BostonGlobe.com Tests 99 Cent Trial Subscription Offer: Two Critical Mistakes

BostonGlobe.com’s circulation department blasted their in-house, prospect, email list with a 99 cent subscription offer this morning. The campaign used several best practices,

BostonGlobe.com’s circulation department blasted their in-house, prospect, email list with a 99 cent subscription offer this morning.

The campaign used several best practices, including:

  • A quick deadline (the offer is only good for today)
  • Subscription benefit copy in easy-to-skim bullets
  • Big response buttons
  • A brief benefit video on the landing page

Unfortunately, the circulation team made two mistakes that could bite them in the bottom line. The first was the landing page design. I’ve posted an image here of the response area on the landing page. You can see it’s not too badly done. Unfortunately most people who arrive on that page will never see it, because it’s well below the fold. If respondents have to scroll way down to get to the response button, you’ve lost a good portion of your potential orders.The second mistake was the offer — eight weeks?! No online publisher we know of gives away a two month trial for 99 cents up front. That’s because most online trials will have forgotten completely about the upcoming charge by the time it appears. Which is why the customer service department at the Boston Globe will probably have a bump in complaint phone calls and chargebacks this August as trials run out.An eight week trial makes sense for print publications. Your trials get tangible evidence of your value in their hands with each delivery. By eight weeks, they may be addicted and miss the delivery like crazy if it stops. Email reminders that ‘your issue is ready online’ are far less tangible and much less addictive. Most online trial takers only pay attention to your emails for the first week or two… after that, you’re just another source of ‘noise’ in their overcrowded inbox.I hope other publishers steal smart from the Globe, you should be testing cheap trial promos. Just don’t copy their mistakes.BTW: Want to know more about best practices in trial subscription marketing? Our sister site, Subscription Site Insider, recently posted an on-demand, video tutorial on best practices.

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