In Praise of the Printed Newsletter

I’ve written elsewhere about exclusively online newsletters, describing their advantages and about how they are the future.

Yet there are times when the printed newsletter is the right choice. Consider these three scenarios.

1. The demographics and expectations of your audience.

“Change can be hard” is not just a cliché, but it’s also a truth. Making the move from a printed to an exclusively online newsletter can be hard, especially if the transition is not planned and managed well.

One organization with whom I worked had to make an immediate switch to an online newsletter for financial reasons. The printed newsletter cost approximately $10,000/year to print and distribute, and the readership wasn’t given much time to prepare for the change. The audience, in this first case, was comprised of professionals who sit at their desks all day, researching and preparing written materials. The change was unpleasant for some—and they let their dissatisfaction be known—but the change was made and the organization continues with an online newsletter today.

Another organization with whom I worked also made the switch to an online newsletter for financial reasons. In this second case, however, the readership comprised a wider demographic than in the first case. Readers were many different ages, and not all of them had their own PCs or Macs. In addition, not all readers that had PCs or Macs felt comfortable with online newsletters, which were delivered as PDFs.

The readership made its wishes known, and this organization returned to a printed newsletter.

2. The needs of your sales and promotional literature portfolio.

Newsletters are an important way for you to keep in touch with both your clients and prospective clients. They serve as an important supplement to your sales and promotional literature because they provide a different perspective on what’s happening at your company.

For example, as your clients enjoy success using your product or service, a newsletter would be ideal for communicating this information. Newsletters can also position your company as an industry thought leader through the publication of useful trade articles.

3. The needs of your service and technical documentation portfolio.

As just described, newsletters can serve the needs of your sales and promotional literature portfolio. Newsletters can also serve as useful service and technical documents which will help your clients be more successful using your product or service.

For example, if your service department is receiving questions about using a particular part, a newsletter article can help answer those questions. If there is an important product update, or a change and a particular operational procedure, a newsletter would be ideal for communicating these things.

Printed newsletters still serve a useful purpose, even while the trend is to put them exclusively online.