Create a Newsletter —
Once an idea has survived numerical analysis, the next step is to test whether it will pull enough subscribers to proceed.
Getting reliable results
Direct mail provides projectable results, but it is expensive. What about telephone? Fax? E-mail?
Two of those three, when tested for various clients, have provided completely erroneous results, when compared to direct mail. They're not only a waste of your money, but could lead you to kill profitable ideas or go ahead with unprofitable ones.
One of the three was only partly erroneous. It ranked the ideas in the same order as direct mail tests, although the results were by no means projectable. For example, it produced 43% higher results for a newsletter (A) over newsletter (B), even though it tested only 15% higher in direct mail.
Best direct mail months
Although some markets have unusual subscription patterns, most newsletters pull best the first part of January and good, but less well, in May and September.
Consumer newsletters mail in January and July or, if they can, in January, May and September.
Most B-to-B newsletters mail in January, May and September, or (if they can) in January, April, July, and October.
Anticipate declines in response rates from the test
Most newsletters get 1/2 the response rate the second time they mail a list. And most B-to-B newsletters will have another 50% drop the fourth or fifth time they mail a list. Your test results need to be good enough to allow for these drops and still be profitable.
- Advising clients on conducting their own test(s)
- Serving as an out-sourced department—completely conducting, managing, and reporting on the test(s) for clients
- Rolling out successful tests
