Discount Magazine Subscription Business

Which customers are constantly buying magazines? Think about the places that you go and find magazines sitting around. These are the customers that you want to win for yourself. You have to offer a better price, and a better service. You have to make the subscription process easy, and make business sense to the business owner. When you give the customer what they want, you will get what you want. Give the customer an easier, cheaper way to buy magazines, and they will be loyal, profitable customers for you.

Customers to Serve

• Doctor Office


• Dentist Office


• Eye Doctor


• Physical Therapist


• Hair Salon


• Auto Repair Shop

and when your business takes off...

• Libraries


• DMV


• Police Stations

While this is mainly going to be a mail order type business, it is imperative that you establish a presence on the internet. At the very least, prepare a simple website with a home page describing your business and how to contact you. This will give you some credibility if someone wishes to check on the validity of your business. There are several sites that offer web hosting services. The three below will offer different levels of service and credibility.

Google Sites

Cost: FREE
Google offers templates and an easy interface to get your website up and running with little effort. Easy plug-ins and widgets will add to the value of your site. The down side is that you will not have a unique www.DOT COM domain.

Microsoft Small Business Office Live

Cost: FREE or $14.95/year
Microsoft offers templates and an easy interface to get your website up and running with little effort. You can have as many sites as you want to get your small business up and running. Just like google, the free site does not come with a unique domain name. However, for $14.95 per year, you can get a unique domain name and business e-mail. The only down side is that you have to use Internet Explorer for the optimum interface.

Professional Web Hosting

Cost: $3.95/month
This premium web service offers unique domain names, e-mail, and more importantly, customer service. While the cost is more significant than the other free sites, you gain the ability to rely on customer service for support. This site also offers easy to use templates, unique domain names, and many other web features that will allow you to grow your website as your business expands.

Now that you have established your customer base, and set up a simple website, it's time to determine where to buy magazines. The idea here is to make the most amount of profit per sale. I would suggest bundling certain magazines to give the customer quality and quantity. Also, help your customer understand the variety of people visiting their establishment. For instance, an auto repair shop might want to include a Home & Garden and Children's magazine for women and families waiting for their vehicles.

You also want to maximize profit by buying the magazines wholesale. Several websites offer magazines at anywhere from 50% to 90% off of the cover price. Think about your customer and price accordingly. Can your customer tolerate a 70% discount, or is your service worth the full cover price. You may need to evaluate this after being in business for a while.

Here are magazine websites offering discounted subscriptions to maximize your profit:

With a "Find it Fast!" category link, you can sort and find the magazines you want quickly. They offer excellent customer service and guarantee your satisfaction.

Another great site offering free shipping and 100% Customer Satisfaction. Find the magazines that your customers want at deeply discounted rates.

The idea is to always keep the customer informed of the value they are receiving. There are several different ways to set up your customers for payment.

Full Payment Up Front

Simply charge your customers for their 1 Year subscription for all magazines up front. This will ensure that you get all of your money up front, but this may limit the number of magazines a single customer subscribes to.

The table below is an example:

Magazines

Your Price

Customer Price

Profit

Martha Stewart

$25.00

$35.00

$10.00

ESPN

$15.00

$25.00

$10.00

Men's Health

$25.00

$35.00

$10.00

Elle

$15.00

$20.00

$5.00

Totals

$80.00

$115.00

$35.00

3 Installment Payments
Spread out the payment for the subscriptions over a 3 month period. You should charge a little bit more for this. This allows the customer to pay over time, rather than being hit with one big bill. You pay a little more up front, but you increase your profits.

Magazines

Your Price

Customer Payment

Profit

Martha Stewart

$25.00

3 x $15

$20.00

ESPN

$15.00

3 x $10

$15.00

Men's Health

$25.00

3 x $15

$20.00

Elle

$15.00

3 x $10

$15.00

Totals

$80.00

3 x $50

$70.00

Monthly Payments
Spread the payments over the entire year. This will also come at a premium cost, but allows several benefits to both parties. Smaller payments for the customer. You are in constant contact with your customer and remain in there thoughts as the subscriptions come time for renewal. You have to put money up front, but this will provide you with a steady monthly paycheck throughout the year.

Magazines

Your Price

Customer Payment

Profit

Martha Stewart

$25.00

12 x $5

$35.00

ESPN

$15.00

12 x $5

$45.00

Men's Health

$25.00

12 x $4

$23.00

Elle

$15.00

12 x $3

$21.00

Totals

$80.00

12 x $15

$124.00

The key to sustained success is to maintain your customer database. Keep a working record of the businesses you have contacted, who has ordered subscriptions, and when they are due for renewal. Schedule reminders to check in to make sure they are satisfied with your service. The only way to keep up the business is to keep in contact with your customers.

If you don't have Excel or fancy software, do not be discouraged. Google has all of the software you need for free online. Google Docs has spreadsheets, word processing, and free e-mail to help you maintain your business without any overhead.

Keep up the good work and you may slowly grow into the next Publishers Clearinghouse.

Good Luck With Your New Business Venture!!