I’ve been planning on writing a rant on Wired magazine (and magazines in general) for as long as I’ve had this blog but I always put it off until now. Tonight as I looked at my subscribed February issue I began muttering to my wife (again) about how pissed off I get when I read Wired. I get hacked off because their subscription cards make it difficult to flip through the pages of the magazine, or worse, falling out on the floor when I carry the magazine somewhere. The wife finds my seeething passion for such things slightly manic and I can’t really argue with her but…I still loathe those sub cards with all my heart.
Apparently there are other manic people out there as Wired had this to say about subscription cards in their “Why things Suck” article:
“You know all those subscription cards cluttering up this issue of Wired? Well, um … sorry. We understand you detest the deforesting paper rectangles” “bind-in” or “blow-in” cards, to use industry parlance. Honestly, we do, too. But they’re part of our business model. It’s not just about money, really it’s about your eyeballs. See, advertisers pay based on audience size. And blow-in cards are a cheap way to snag subscribers and boost numbers: It costs a glossy monthly about $10 to acquire a new reader through one of those cards. But using direct mail? $25 or more.”
Okay, I get it. I realized that there was a dollar issue behind those damn things but let me give you some advice that might make me slightly less likely to hit a wall or kick the cat everytime I read your mag.
- Cut the number of subscription cards per magazine down from five to two. Take a look at the picture below and tell me that’s not a bit more than is really necessary. And you even annoy me two different ways by having them fall out of the magazine because they aren’t secured and by making me have to rip out others because they are fixed into the binding. C’mon, give me at least a few less sub cards and I’ll promise to get you one new subscriber this year.
- If I’m buying the magazine at the newstand I understand having a couple of sub cards but as a subscriber you should know I don’t need 60 cards each year to subscribe again, I’m already sold. So I suggest that you make two versions of the magazine. One version would be for newstands and would obviously still contain subscription cards. After all, if those readers don’t love you enough to commit to a long term relationship they should be tortured. (Just don’t don’t spit on me because others don’t love you enough.) The second version would be for your loyal subscribers which wouldn’t contain subscription cards inside the pages of the magazine . After all, Wired gets delivered in a plastic wrap which you could still slip a card into (inside the plastic – not the magazine) in case it’s time for me to re-subscribe.
I know the chance of you taking my advice is unlikely (okay non-existent) but at least I feel better for having told you how I feel. Now if you will excuse me I have to apologize to the cat.
