Printed newsletters vs electronic alternatives:You may already use a printed newsletter on a regular basis and be wondering if you should be saving the printing and postage costs by switching to an electronic alternative. I’d like to tell you about your options and their pros and cons so you can determine for yourself what makes the most sense in your situation. I’ll also make a case for how these components all need to work together. At the bottom are some useful online links. Method | Advantages | Disadvantages | Printed | - Arrives at the home
- No hardware needed to read
- Can be read away from the computer (in bed or bath)
- Can be filed and shared with others
| - Expensive to print & mail
- Can’t be updated as quickly or often
- Depending on budget may not include color photos
- Not searchable
| Website | - Can update frequently for little or no additional expense
- Can include unlimited color images
- Length is not an issue
- Can cross reference within site and to other sites
| - Not everyone uses the web
- Connection speed influences amount of time spent online
- The user must make the effort to go there, it doesn’t come to them
- It can’t be read away from the computer
| E-mailed | - Can send frequently for little or no cost
- Can include links to more info on your own website or on other websites
- Can also be sent in html format so that it displays as web page inside mail reader
| - Do you have email addresses for all your constituents?
- Not everyone has email access
- What about those who don’t have email?
- If it is text only, it might be considered boring (no images)
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If you already have a printed newsletter the next step might be to use it to survey your constituents to determine their ability to access the web and email. Here are a few possible questions to include: - Do you have email? Please provide your address here:
- How often to you access your email?
- Is it setup for text only or can it receive images and HTML pages?
- Do you have access to the Internet?
- Do you have a dial-up account or a high-speed broadband account?
- How often to you read material on the Internet vs reading printed pieces?
This approach allows you to collect email addresses and decide if an emailed newsletter would be read, as well as if it should be a text-only newsletter or if sending an HTML newsletter (formatted with images) would also work for your constituents.
Now that you’ve collected email addresses you can start sending an electronic newsletter. There are many ways to do this. Here’s a list with descriptions:
Basic Tickler | This text-only approach includes a sentence or two about each article with a link to the article on your website. Good for busy readers so they can follow links and read selectively. | Self-Contained Text | This approach tells the reader everything within the email without needing to jump to links on a website. (Particularly good if you don’t have a website yet!) Can be read off-line. | Self-Contained HTML | Like the text only but is visually presented and includes graphic images. Readers must have their email program configured to read this format. | Attachment | Send the completed newsletter as an Acrobat PDF file. Readers must have the free Acrobat Reader. Be sure the PDF is optimized for the web. Never send large files. Don’t use Word files as they can hide viruses. | Subscription | Any of these approaches may be sent to your entire database (if you’re a membership organization) or to those who choose to get it by subscribing via your website. If you use your own database always provide a way to un-subscribe otherwise it is considered spam. |
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Ideally it all works together
In the best of all worlds you would continue to mail your printed newsletter on a consistent basis and use it to point readers to your website where they’ll find additional and expanded information related to the printed articles. This means your website will be updated at a minimum every time you publish a printed newsletter. Between newsletters use the Basic Tickler email (or another type of emailed newsletter) to keep your constituents up to date on time-sensitive information, invite them to take an action and direct them to new items on your website.
Useful online links
Michael Gilbert of The Gilbert Center has done a comprehensive study of 900 nonprofits examining the role that electronic mail can play in advancing a nonprofit organization's relationship with its stakeholders. You can read the results here. You can also read his “Gilbert Email Manifesto (GEM)” which outlines "Three Rules of Email" to help nonprofit organizations develop a genuine Internet strategy and avoid being seduced by their own web presence.
If you’re considering using a program to manage your e-mail newsletter and e-mail marketing system this link provides a comparative chart and review of most of the top tools. And here’s a report on a recent study called “Targeted Email Newsletters Show Continued Strength.”
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