Get the Attention You Deserve from Web and Creative Teams

Christine Oldenbrook

So, how do we get the attention we need?
 
I recently fielded a concern that was raised from the audience marketing team, “Why are our requests given such a low priority by the Web department?”  Banners, forms, interstitials, pop-ups, emails...our requests just don’t get the attention they need.  
 
I heard these cries before we had the Web in our marketing mix.  When using an internal Creative Services Department for designing promotions like subscription cards, cover wraps, renewal forms, direct mail, etc. it is usually met with a big yawn and a quick shuffle to the bottom of the priority list.  When the projects manage to get to the top of the priority list, the designs are usually half-hearted at best.
 
It seems subscription related promotions just aren’t very…dare I say, sexy!  I probably can’t argue against that point.  Maybe I thought creating subscription forms for the Web would be a lot more exciting.  But it looks like audience marketing is running up against the same apathy with online subscription promotions as they do for their print promotions.  
 
At the risk of sounding like “no one understands us," I think the problem is our support departments don’t completely understand the importance of developing effective subscription promotions.  
 
What are the consequences if you don’t create a clever cover wrap OR the e-newsletter sign-up isn’t obvious and easy-to-use OR you aren’t able to test multiple landing pages?  
 
The answers are simple, really and obvious to those of us in audience marketing.  However, it may not be as obvious to the supporting departments, but it is very important they understand our objectives.
 
Here are a “few” talking points you might use when pleading for more effort and attention from your Web and creative teams:
 
1.     Our magazines need subscribers.
2.     If we don’t have subscribers to our magazines no one will buy advertising.  
3.     If no one buys advertising we won’t stay in business.
4.     We need creative renewal promotions that drive results.
5.     Renewals are our most cost effective source for subscribers.
6.     If no one renews…see items 2 and 3.
7.     We need to drive qualified traffic to our websites.
8.     We need our websites optimized for Search Engines so that we attract qualified traffic.
9.     We need easy-to-use e-newsletter promotions that get noticed so we can start the process of pushing visitors through the “conversion funnel” and ultimately subscribe to our magazines and go to our events.
10.  If we have traffic come to our Web site but we don’t capture at least their email, then we’ve wasted much of the efforts we made to drive them to our website.
11.  If our Web sites aren’t a major source of subscriptions to our magazine or the easiest and most cost effective source for renewals, then we are wasting one of the most important marketing tools we have.
12.  Getting responses to subscription promotions are a challenge.  We need your best efforts to make our promotions as responsive as possible.  
13.  Please move us back to the top of your priority list.

Christine Oldenbrook
Christine Oldenbrook is director of e-media at Bobit Business Media and has been in publishing for over 30 years. Her current position at Bobit includes responsibility for marketing, e-media, Web sites (design and development), audience marketing, research, lead generation and classified sales.