Working the association tie-in deal. (Publishing Partners).As Betty Rawls Lang Lang language LANG Louisiana Army National Guard Lang Langobardian (linguistics) LANG Los Angeles Newspaper Guild of Manisses Communications Group suggests, association tie-in deals can be quite profitable for newsletter publishers (see Publisher Profile, above). Here are some points and pitfalls to consider for publishers considering approaching associations in their field. The first idea that occurs to both you and the association is to provide your newsletter to all their members as a part of their membership. In practice, this almost never works out. You decide that $147 is a more-than-fair discount offer for your $257 bi-monthly, but multiplied mul·ti·ply 1 v. mul·ti·plied, mul·ti·ply·ing, mul·ti·plies v.tr. 1. To increase the amount, number, or degree of. 2. Mathematics To perform multiplication on. by their 725 members, the cost goes over $100,000. They'll choke (jargon) choke - To fail to process input or, more generally, to fail at any endeavor. E.g. "NULs make System V's "lpr(1)" choke." See barf, gag. on that (and might suggest something under $25 a piece, which won't work for you). The second, and often successful, approach is to offer discount subscriptions to your newsletters as a benefit of membership in XYZ XYZ interj. Informal Used to indicate to someone that the zipper of his or her pants is open. [ex(amine) y(our) z(ipper).] asssociation. Mailing directly to the association list the best approach For best results, you need to promote this as Lang outlined. You send their members your control package in the association envelope with a cover letter on their letterhead signed by the executive director promoting this new membership benefit. You pay for the printing and mailing. It's fine if they want to include your newsletter (and order form) in their new member welcome package and list the subscription discount in their benefits/services catalog catalog, descriptive list, on cards or in a book, of the contents of a library. Assurbanipal's library at Nineveh was cataloged on shelves of slate. The first known subject catalog was compiled by Callimachus at the Alexandrian Library in the 3d cent. B.C. , but those measures have very little impact. You want to put your offer in front of them on stand-alone basis--in the association envelope that we presume pre·sume v. pre·sumed, pre·sum·ing, pre·sumes v.tr. 1. To take for granted as being true in the absence of proof to the contrary: We presumed she was innocent. always gets attention. Do not make your "best" offer first. Be prepared to negotiate. You may be willing to offer the $147 price. The cleanest and simplest deal is making a "Save $110" offer to their list. However, the association may decide it wants some of the "savings" as a royalty. Be prepared to offer, say, $20 per new sub to the association. The truth is that the record-keeping involved is bothersome to everyone involved. In the above example, the association take would be somewhere around $1,500. But the association may realize that it's not worth the trouble since they have to declare it on their IRS An abbreviation for the Internal Revenue Service, a federal agency charged with the responsibility of administering and enforcing internal revenue laws. 990T (unrelated business income). So, "pass along all the savings to your members" is really your best approach. Convince the association that their "royalty" consists of offering their constituency another benefit to their membership. Of course, some of their members will already subscribe. What happens when they get the discount offer? You're happy to extend their subscriptions for an additional full year at the association member discount price. Don't create more paperwork. How stable is their membership? Some associations have a good deal of churn churn: see butter. with members coming and going. These are the ones likely to want you to audit your list of association discount subscribers, so that those who are no longer members don't get the discount offer on renewal. This is a headache headache Pain in the upper portion of the head. Episodic tension headaches are the most common, usually causing mild to moderate pain on both sides. They result from sustained contraction of face and neck muscles, often due to fatigue, stress, or frustration. you may not be able to avoid. The board of directors hurdle HURDLE, Eng. law. A species of sledge, used to draw traitors to execution. Boards of directors are often leary of the "implied endorsement" of offering your newsletter. They may want to know, "Why this newsletter, why not each of their major three competitors?" The executive director is probably thinking, "Because these are the people who came to us with the offer." There is, sadly, very little you can do about their board politics. However, notwithstanding all the caveats raised here, association tie-in deals can be great for newsletter publishers when you. can make them work. |
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