As the curator of the INSIDER Guide to New Product Development (NPD), I’m constantly keeping an eye out for bite-size information that will help you develop and scale better subscription products. Here’s my “Five on Friday” list for September 11th, featuring the five best trends, tips, quotes or stats from my reading this week.
1. Take Advantage of USPS Incentive Offers to Reduce Campaign Costs
Direct mail is still an effective way to drive subscription sales, and the Post Office runs promotions each year to encourage us to try new things. Click here to see the promotions ongoing now, and in general to learn how to make the P.O. work for you.
2. Three Practical Ways to Increase Conversion Rate in a 90-Second Video
A must-watch video that packs three practical, easy-to-implement tips on conversion rates into less than two minutes:
3. Read This Now!
I found a couple good tips in this blog from Envision Creative Group for improving call to action (CTA) buttons. The best was to create short, disciplined offer copy and a clear, motivating call to action, as noted in the quote below:
“Which sentence would most likely inspire you to act: ‘A Free Whitepaper Is Now Available’ or ‘Get Your Free Whitepaper Now’? Both phrases mean basically the same thing, but where the former simply states facts, the latter, quite literally, calls you to act.”
One the other hand, while the article asserts that red, yellowish-orange or green are the best colors for CTA buttons, the examples they show are blue. My take – the button(s) should be in a vibrant color that contrasts with its background and is the easiest thing to see on the page if you squint. All the colors above are great (as is bright blue, IMHO) and any will likely perform well. If you have the time and inclination, test several colors to determine what works best for you.
What’s undisputed is that, as our subscription businesses – from prospecting to selling to delivering – are increasingly conducted online, the importance of these little buttons grows.
4. Don’t Abandon Hope on the Abandoned Shopping Cart
According to Laura Kudia, writing at Business OnTapp, there is real opportunity in the abandoned shopping cart. Her advice?
“Send gentle email reminders to your customers about the products they left behind. In the reminder email, give your customers juicy incentives such as a special discount or free shipping.”
5. Video is Table-Stakes for Internet Marketing; Be Ready for Your Close-up
A good Entrepreneur.com article to skim if you’re about to make that pitch video. Need the time to pick out an outfit instead? Avoid white, bright red and all black but do stick to solid colors. Be sure to bring a couple outfits and take the advice of your producer!
Please take a moment today to remember the heroes and victims of 9/11/01.
Diane
Diane Pierson, our INSIDER Guide to New Product Development, is a leader in product management and marketing, having delivered results to companies including Dun & Bradstreet, LexisNexis, American Lawyer Media and Copyright Clearance Center. She has built products & services that have delivered over $100 million in revenue and knows what works, and what doesn’t, when executing product plans and strategies. (Read Diane’s full Bio)
