Dear Foreign Affairs,
Perhaps you are a company that believes you are all about quality content. Problem is, quality content is no good if it's impossible to access.
Last night, I wanted to read an article on the Arab Spring. Your web site said that I needed to pay to read it. I couldn't decide if I should buy the individual article or take the plunge and subscribe. I slept on it. When I awoke, I decided that your content was worth it. I should start 2012 globally informed.
From the article, I clicked the subscribe link. I had 3 options: digital, paper, or both. Little did I realize that both included premium content, and my dear article was premium. Frankly, I didn't know to know this. I am absolutely new to your service. And even though I was coming from a premium article and clicked a link to subscribe in order to read it, you didn't bother to let me know, either. I didn't bother to study all the options and second guess myself. And you didn't bother to notice my intention and put me on a path to success.
Now I just gave you $29.95 and feel incredibly bummed out.
There is apparently no way to upgrade my account, and filling out the customer service form only promises that you will respond within 2 business days. Two business days? Do you have so many customer issues that you can't respond in a more timely manner? Or do you have no staff actually dedicated to customer service? I am not hopeful that I will be reading this article anytime soon.
You are Foreign Affairs. I feel like I shouldn't have to tell you that investing in a usable online experience is worth it, especially as more and more reading experiences become digital. You don't need to innovate; you only need to make the interactions seamless so that people can focus on your content and not the (failed) experience. Thoughtful design can go a long way.
-joanie
P.S. You gotta get rid of those spammy comments, too. You know, the ones where people are posting URLs to vacation condos and such. It only degrades the experience and shows how little you care about the online experience.
