Email or paper? What’s the best format for your newsletter?

From your point of view the biggest difference between an email newsletter and a paper newsletter is probably the cost. If you don’t count the cost to write or design it, it’s almost free to email a newsletter.

There are several hurdles you face with an email newsletter though:

1. Getting past the gatekeeper, i.e. the spam filter. Even if you have a relationship with the addressee their spam filter may not like certain characteristics of your email. Supposedly ISPs are getting less nitpicky about words like free, no risk, guaranteed and insurance — yes, insurance has been known to be a prime spam filter trigger — as well techniques like all CAPS. Reputation based filtering is becoming more the norm, however, where the most important items for the spam filter to consider are the reputations of the sending ISP and the sender (you). Most agents with opt-in lists don’t have problems with this, but if you need some tips on avoiding the spam filter, read Wendy Roth’s article at iMedia Connection.
   
   
2. The subject line has got to grab ‘em. Short is probably best. Marketing pro Justin Palmer suggests tips like including the recipient’s name, special characters (&#+@, as in “++Identity Theft On The Rise++”), CAPS, and truncation — cut off the end of the phrase, like “Consumer-Driven Health Care is Cutting…” Cutting what? Costs probably. But maybe something else is getting cut. Doctor’s fees? The level of health care? Maybe you should open the email to find out for sure. Restating the headline as a teaser is also effective: “Consumer-Driven Health Care. Who Does It Really Benefit?” But don’t get too gimmicky either. Finally, don’t become predictable; try to keep your approach fresh.
   
   
3. Some people don’t like to read anything online unless it’s absolutely necessary, like email. This may be particularly true of older people.

The simple fact is that with email fighting these hurdles it won’t pull more readers than a paper newsletter. Newsletter for newsletter, more people are going to see your paper newsletter. A good open rate for most emailed newsletters is about 30%. If you mail your newsletter, even if the person you mailed it to doesn’t read it, they’ll still see your branding. Even if they don’t read it, they are just as likely to set it aside for later reading or route it to someone else in the office. The impact per newsletter delivered is much greater with paper than email.

So is paper always best? Not so. If people have actually opted into your email newsletter —from your website, from an email rental list (where your ROI is probably better than if you had mailed out 10,000 paper newsletters) or because they formerly received your paper newsletter and opted for email — email is best. Otherwise, if you want to make an impression, send them a paper newsletter. In fact, it’s a good idea to send your paper newsletter from time to time to your email opt-in list — if you have their postal address. It breaks things up. Maybe they’ve started to take your email newsletter for granted. Or maybe you need to do some more brand-building, particularly with prospects.

We hope this is helpful.