Marketing with Paper or Electronic Newsletters

Newsletters are a good marketing tool for your business. But should you go with an electronic newsletter? Or should you stick with paper? The answer depends on your audience.

I just got a paper newsletter in the mail from our vet. And occasionally I get an electronic one from the eye doctor. While I may only skim both of them, I’m more likely to read the vet’s letter. Why?

While the eye doctor is a little more eco-friendly with her letter, she’s competing with a lot of other e-newsletters. I get so much email that I am now more likely to read a paper newsletter. And yet that’s a total reversal from just a short time ago.

The electronic newsletters I read tend to be work-focused. I work online, so it’s easier most of the time to skim through relevant information on a web site or in email. But for personal services, I need to be able to step away from the computer. I spend way too much time online as it is. So I’m looking for ways to decrease my online time and step away from the computer.

So while I buy a few e-books, I still like printed books. While I do read a few magazine or newspaper articles, I still subscribe to a couple offline. And while there are many great e-newsletters, I like the relevant ones that come in the mail. If I’m trying to reduce my email load, then others probably are, too. There’s only so much information that we can process.

Which type of newsletter you use will depend on your business type and your target customer. You can survey your clients to find out which version works for them. Or maybe even offer both until you figure out which one gives you a better return. And if you offer coupons or special promotions in the newsletters, use different source codes so you can see where the majority of your referrals are coming from.

You’ll need to take some time and evaluate which version is the best for your company. It’s not a one size fits all marketing tool, no matter what people may tell you.

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