How You Should Be Using Gift Promos

Offering a gift subscription is not the same as creating a house offer, although many people do fall foul of this. When creating a house offer, be it an off-the-page advertisement, blow-in or bind-in card, you are trying to sell the magazine to the person reading your promotion. When creating a gift offer, you are selling the idea of giving someone a gift—the offers are not the same.

Copy for a gift promotion should be about the product and why your gift will give pleasure to the recipient. Avoid words like “you” and use “they” instead. A little flattery never hurts either, so copy such as “...they’ll thank you for your generous gift all year long” may be in order. And gift acknowledgement cards sent to recipients are much prized by gift givers, so be sure you mention that you send them to recipients in the donor’s name. It you have price savings for multiple gifts, be sure to mention that in your gift ad, as well as how to enter multiple orders by phone.

Keep It Simple

The gift offer should not be over-designed. The important things on a blow-in card are the “from” and “to” address boxes, an offer that is clear, and concise and an uncluttered form. In most cases you don’t need a cover at all, which is just as well because there is not much room on a card measuring 4.25 x 6 inches.

Because of the information you have to include on the form, avoid using too much reversed-out copy. Stock for blow-in and bind-in cards can soak up ink like crazy and with fonts tending to be smaller size, you can end with a fuzzy mess on your hands. 

Bind-in cards can be stacked so that you can have at least two cards and even three gift cards if you wish. Design the bind-in so the bottom of your card gets trimmed off. That means there is one less perforation you have to worry about. Your run-of-the-page advertisement, blow-in and bind-in cards do not all have to have the same design, they can all be different.