New Subscription Arrangements
1 When a magazine is mailed to a person twice a month by subscription, he is given many opportunities to know Jehovah better. Anything we can do to give more persons this opportunity will be of interest to us. We are pleased to announce the following new subscription arrangements.
ALTERNATIVE SUBSCRIPTION OFFER
2 In addition to the usual offer, some publishers may wish to offer a six-month subscription and a 25c pocket-size book on a contribution of $1.00. Many persons may accept such a subscription and after six months may agree to a yearly subscription. Additionally, the subscriber would have a book which could be used to start a home Bible study. From his viewpoint he would immediately receive something substantial, namely, the book. Why not try this offer in the door-to-door activity during July?
REPORTING SUBSCRIPTIONS
3 Beginning July 1, both new and renewal subscriptions obtained from unbaptized persons should be reported on your monthly field service report. We believe this adjustment will help all to appreciate that renewal subscriptions are just as important as new ones. Of course, subscriptions for baptized persons would not be reported.
SUBSCRIPTION RATE CHANGE
4 Effective July 1, the following simplified subscription pricing will be used the year around for both new and renewal subscriptions:
Semimonthly
Magazines Pioneer Publisher Public
1 Year $.75 $1.40 $1.50
6 Months .40 .70 .75
Monthly
Magazines
1 Year .40 .70 .75
(No 6-month subscriptions on monthly magazines.)
5 This means that the money remitted for a subscription will be the same regardless of whether it is new or renewal, or whether it is obtained during the subscription campaign or not. If individuals send renewals or new subscriptions personally to the branch office, the price would be the public rate because the office has no way of knowing every publisher. Pioneers will be able to submit their personal subscriptions at the pioneer rate. All, including pioneers, are encouraged to send their subscriptions through the congregation.
EXPIRING SUBSCRIPTIONS
6 When a subscription nears expiration, the Society places a renewal notice in one of the subscriber’s magazines. At this same time we will also be preparing expiring subscription return visit slips (forms M-91 and M-191) for all expiring subscriptions.
7 When these slips are received in the congregation, they should be compared with the duplicate subscription slips in the file. These duplicate slips can be attached to the return visit slips and given to the Bible study overseer. Then each return visit slip, with the subscription slip attached, can be handed to the publisher who turned in the subscription originally. If it is for his personal subscription, then he can handle his renewal. If it is for a person he has met in the field, he can make the return visit, as he already knows something about the individual. This will be especially important for rural areas where the address is only a route number and the subscriber would be difficult to locate. The one who got the subscription originally would probably remember the house where the person lives.
8 This will make it possible for subscribers to be called on near the time their subscription is expiring. In the past, if the subscriber did not renew his subscription, an expired subscription return visit slip was sent to the congregation about three months after the subscription had expired.
9 When you receive one of these slips, you should endeavor to call on the subscriber promptly, since it is desirable for the subscriber to receive his magazines without interruption. If the subscriber has not already renewed his subscription, we may offer to submit his renewal for him. When such a renewal is obtained, we can give the expiring subscription return visit slip and a copy of the subscription form we make out, along with the remittance, to the person handling subscriptions in the congregation. In this case, the publisher should advise the subscriber to disregard the renewal notice he received in the magazine.
10 If the subscriber has already renewed his subscription, we may still use the opportunity to further his interest and perhaps offer a Bible study. In such a case the duplicate subscription slip should be filed in the congregation files for next year’s reference.
11 These new arrangements will help more persons receive the magazines regularly through the mail and thus have uninterrupted delivery of precious information in The Watchtower and Awake!