If you’re a Main Street Inner Circle member, you already know that we send a print newsletter to our members every month. That probably sounds pretty crazy coming from a digital marketing agency, but it’s true. In addition to our digital email newsletter, we actually write, print and mail a physical newsletter every single month. Why the heck do we do that?

In this article, I’m going to explain not only why we send out a print newsletter, but why I think you should too.

Now, there is a real cost to writing all of those articles, printing the newsletter and paying the postage fees. Logic will tell you that you could save a lot of money by doing everything 100% digitally. That’s actually how we started, but then we added the print newsletter and we saw dramatic results. I’ll explain why later on in this article, but I do highly recommend you start with the digital newsletter. Don’t try to do both at the same time.

So let’s talk about the 3 reasons you should be sending a print newsletter in addition to your digital newsletter.

3 Reasons to Send a Print Newsletter

Reason #1. Longer Shelf Life

Right now, on my desk, I personally have several newsletters that I revisit from time to time to get key information. Some of those newsletters are actually more than two years old. If you think about it, how many two-year-old emails do you have available to revisit? Probably not too many.

I know that when I get an email, I read it, reply, and then either archive it or delete it. So there’s not much of a shelf life. However, a print newsletter might be sitting on my desk, stuck on a shelf, or even placed on a coffee table. It can stick around for a really long time.

When you create a newsletter (whether digital, or physical or both), you invest a lot of time into creating content. I recommend you try to maximize the value of that time by giving your content a longer shelf life.

Reason #2. Perceived Value

At this point, everyone is subscribed to some kind of email newsletter. We all know that businesses like sending email newsletters because they are a low-cost way to stay in touch with prospects. Since everyone knows that email is a low-cost tactic, there is not much perceived value.

On the flip side, when a print newsletter comes in the mail, we can feel, touch, and see it, which immediately gives it a higher perceived value. People see a print newsletter as something that’s worth a lot more than an email newsletter.

Reason #3. Cutting Through the Clutter

I personally get hundreds of emails every day, and you probably do too. Because of that, it’s really hard for any one business to stand out in my inbox. Sometimes I simply have too many emails to physically get through, so I’ll decide to just archive or delete a business newsletter that I know I don’t have time to read.

Now, when I compare that to my physical mailbox, I see a big difference. I can go away on vacation for a long weekend, and when I come back, my mailbox is not full. Many businesses have chosen to cut down on direct mail and go the digital route instead. Well, as much as I love digital marketing, you can take advantage of that opportunity to cut through the clutter and actually get your message in front of your prospects and customers by using direct mail.

Right now, you might be sending out 100 or 1,000 or even 10,000 email newsletters, but how many are actually opened or read? That’s probably a very small percentage. In my experience working with lots of different clients, I see open rates of around 10%. So out of 1,000 newsletters, only 100 people actually see them.

When you send 1,000 pieces of real mail, your open rates will often be higher (especially if you’re sending your print newsletter to prospects, customers or clients). And as your prospects and clients are seeing your articles and your business name, they’ll be more likely to come back to you or refer you to their friends and colleagues.

So those are the 3 reasons why we use a print newsletter in addition to our digital newsletter. I highly recommend that you do the same.

Want to Get Our Print Newsletter?

Every month, Main Street Inner Circle members receive our print newsletter (the “Main Street Marketing Letter”), in addition to a live webinar training and weekly Office Hours (consulting) with me, Phil Frost.

Click here to learn more and try it for only $7

[google_authorship_badge]