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Forever is a Long Time

By Lawrence S. Earley
Editor, Wildlife in North Carolina

Battles are usually won or lost in the trenches, the recent air war in Serbia notwithstanding. In magazine wars, the battle is often won or lost over renewals whether or not you're going to get the reader back for at least another year, if not longer.
But what if you could secure your readers for their lifetimes, and then never have to worry about them again?
That's what Wildlife in North Carolina has been doing for nearly 20 years. Like most magazines, we offer one-year and three-year subscription rates ($7.50 and $20 respectively). Unlike most, however, we also offer a lifetime subscription for $100, and, not surprisingly, increasing numbers of subscribers are finding this an attractive alternative.
It's not hard to understand why. For subscribers who like our blend of hunting and fishing, natural history, conservation education and reportage on environmental issues, it means that for a modest sum they will never have to renew their subscription again. And of course, it saves them money . . . in the long run.
That's the catch. For the lifetime subscription to pay off, subscribers have to bet that they will survive for only about 13 years after signing up. After that the subscription is free. (They're also betting that they'll still like our product for the rest of their lives!) For a young person, such odds are relatively easy to beat and many of our lifetimers are signed up as children through gifts from their parents or grandparents. For people in their 50s, a lifetime subscription is more of a gamble, but one that a lot of subscribers are apparently willing to make.
For the Wildlife Commission, a lifetime subscription rate is also a good thing. It means that we will never have to sign up these subscribers with an expensive package of renewal appeals. They are ours for life.
Sounds good, and so far it has been good. Since 1981, when the lifetime rate was initiated, more than 7,600 of Wildlife in North Carolina's approximately 68,000 subscribers have bought lifetime subscriptions, and the number has been increasing in recent years. In Fiscal Year 1994-1995, we gained 495 lifetime subscribers. Last year, the number had jumped to 766.
Of course without a plan to invest this income, a growing number of lifetime subscribers would mean a potentially lethal hemorrhage of annual revenues. Lifetimers make up about 11 percent of our subscription base in 1999, and we can count on that number growing larger in the future. Looked at another way, as time goes on more and more of our subscribers will be paying nothing for their subscriptions.
Investment is the answer. That $100 has to cover the cost of a subscription for a very long time, in many cases. Since 1981, lifetime magazine revenues have been placed in the Wildlife Commission's Wildlife Endowment Fund, along with revenues from the sale of lifetime hunting and fishing licenses. The monies in this fund are invested in very secure long-term treasury bonds and corporate securities, and the principal of this fund is never touched. Only the accumulated interest is spent.
Eighteen years after it was established by the North Carolina General Assembly, the Wildlife Endowment Fund has brought in $56 million, including interest of more than $28 million. At current rates of growth it is projected to top an astounding $753 million in another 50 years. Interest payments of more than $17 million have already gone to the Wildlife Commission's programs, including Wildlife in North Carolina.
Sales of lifetime subscriptions have generated more than $766,173 in principal and $631,000 in interest for a total of nearly $1.4 million. With the fund growing at a conservative rate of 7.6 percent a year, the $100 more than covers the cost of our current one-year subscription. As production costs rise, however, subscription ratesboth lifetime, one-year and three-yearmay have to rise to keep pace.
The problems connected with lifetime subscriptions have been surprisingly few. As lifetime subscribers die, their families have generally given us notice to stop the magazine. In one case, after reporting her husband's death a woman even inquired into purchasing her own lifetime subscription!
Lifetime subscriptions are not the answer to flagging circulation, bad editing, busy layouts and all the thousand-and-one ills of magazines. But as part of a larger strategy to address the long-term financial health of an organization like the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, they have given Wildlife in North Carolina an added measure of security well into the future.

Winter 1999


Forever is a Long Time
By Lawrence S. Earley Editor, Wildlife in North Carolina
Battles are usually won or lost in the trenches, the recent air war in Serbia notwithstanding. In magazine wars, the battle is often won or lost over renewals whether or not you're going to get the reader back for at least another year, if not longer. But what if you could secure your readers for their lifetimes, and then never have to worry about them again? That's what Wildlife in North Carolina has been doing for nearly 20 years. Like most magazines, we offer one-year and three-year subscription rates ($7.50 and $20 respectively). Unlike most, however, we also offer a lifetime subscription for $100, and, not surprisingly, increasing numbers of subscribers are finding this an attractive alternative. It's not hard to understand why. For subscribers who like our blend of hunting and fishing, natural history, conservation education and reportage on environmental issues, it means that for a modest sum they will never have to renew their subscription again. And of course, it saves them money . . . in the long run. That's the catch. For the lifetime subscription to pay off, subscribers have to bet that they will survive for only about 13 years after signing up. After that the subscription is free. (They're also betting that they'll still like our product for the rest of their lives!) For a young person, such odds are relatively easy to beat and many of our lifetimers are signed up as children through gifts from their parents or grandparents. For people in their 50s, a lifetime subscription is more of a gamble, but one that a lot of subscribers are apparently willing to make. For the Wildlife Commission, a lifetime subscription rate is also a good thing. It means that we will never have to sign up these subscribers with an expensive package of renewal appeals. They are ours for life. Sounds good, and so far it has been good. Since 1981, when the lifetime rate was initiated, more than 7,600 of Wildlife in North Carolina's approximately 68,000 subscribers have bought lifetime subscriptions, and the number has been increasing in recent years. In Fiscal Year 1994-1995, we gained 495 lifetime subscribers. Last year, the number had jumped to 766. Of course without a plan to invest this income, a growing number of lifetime subscribers would mean a potentially lethal hemorrhage of annual revenues. Lifetimers make up about 11 percent of our subscription base in 1999, and we can count on that number growing larger in the future. Looked at another way, as time goes on more and more of our subscribers will be paying nothing for their subscriptions. Investment is the answer. That $100 has to cover the cost of a subscription for a very long time, in many cases. Since 1981, lifetime magazine revenues have been placed in the Wildlife Commission's Wildlife Endowment Fund, along with revenues from the sale of lifetime hunting and fishing licenses. The monies in this fund are invested in very secure long-term treasury bonds and corporate securities, and the principal of this fund is never touched. Only the accumulated interest is spent. Eighteen years after it was established by the North Carolina General Assembly, the Wildlife Endowment Fund has brought in $56 million, including interest of more than $28 million. At current rates of growth it is projected to top an astounding $753 million in another 50 years. Interest payments of more than $17 million have already gone to the Wildlife Commission's programs, including Wildlife in North Carolina. Sales of lifetime subscriptions have generated more than $766,173 in principal and $631,000 in interest for a total of nearly $1.4 million. With the fund growing at a conservative rate of 7.6 percent a year, the $100 more than covers the cost of our current one-year subscription. As production costs rise, however, subscription ratesboth lifetime, one-year and three-yearmay have to rise to keep pace. The problems connected with lifetime subscriptions have been surprisingly few. As lifetime subscribers die, their families have generally given us notice to stop the magazine. In one case, after reporting her husband's death a woman even inquired into purchasing her own lifetime subscription! Lifetime subscriptions are not the answer to flagging circulation, bad editing, busy layouts and all the thousand-and-one ills of magazines. But as part of a larger strategy to address the long-term financial health of an organization like the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, they have given Wildlife in North Carolina an added measure of security well into the future.
Winter 1999