NEW ENGLAND
MONTHLY
It's with real pleasure to report that New England Monthly has a raging success with a splendidly opulent mailing by freelancer Josh Manheimer.
It arrives in this oversized #11 2-color (red and green) envelope with teaser copy on the front and back. The four-page 1-color (black) letter is a masterpiece of:
Exclusivity: "No one outside of New England will receive this special offer"...
Highly personal copy: "Forget it, Bob,' my friends said to me a few years ago. "The whole idea is crazy." They were talking abut the idea I hatched with editor Dan Okrent to publish a new magazine for New Englanders... a magazine that today has over 75,000 readers"...
Mystery: "Behind our region's quilts-and-maple-syrup image lies a New England that has changed dramatically in the last 10 years -- just aching to be discovered ..."
Irresistible Teases: "DID YOU KNOW:" About a cult in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom that punishes its children -- for using their imagination.? Why the big Boston law firms may be headed toward extinction? About the informal admissions cartel among New England's most prestigious colleges?"
Bold Promises: "What's more, every issue of New England Monthly is packed with the kind of writing, photography, and illustrations that will make you stop, look, and shout across the room, "Hey! You've got to see this!"
The brochure is huge (17 1/2 x 21 1/2) with magnificent photographs beautifully reproduced; by the time you get to the center spread you are right in the middle of the beauty and bounty of New England.
The offer: 12 issues for $12.95 (40% off); no comp copy, no incentive for cash. Bill me or payment enclosed.
The story of the mailing is equally interesting as the mailing itself.
New England Monthly's circulation director Sam Shulman said he heard the magazine's food editor giggling at the next desk and went over to find her pouring over a press release about ice cream toppings from a gourmet food manufacturer "in the North Country"; attached to it was an old fashioned wooden ice cream spoon.
The writing was informative, witty and wonderfully readable. He called the writer Josh Manheimer and asked him if he'd ever done subscriptions. The answer was no. Shulman said, "Great!" and hired him to do a package. The first draft was right on the money.
Kudos also go to the designer/partner David Wise.
Paul Goldberg estimated that this package could cost $375/M in quantity, but Shulman said it cost much less in roll-out quantities -- what with the economies of third class presort.
Denison Hatch
Who’s Mailing What!
