Not printing a newsletter—having your newsletter exclusively online—can have many advantages for you and your organization.
1. No printing costs
One nonprofit organization in which I served decided to take its monthly newsletter exclusively online. Financial concerns were at the root of the decision, and the organization saved approximately $10,000 in the first year in printing and mailing costs. The editorial quality remained consistent.
While not everyone was happy about the change, most (if not all) the members had e-mail addresses for cost-free distribution. The newsletters were placed on the organizational web site in an archive. Finally, the newsletter was designed and produced as a PDF, using the same format as the printed newsletter. Those who wanted a printed newsletter could easily print it.
2. Less production time
You must consider several things when planning for the creation, production, and distribution of a newsletter. These things include the time it takes to submit the newsletter proof to a printer, print the newsletter, and deliver the newsletter to your mailbox.
With an exclusively online newsletter, you eliminate the printing time and reduce the delivery time.
3. Greater circulation
With an online newsletter, you can easily forward a particular issue to other friends and colleagues. Those people, in turn, can subscribe and share the newsletter with their friends and colleagues.
4. Variety of layout options
An online newsletter gives you some options in terms of layout.
- A text document can be easier for readers to follow, but it lacks graphics that might help you better make your points.
- A PDF can be easier for readers to print and read—it looks like a printed newsletter—but it can be harder to read online because you must jump between columns and pages.
- An HTML page permits graphics (though often you must download the pictures to see them), and can easily be read online.
Consider your audience when you consider your layout options. How will your readers access your content? Many (perhaps most?) will want to access it through their smart phones; text might be your best option in such cases, or HTML if you need graphics.
5. More options for delivery
A printed newsletter is an example of “push” content, in which all the information is provided with that particular issue. But with an online newsletter, you have the option of providing “push” content, or “pull” content, in which you provide a link and “pull” the reader to the web page or PDF with your content.
It’s tempting, and easy enough, to put the content on web site and simply send a notification to click the link to read it. But this approach might not be the best for your readers because they’re busy and don’t want to take the time to make another click. Ask your audience what option would best serve its needs.
6. No limit on content
Printed newsletters must budget for editorial versus advertising space. Articles must be trimmed to fit the space, and decisions must be made about what content can appear versus what content must appear.
With an online newsletter, these decisions become unnecessary. You can publish everything you can. However, you must still make editorial decisions and keep the content tightly written.
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