: Is there research on who actually uses those cards to subscribe? Is it people who pick up the magazine in a Dentist's office? Is it the very people who purchsed the magazine itself? That is very important info when it comes to such a narrow niche-market magazine as JUGGLE. Steve, One other thing to consider is that most magazines seldom have one reader. Most of the readership figures I've seen usually show that magazines get passed around. When I sold newspaper ads we had data showing 3 readers for every issue sold. In the case of Juggler's World I once saw a figure of 10 readers per issue but I don't know if there was data to support the claim. So the magazine in... let's say a chiropractor's office, will probably get more traffic than the issue passed around the local juggling club, but both present the opportunity to make a sale. Remember that this strategy is similar to targeted direct mail. Instead of buying a qualified mailing list, you know that you have a potential customer because they are opening the pages of your magazine in the first place. In other words, who would bother opening the pages of Juggle except someone who already has an interest in juggling? Then here's this handy little card that only need be filled out and dropped in the mail. A few weeks later I magically get a magazine delivered to my house... and a bill. Another benefit of having a card handy is that any current subscriber could send a card or stack of cards to the IJA instead of dealing with the mall for the annual holiday shopping rush. That same subscriber would also have the card handy when it was time to renew her/his own subscription. I suppose cost would be a consideration. Though pennies can add up, the real cost per card with perforation and black ink is probably less than a nickle per card and a little more for prepaid postage. A year's cards could be printed in a single press run and inserted as needed for each issue, further lowering the cost per card. I know this answer may be a little over reaching, but the question begged a thorough response, especially when answering a guy with a whip. :-) Jonathan Lyons
Truth be told, I've never seen the conversion rate for either "blow in" or "bound in" subscription cards. I only know that even in this digital age, when anyone could log on and subscribe, they still persist. As I pick up both mailed and newstand magazines, the flurry of BRCs (business reply cards) suggest that they multiply in the dark spaces between pages. (I'm also certified in the design of automated mail.) So it seems that the economies of scale seem to pay off for other publications.