| With everyone bombarded by email overload,
do you really think your ezine is being read?
A Nielsen Norman Group Report revealed that the typical
email newsletter gets 51 seconds of your reader's time.
That was three years ago. Today, many say its closer to 26
seconds. And, that's if your email newsletter is even opened.
You're Not as Popular as You Think
While you believe YOUR ezines are special and opened like
gifts on Christmas morning, remember this: Dozens of emails are routinely wiped out daily
in one swoop with the push of the delete key.
Even if the reader recognizes your name, you can be
expunged just because they're having a busy day or your email got caught in a large block
of spam.
Now, I'm not suggesting that you stop doing email
newsletters. In fact, I advise you to do an email newsletter on a weekly basis. But, I
also suggest doing a monthly print newsletter.
Here's why...
6 Ways Print Newsletters Beat Email Newsletters – And
Why They Need to Be Part of Your Marketing Mix
1. Printed mail gets delivered –
It's never blocked or caught in spam filters. Faulty
connections, email authentication and webmail service idiosyncrasies are not issues. And,
you have no worries about connection speeds.
2. Print newsletters have more perceived value –
Think about it: How many companies are willing to do this?
Your clients aren't stupid. They understand the energy, cost and time required to send
them a great newsletter every month. It will get their immediate attention.
3. Print newsletters let you use unlimited amount of images
–
A picture really is worth a thousand words. Print
newsletters are not shackled by bandwidth. That means you can use a variety of text,
graphics and formatting styles to capture the interest of your clients.
4. Print newsletter are sticky -
Print newsletters have great 'hang-time'. Not only are they
likely to be read from start to finish, they usually get passed around. Hand-along
readership can be as high as four-to-one. Talk about free marketing!
5. Print newsletters offer convenient and comfortable
reading -
Printed newsletters are much easier on the eyes. Reading
articles of any length on a computer screen is uncomfortable and often inconvenient. Plus,
a print newsletter allows you to mark sections you find interesting, take it to work and
leave it there to be picked up by workmates.
6. Print newsletters stand out and get noticed –
By using color, logos and a familiar return address, a
print newsletter is easy to spot. With an inbox filled with subject lines, every message
looks the same.
Here's Your Best Bet
Make no mistake. There is a place for electronic
communication with your customers. Websites and email are an important part of any
business.
But the hands down best choice for keeping customers and
getting more referrals and building relationships is to include print newsletters within
your marketing mix
You can even offer your customers a choice. They will see
that you really care about what they want, not just what you are willing to provide for
them.
And that's what relationship marketing is all about, isn't
it? |
