Sample issue or not--the great divide.

The "sample issue controversy" will go on in newsletter marketing forever. The gulf between parties is almost theological in nature.

On the one hand, many marketers believe:

"No single issue can represent the editorial benefits of a full-year subscription as well as a well-crafted salesletter and package." (For obvious reasons, the whole world of consultants and copywriters believe this.)

On the other hand, many others feel:

"If we are as proud of the quality of our publications as we always say we are, why are we reluctant to let the prospect see an issue for himself?"

When sample issues are effective

Here's a rundown of some of the situations where it might just be that a sample issue mailing would be effective.

(Beyond the publishers mentioned here, there are more than a few who include a sample issue in the promotional mailings simply because "Damn it, this is the way we have always done it.")

* When every issue is the same. There are some titles which publish things like charts of last week's (or month's) activity; if you see one issue, you are "seeing them all."

* Where "timeliness" of the information is not a major concern (so-called "evergreen" copy). These include situations where publishers often assemble a compiled issue, using what they believe are the most representative articles from recent issues.

These were effective for Don Begin at Communications Briefings, so much so that he had to "limit himself" to three mailings a year. "Otherwise, I was afraid I would have prospects who thought they did have a subscription," Don told me.

* Tip of the Hat here to Bill Haight at Magna Publications, who used a live sample for National On Campus Report with a one-page letter explaining, "This isn't some special creation put together to give a false sense of the publication. You can expect 24 more issues just as interesting and useful as the one you're holding in your hands."

* Where the publisher is confident that every issue contains an article that the prospect will realize can make him money. Cameron's Foodservive Promotion Reporter, which published marketing ideas for restaurants, was a good example of this type. Note, for whatever psychological reasons, publishers find that the marketing pitch "Make money" works better than "Save money."

* To build pay-up on bill-me orders and first-time conversions. Andrew Harper is one who has always used a sample, partially in the belief that he gains a more "committed" subscriber when the prospect has seen the actual newsletter.

* When you believe you are publishing the "newsletter of record" for the industry. This is what copywriter Steve Sahlein liked to call the "McGraw-HIll model": 12 to 16 pages, 3-column, copy jammed gutter to gutter so that the prospect, with sample in hand, has to think, "If I got this, I would have everything!"

* Finally, a nod to my friend the late Larry Ragan, who was using sample issues because, he said, "After all my years in the business, if I have to write one more salesletter, or even sit down with a copywriter and discuss one, I just might hurl myself out the office window--and we're only on the second floor."

When sample issues are not effective

Sample issues are counter-productive in these cases:

* When the issue does not really represent the full range of the publication's coverage--say, when a particular issue has devoted an inordinate amount of space to one subject to the detriment of other subjects usually included in the editorial.

* When your prospect list is new to you and contains a wide variety of overlapping job descriptions or interests or needs. A good salesletter is more effective in making sure all the "hot buttons" are pushed so that at least one of them will appeal to each person on the list.

I'd be interested to learn from any of you who have tested a sample vs. no sample. E-mail me at [e-mail].