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Should the Print Newsletter Die - And Let Ezines Takeover?

Written by: David Gruttadaurio

Article Overview: Print newsletters should have died a long time ago... here are 5 reasons why a printed company newsletter is still around...

Should the Print Newsletter Die - And Let Ezines Takeover?

"Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated." Mark Twain said that back in 1897.

Print newsletters have been saying it for the past ten years.

Why? Because many business owners feel...

1. With the internet, all they have to do is post content online; everyone will flock to their site to read it. Plus it's FREE!

2. Email is king! Just send an ezine. It's FREE!

3. Postage keeps going up along with printing costs... but email is FREE!

There's no question about it. Print newsletters should have died a long time ago.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the funeral. The print newsletter suddenly became Lazarus and a resurrection took place.

5 Reasons Why Print Newsletters Are Still Around

1. Printed mail gets delivered - It's never blocked or caught in spam filters.

2. It is proven that the majority of people prefer to hold, touch and feel what they are reading.

3. Studies show online readers retain much less of what they read compared to those reading printed material. So, if you have an offer with a call to action, wouldn't it be nice if it was remembered for more than 30 seconds?

4. A Print company newsletter has more perceived value. Think about it. How many companies are willing to do this? Your customers realize you're spending money to do it.

5. Print newsletters are sticky. They have great 'hang-time'. People keep print newsletters for further or future reading. Not only are they likely to be read from start to finish, they usually get passed around.

Email Newsletter Marketing Has Major Downsides

(By the way - for the record - I love the internet and I love my email. I can't imagine life without it or remember life before it)

With that being said, email is NOT the 'be all and end all' of modern marketing.

Yes...email is fast, easy and cheap. But who cares about that if it's not effective?

Here's the ugly truth: The vast majority of email lies unopened and untouched in the dark nothingness of cyberspace. Emails are routinely wiped out by the dozen in one fell swoop with the simple push of the delete key.

Even if your name is recognized, you still risk being deleted. Maybe your email got caught in a large chunk of junk mail. Or... maybe they're just having a bad day.

See, today everyone is bombarded by email overload. Spam accounts for about 90% of it. That means 9 out of every 10 emails in your in box is junk. Do you REALLY think your ezine is being read?

And, even if your company newsletter gets read, how much attention do you think it gets? A Nielsen Norman Group Report revealed the typical email newsletter gets 51 seconds of your reader's time. That was four years ago. Today, many say its less than 30 seconds.

So, Which One Should You Do: A Print Newsletter or an Ezine?

Now, I'm not suggesting that you stop your email marketing and newsletter.

You may want to do both. Send an email newsletter on a weekly basis. But, send a printed company newsletter, too.

There is a gold standard to determine which one is best for you.

Simply ask your clients. Survey them to see which one THEY prefer. After all... isn't it all about what our customer wants?

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Article Tags: company newsletter, email newsletter marketing, ezine, newsletter marketing, print newsletter



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Offer on your Biz cards - idea! - If you've already printed a lot of business cards and feel that you would like to add an offer or notice that there is free information/guide/research paper available on your site etc.. you can still do so on the white background on the back of your card. Print up some labels with the offer and neatly stick it on the back of your card. Yeah, it may seem a little sloppy but this way you can test your different offers on the back of your cards. Most people won't mind and will actually be curious as most people are with an intriguing offer or may actually pass your card on to someone they may think might be interested in your free information. Just an idea that came to me when I was talking to my Business Tax preparer on the idea and saw a bunch on labels beside her.
Re: Is Twitter really worth $1 Billion? - Hi, I read a great article (either in fast company or Inc) that goes along with GT's thinking. Twitter.com value is as good as the perceived value of those companies that would want to own it; or have a piece of it. The article explained that if it implemented a business model that monetized the site (or was an attempt to monetize the site) and failed the value would decrease tremendously. Because now, they would not be valued as "what if" they woudl be valued at the net income they earned or did not earn. Anyway, I was never a Twitter.com promoter. But to me it is becoming like a Newsletter 2.0. No one looks at their emails anymore when companies send out newsletters; but they may look at their Twitter.com account. Plus, Twitter.com is only good for marketers when you influence others to post something about your company. If you get Evan to say something about your company then your money in the bank. Jeff
Business Card = Money $Machine$! - Chris, I'm not sure the line of business you are in but something to consider. I got this idea from Dan Kennedy's Gold Inner Circle Newsletter. He stated in addition to just stating what you have to offer you also need to position your business cards to get people to actually contact your place of business so that you can capture their details and keep in contact with them. By keeping in contact you build trust and credibility and usually after 7-8 contacts they can potentially become a paying customer. How do you do that? Dan suggests offering intriguing, valuable information that helps a customer save money, relief from a particular stress or fear etc. but it has to be free so that they are encouraged to make contact with you. This works for B2B and B2C. B2B have been providing numerous whitepapers for a while now addressing different ways they have helped other companies with similar problems and end with how their product/service helped remedy the situation. Has anyone toyed with including "An Irresistible Offer" on their Business Cards? e.g. Free one hour consultation on your website to identify ways to increase your Lead generation by 40%"


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