The internet has made it possible to subscribe to a company or organization’s newsletter by simply providing a valid email address. Consequently, many people find their inboxes filled with digital newsletters they seldom open or read. Why? Digital media is perceived as being ephemeral and evanescent; a mere collection of electrons without permanence or importance — here today, gone tomorrow. If you want your newsletter to be read, consider having it printed.
Print is Tangible and Real
One great advantage of a printed document is it can be held in your hand — it’s real. Paper creates tactile sensations in your fingertips and, in some instances, the ink and paper combination yields a pleasant olfactory experience as well. A printed document can be read at leisure in different places and environments — there’s no need to be confined to a computer monitor or smartphone screen. Plus, a printed document can be easily read or referred to again and again over a period of time.
Less Is More
Because the costs of distributing an email newsletter are minimal, many companies and organizations produce newsletters every day of the year. Such constant availability and accessibility leads to the phenomenon where people begin to devalue the newsletter; it can be readily deleted without too much compunction because another newsletter will arrive the next day, and the next day after that, and so on. Because most companies cannot afford to produce a printed newsletter on a daily basis, publication by necessity becomes limited: two times a month, once a month, once quarterly, etc. However, limiting the number of times a printed newsletter is published makes each edition more valuable — readers begin to anticipate and wait for the next issue.
Better Content
As writers/creators tasked with creating new content on a daily basis know all too well, it’s difficult to come up with relevant, interesting topics every day of the year. Daily email newsletters often contain stories that are redundant or simply repeated from an earlier edition. Because a printed newsletter will have a greater period of time between publication dates, content can be made more interesting and will generate greater interest from the reader.
Stand Out from the Crowd
In an age where email newsletters are ubiquitous and number in the thousands, why not return to print and have your newsletter make a statement about your willingness to buck the trend?
If you have any questions about Printed Newsletters, give us a call at 330-597-8560. We’re happy to help you get the most out of your printing project.
Photo by Mattias Diesel
