs $10/M or less. A low response from a bind-in would be 0.2 percent, or two orders per 1,000. A $10/M cost divided by two orders per 1,000 equals a cost per order of $5. Direct mail, on the other hand, probably costs $15 to $20 per order on a comparable basis.

Recently, I've seen a trade magazine increase insert card volume by 50 percent by moving to a larger format (three-up cards versus one-up); a weekly magazine increase volume 400 percent by running cards every week instead of once a month; and a magazine that doubled response by changing the design and copy of an insert card.

Insert card volume can be affected by testing. And because it is such a profitable source, the impact on the bottom line is significant.

Increase cards to up response

The simplest way to increase volume is to increase the number of cards. Test adding more cards and keep adding cards until the incremental cost of the extra cards isn't recovered. For a magazine with high subscriber pass-aling, three bind-ins and a blow-in is a safe number of cards--and there's a good chance the number could be increased. You should usually run more cards for newsstand, airline, library and public-place copies than for subscriber copies.

Another technique for increasing volume that you can test is a full-page format where the cards are three-up (see Illustration 1). In addition to increasing the number of cards, the full-page format is more noticeable; and many magazines will naturally open to the insert card when readers flip through it. This format costs more than a single bind-in, but it will often produce more than enough additional orders to cover the extra cost.

Cost and design can also have a major effect on insert card response. I have seen copy and design tests where one card pulled three times as many orders as the other. For example, bindins are extremely sensitive to price-off comparisons and offer. One of the better known tricks is to show a higher price with an "X' through it to demonstrate price savings. Using 50 percent off (compared to newsstand or basic rates) is very effective. And another old and successful trick is to show the cover on the card. Because insert card designs will tire over time, you should try to vary the format from issue to issue. Test and build up a reserve of three or four responsive cards, and alternate them issue to issue.

Another point: It's important that the insert clarify that it's a way to order the same magazine that the person is reading. Don't be subtle or make the cards look like someone else's ad.

Color or not?

For bind-in cards, most tests of four-color versus two-color show that four-color doesn't pay for itself. Don't hesitate to test this yourself. For blow-in cards, four-color is very often more responsive. You shouldn't just use a bind-in as a blow-in for this reason. Bind-ins typically have a headline that's more like a space ad and should be designed as stand-alone promotion.

An old generalization about insert cards is that blow-ins obtain more response than bind-ins. This is true to some extent, but it is often overemphasized. True, if you run a single bind-in and one blow-in in the same issue, the blow-in will probably have higher response. However, if you run a triple bind-in and one blow-in, the combined response from all the bind-in cards will usually exceed the blow-in card volume. In some trade magazines, I've seen blow-in care tests that didn't work. A bind-in is more likely to stay with an issue as it is passed from person to person. A blow-in is probably going to be more effective with the initial reader (such as a newsstand buyer).

Test the various elements

Insert cards are like direct mail: sensitive to offers, credit, choices of price, and credit card options. You should test these elements carefully. A choice of one or two years versus no choice of term, for example, will sometimes lower response. Using pure credit (send no money; we'll bill you later) can improve response. Offering a credit card option has lowered response in every test I've ever seen. Testing premiums and sweepstakes offers on insert cards is a good idea and offers in general are a very productive area of testing.