Not a club member here... I didn't renew my membership as I only got 2 out of the 4 issues of the magazine the year I joined. Was kinda ticked off that the issue wasn't resolved. (Not for lack of effort or uncaring, just the gremlins were at play.) One of the main reasons for joining was to get the magazine. Yes, lots of other benefits too...
An online copy of it would be great.
Have it password protected. Yes, the password will get out somehow, but that's life.
Have a teaser of part of the articles for free, or one of the articles for free, link to joining the club to see the rest.
Discount for membership for those who choose an electronic copy over a printed one. Maybe 1/2 of the savings of printing and mailing?
The other half of the savings of not printing and mailing I'm guessing would have to go to somehow maintaining a server and bandwidth to accommodate downloads or online reading.
Probably these are old ideas that have already been given thought... But do you see any major magazine gaining print circulation?
Is you favorite newspaper putting out an online edition? Most of them have been dragged kicking and screaming into doing so. It will ruin the business they thought, but their print circulation in many cases is circulating the drain. If they want to stay in business, they have to go with the new electronic business model. I think that the same may hold true for the club.
Steve Gobel
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