THE CIRCULATION & AUDIENCE EXECUTIVE’S PLAYBOOK TWENTY WINNING PLAYS Bill Huffhine www.billhuffhine.com

THE CIRCULATION & AUDIENCE EXECUTIVE’S PLAYBOOK Circulation and audience growth professionals in our industry must own a philosophy and execute a skill set foreign to those from a generation ago. We must learn constantly, pivot quickly, innovate boldly, and lead our teams as explorers, revolutionaries, generals, and humanitarians. Twenty Winning Plays

CREATING LEGENDARY CUSTOMER SERVICE PLAY #1 Invite conversations with subscribers about their service to reduce “passive” stops. Twenty Winning Plays

CREATING LEGENDARY CUSTOMER SERVICE PLAY #2 Create and use a “happiness” survey and track and discuss your score with the same attention as your CPM. Host the survey online with a link on your website. Use mass email to send link to subscribers. Publish the link to the survey in the paper. Share the link on subscriber invoices. Twenty Winning Plays

CREATING LEGENDARY CUSTOMER SERVICE PLAY #3 Reward your contractors with a monthly “perfect service” fee. Twenty Winning Plays

CREATING LEGENDARY CUSTOMER SERVICE PLAY #4 Utilize a special “exceptional delivery” hot dot system. A special color dot for a unique placement A special color dot for history of complaints Twenty Winning Plays

ACQUIRING HIGH-QUALITY, LOW-COST SUBSCRIBERS PLAY #5 Maximize voluntary starts through your website. Link to subscription page at the top in main nav bar. “Subscribe now” button at end of each story. These cost you nothing and retain longest. Twenty Winning Plays

ACQUIRING HIGH-QUALITY, LOW-COST SUBSCRIBERS PLAY #5 Maximize voluntary starts through your website. Twenty Winning Plays

PLAY #6 Utilize email marketing. Your success is in your list! ACQUIRING HIGH-QUALITY, LOW-COST SUBSCRIBERS PLAY #6 Utilize email marketing. Your success is in your list! SOURCES OF EMAIL ADDRESSES Subscriber & former subscriber database Registrations for commenting on your website Registrations for voting on contests i.e. “Best of” Opt in for niche email newsletters Registration for winning prizes and giveaways Twenty Winning Plays

ACQUIRING HIGH-QUALITY, LOW-COST SUBSCRIBERS PLAY #7 Mine your data regularly and put it to work. CASE STUDY: Found 1,400 cancelled accounts with money on them Called subscribers informing them they would restart Mailed letters to addresses with disconnected numbers Over 600 starts, with zero expense Several hundred dollars donated to NIE Twenty Winning Plays

ACQUIRING HIGH-QUALITY, LOW-COST SUBSCRIBERS PLAY #8 Put your Facebook “Call to Action” button to use. Twenty Winning Plays

A SUBSCRIBER RETAINED IS CHEAPER THAN ONE ACQUIRED PLAY #9 Offer an “Early Bird” renewal bonus. Twenty Winning Plays

A SUBSCRIBER RETAINED IS CHEAPER THAN ONE ACQUIRED PLAY #10 Offer 24 or 36 month subscriptions for less. Twenty Winning Plays

A SUBSCRIBER RETAINED IS CHEAPER THAN ONE ACQUIRED PLAY #11 Offer auto-renewal on all terms subscription terms. Twenty Winning Plays

A SUBSCRIBER RETAINED IS CHEAPER THAN ONE ACQUIRED PLAY #12 Use automated dialing to contact all expiring subscribers by phone. Twenty Winning Plays

EVERY SINGLE COPY STILL MATTERS PLAY #13 Create a mobile app for your dealer network to improve positioning and drive store traffic. Use geo-fencing to drive people to a store Use push-notification to drive people from pay at pump inside Insist that initial offer includes a copy of the paper Twenty Winning Plays

EVERY SINGLE COPY STILL MATTERS PLAY #14 Offer multiple Sunday copies to home delivery subscribers. Twenty Winning Plays

EVERY SINGLE COPY STILL MATTERS PLAY #15 Partner with rental car and oil change shops to provide complimentary copies. Twenty Winning Plays

EVERY SINGLE COPY STILL MATTERS PLAY #16 Segment your single copy price increase to drive revenue, yet protect volumes. Twenty Winning Plays

THE BOTTOM LINE IS STILL THE BOTTOM LINE PLAY #17 Create a “Good Samaritan” fund to retain and recycle revenue already in house. Target stops for reasons of death or moving Move balance to “Good Samaritan” fund Use revenue to fund free or discounted subscriptions Twenty Winning Plays

THE BOTTOM LINE IS STILL THE BOTTOM LINE PLAY #18 Partner with advertising to sell bag sponsorships to create big revenue/expense wins for everyone. Twenty Winning Plays

THE BOTTOM LINE IS STILL THE BOTTOM LINE PLAY #19 Sell bill stuffers to offset your invoicing expense or raise revenue for NIE. Twenty Winning Plays

THE BOTTOM LINE IS STILL THE BOTTOM LINE PLAY #20 Charge a refund processing fee for cancellations before end of term. Twenty Winning Plays

THE CIRCULATION & AUDIENCE EXECUTIVE’S PLAYBOOK Circulation and audience growth professionals in our industry must own a philosophy and execute a skill set foreign to those from a generation ago. We must learn constantly, pivot quickly, innovate boldly, and lead our teams as explorers, revolutionaries, generals, and humanitarians. Twenty Winning Plays

THE CIRCULATION & AUDIENCE EXECUTIVE’S PLAYBOOK TWENTY WINNING PLAYS Bill Huffhine www.billhuffhine.com