Take advantage of the internet-driven increased globalization.

NL/NL publisher Jim Marshall interviewed Al Goodloe about the opportunities and problems that exist for newsletter and specialized information publishers in marketing overseas in 2000.

Goodloe (see p. 1) is the publisher of Publishers Multinational Direct, a newsletter directed at helping publishers build a global customer base. He has been in the newsletter publishing business for more than 30 years and was one of the founding members of the Newsletter Association (as it was called then) in 1976.

He is an expert in the field of international marketing and for the past 12 years has conducted an annual conference in New York City for publishers on international marketing. This year's conference, co-sponsored with NEPA, will be held at the Helmsley Hotel March 6th and 7th (see p. 8).

JM--Do you expect 2000 to be a good year for newsletter and specialized information publishers who market overseas?

AG--2000 will be better than in the past, largely because of increased globalization. Change is happening everywhere. It's powered by the internet. Newsletter publishers are highly vertical and most are in high-priced specialized information. Businesses are using the internet for purchasing decisions. This has ramifications for every vertical market. I see changes in vertical markets calling for expert opinion, expert analysis and up-to-date information-the type of news and information that is a trademark of U.S. newsletter publishing.

But there are some problems. For example, not enough good lists and increased postage which will mitigate some of the opportunities. But I think the outlook should definitely be much better.

JM--Then web sites are one way for the U.S. publishers of newsletters and specialty publications to reach potential overseas subscribers?

AG--Yes, it's got to be a primary way. It can help overcome one of the problems for publishers--that of getting overseas lists. If you can drive potential subscribers to your web site you won't have to rely as much on lists.

But that necessitates branding. What does branding mean? Branding means you must establish yourself as a premier web site. It means that you are going to have to make people aware that you're around.

JM--How do you make people aware of your web site? How do you build your brand?

AG--You have to look at your web site a little like you own a TV channel. How do you get people to switch on your channel rather than someone else's channel? You've got to make sure everybody out there has your web address, that it's on all your promotional pieces. Keep people coming back, providing some free but useful information. Continually update your site and keep it highly focused.

Find inexpensive ways to get people aware of your website. Postcards are one way and another is press releases. Send your press releases to all media overseas covering your market. There are various directories where you can find the names and addresses.

JM--Do you think that the international postal rates are going to go up?

AG--Yes, they have to go up. The Universal Postal Union Congress (CUPU) met in the fall of 1999 in Beijing, China to decide on the structure of future terminal dues. Terminal dues are payments between postal administrations. And postal rates have to reflect terminal dues. You have to pay X terminal dues to get the mail delivered within Germany. But you also have to pay to get the mail delivered from the United States to Germany.

Terminal dues are different from postal rates. Terminal dues to the developed countries are going to go up. One will have to pay more to reach places like Germany and France. I doubt there will be an increase in dues to the underdeveloped countries.

My suggestion to publishers dealing with the postal administrations or mail consultants would be to find out the specific country rates for that mailing. To Germany you'll pay more but less to Italy, Greece or Spain, a lot less. You need to know the country-by-country composition f your overall postal charge.

JM--What do you think is the biggest mistake that U.S. newsletter and specialty publishers make in ailing overseas?

AG--Many publishers don' take global expansion very seriously. They try a test or two, failing to realize that international development requires about two to three years of testing and experimentation to achieve maximum results.

One tends to get diverted by the U.S. market which has been very good. However, there are newsletter publishers who have 40-50 percent of their subscribers outside of the U.S. They got there because they realize it's still easier to master the market overseas selling their existing product me than it is to launch new products.

Obviously if your editorial focus is Congress, taxation or legislation, it won't sell overseas. But if your content is international, business, environmental or computer information, it will probably sell overseas.

JM--Do the foreign lists have to be standardized?

AG--Publishers shouldn't worry too much about that. The list comes as it comes: either in good shape or not. The problem in using many different lists is that name, street, city, postal code lines can get mixed up. One would have trouble de-duping and merge-purging across all lists used in a campaign. However, specialized international computer bureaus have software that does a reasonably good job of correcting and standardizing addresses used in a mail campaign.

Evaluate a list based on who is giving you the list, whether they're active or recent expires, and when the list was last cleaned. As long as the list is good, go after the orders. But when orders come in, be sure the addresses are entered into your database according to standard address formula for the countries responding.

JM--Should you change the promotion copy for a foreign mailing?

AG--The copy is probably the easy part. Generally the U.S. copy with some modifications works best. On occasion, American publishers hire expensive European copywriters and find the U.S. copy works better anyway. U.S. copy has been honed for the market. You're not devising the French version of NL/NL you're selling the basic information about the newsletter industry which is applicable worldwide.

The basic U.S. product sold with no alteration: either it will sell abroad or it won't. The U.S. sets the standard. The U.S. market is so advanced that if you can say it's internationally applicable information... that's the trick. The copy has been tested and honed in the U.S.

So what motivates people in the U.S. should be what motivates people abroad. Take McDonald's in France: McDonald's knows people just don't have that much time anymore. You can get a quick bite at McDonald's at a low price compared to the leisurely pace at a typical Paris bistro. Unless a publisher is trying to sell Playboy in Saudi Arabia, where they have Islamic laws... what newsletter publishers do is for the market, and what is for the market can be for people worldwide.

JM--What about the small publishers who are thinking about marketing overseas? Do you have any advice for them?

AG--I don't think there is any difference between what the small publisher and the large one does. It's just a matter of scale. For instance, if you wanted to sell NL/NL abroad, you would want to do a little research. Look for lists of publications which cover the media industry the publishing industry. Also, seek out association lists.

These tasks can be delegated to somebody. It depends on the amount of time one would want to take and how much the payoff may be. Estimate what percentage of your subscriber base will be overseas or foreign. Most publishers should aim for a 20 percent above their domestic circulation. For example, if you have 1000 subs in the U.S., figure on 200 more internationally in the beginning. But don't stop there. With more effort, look for 500 to 1000 more overseas subs.