The reports of paper’s death have been greatly exaggerated. Even though email, social media, tablets and smartphones keep many of your clients informed while on the go, there are still those who appreciate reading text that is not on a screen.
So don’t be so quick to exclude the traditional print newsletter from your client communication program. The key is to not choose just one method for communicating with clients, but to communicate in a variety of ways.
“In an age when content is king, there’s no reason you have to limit how you get your content out there,” says Richard Heft, communications director with Ext. Marketing Inc. in Toronto.
Why keep a print newsletter in your communications plan? Here are four reasons:
1. Clients want choice
Catering to all of your clients means providing each with his or her preferred medium. The question is not whether your newsletter is digital or print, but whether you make both available to your clients.
“By choosing to do electronic and paper, you are offering your clients choice,” says Jillian Bannister, marketing director with Ext. Marketing. “We know that’s what people want today.”
A client might not prefer one method exclusively.
“[Clients] don’t always want [information] the same way,” Bannister says, “because, in the summer, maybe they’re going to the cottage and they want to read the paper at the dock. During the winter, they might prefer digital communication.”
2. Paper cannot be deleted
When your e-newsletter is one of many messages appearing in your client’s inbox, it can be easily deleted without ever being opened.
While there’s no guarantee your client will read a print version, a paper newsletter will probably spend more time in your client’s home than an e-newsletter would in an inbox.
A print newsletter can be read at your client’s convenience — on the subway or at breakfast — and referred to later. An e-newsletter, on the other hand, if not deleted, can become buried by subsequent emails.
3. Paper is different
While you can use the same content for both your print and electronic versions, the fact that you are even using paper can stand out to your clients.
Because fewer companies and professionals are using print, Heft says, paper can have a greater impact now than it did 20 years ago.
“All of a sudden you’re getting stuff that you can touch and feel,” Heft says. “That in itself can ‘pop’ a lot more than just one out of another hundred emails received daily.”
4. Paper can be personalized
Some of your clients might be celebrating milestones such as children’s graduations or new homes. One way to acknowledge these occasions is to insert a handwritten note into the newsletter package, offering your congratulations.
This method allows you to connect in a more meaningful way, Heft says, and it shows effort and goodwill on your part.
You should still acknowledge more significant occasions, such as birthdays and important anniversaries, with a separate card.
This is the first installment in a two-part series on newsletters. Next: developing content for your newsletter.