What to do about "the banana".

Thirty years ago the economist Alfred Kahn coined the term, "the banana," under pressure from his masters in the Carter administration (he was serving as Chair of the Council on Wage & Price Stability), to describe economic conditions without using the dreaded word recession.

But in 2009, times are hard for pretty much everyone. What should newsletters be doing to cope and be sure to be upright when things get better.

Silver linings. Through massive government intervention, a tsunami of money is inundating several industries--finance, education, housing, perhaps soon healthcare.

There must be opportunities--for publishers in those areas to report on who is getting it and how to get your share. With the stock market doing as it is, these should be flush times for investment newsleter contrarians.

For everyone else. Things don't look rosy. The worst thing to do is to pull back and stop marketing. Perhaps it's time to make stronger offers than you have before. Revenues from Sports Venues is offering two years for one (NL/NL.4/20/09). If you've never done an FFT or free trial offer to get the product into the prospect's hands, this may be the time.

Renewals. Again, perhaps it's time to offer more incentive than usual. Some firms have policies that mandate taking advantage of any discounts offered by their vendors. With a discounted renewal offer, perhaps your title could be one.

Remember. Most publishers earn a significant amount of revenues from "untraceable orders" that come in over the transom: phone, white mail. It could be tempting to pull back on marketing and rely on them during tough periods but, as one former newsletter association president told me, "If I stop sending mail, I stop getting 'untraceable orders.'"

Marketing notes from all over

Sweeten the deal. I liked the offer from The New Yorker, whose website deal was a 20 percent discount, but when the invoice arrives, it adds the option for a second year at 50 percent off.

Personal. Most marketers agree that labeling promotional mail as "Personal" is both ineffective and, insofar as the concept applies to direct marketing, somewhat "unethical." Some publishers used a tagline on the carrier envelope, "For Fred Goss Only Please ..."--which might achieve the desired effect.

Currently, Martha Stewart Living is using a variation on the technique. The carrier carries a warning, "Do Not Bend." You almost have to think, What's in there that I shouldn't bend?

After all, AARP, among others, sends a handsome embossed membership card in their promo mail. The answer to what's not to bend is, "nothing." But it got me into the envelope.

Personalization. Still in doubt about its effectiveness in e-mail efforts? DM News reported results from Sears which did an A/B test on e-mails to customers, personalized vs. non. The personalized sector achieved these increases in results: 215 percent in click through, 178 percent in conversion, and 59 percent in average order volume.