What is Subscription Marketing?

More and more companies are moving from one-off sales to selling monthly or yearly access. This, in effect, converts a one-time sale of a product into a recurring sale of a service.

Originally popularised by magazines, book clubs and record clubs, the subscription business model is now increasingly being used in other business sectors: telephone companies, newspapers, cable television providers, cell phone companies, internet providers, pay-TV channels, software providers, business solutions providers, and financial services firms. There are even passes for public transport, swimming pools, zoos, etc., with or without automatic periodic renewal.

Businesses benefit because they are assured a constant revenue stream. This greatly reduces uncertainty and the riskiness of the enterprise. Also, in many cases (such as integrated software solutions), the subscription pricing structure is designed so that the revenue stream from the recurring subscriptions is considerably greater than the revenue from simple one-time purchases.

In some subscription schemes (like magazines), it also increases sales by not giving subscribers the option to accept or reject any specific issue. This reduces customer acquisition costs, and allows personalised marketing or database marketing.

As long-standing subscription marketers and copywriters who 'cut our teeth' in the publishing business, we know the subscriber mindset inside out - from both the vendor and the customer perspective. So we can help you fine-tune your subscription marketing operation, and get it running right - first time.