Controlled Circulation Professionals

controlled circulation professionals who will take their publications into the next century must ask themselves the following four questions:

* Do I completely understand my publication's industry--the marketers and the readers? Do I understand it in the same way editorial and ad sales understand it? If not-if there are inconsistencies in the triad--you cannot effectively provide the data needed by others.

* What do I know about the readers? Does my knowledge go beyond primary business and job titles? Some industries in controlled circulation are very basic in the qualification of their readers; some are very sophisticated.

* If I offer reader-service (bingo) cards, what do I know about the readers' purchasing behaviors? Do I collect demographics on reader-service responses? Do I know who the key decision-makers and purchasers are in the industry being covered? Information gleaned from reader-service is invaluable in enhancing your database. So if your circulation database and reader-service database are not currently on the same computer system, it would be to your and your magzine's benefit to link the two areas.

* Will my current circulation system, whether in-house or out, allow me to build a database from circulation information, reader-service information and other data enhancements to develop a master datafile? Or will I need an additional system?

Once you've answered these questions, you must next look at how you can position yourself within your publishing company as a circulation marketing professional. This means providing the publisher with the plans for your new "value-added" circulation position. Present it as you would any new idea, creating a detailed proposal, complete with objectives, cost analysis and justifications, anticipated obstacles, your plan of attack and, of course, the expected value of return.