Customer loyalty paves way to automatic renewals.

If renewals are the heart of the newsletter business, automatic renewals must be its soul. The most solid basis on which to build a case for your subscribers to sign up for automatic renewal is a demonstrated loyalty to you and/or your publication.

That's nicely illustrated by a recent "Renewal Special" mailing by The Nation magazine. A 1-page letter from publisher and editorial director Victor Navasky hits many of his subscribers' hot buttons:

"Dear Friend,

"How would you like to help save the forests, unclutter your mailbox, help us balance our budget, and simultaneously make certain that you receive your weekly Nation uninterrupted for the foreseeable future?

"You can do it all by checking off the box on the enclosed form and joining our new automatic renewal program."

In one sentence he appeals to liberals' tree-hugging instincts, distaste for junk mail, and awareness that The Nation has rarely if ever turned much of a profit.

"Frankly, although we designed this program to save you time and the hassle of receiving innumerable renewal notices, we also did to save money. We estimate that if we renewed everyone the old way, we would be wasting close to $100,000 annually--on paper, postage, and printing--that might be better spent sending our writers on assignments, digging up dirt and giving you news and views that you can't get elsewhere."

Follow The Nation's good example: Study what your readers most like about your newsletter and its content, and hit those hot buttons in a me-to-you letter.