A Newsletter by Any Other Name Is Still a Newsletter
Newsletters have come a long way since their origins in the 16th and 17th centuries. In the last hundred years, newsletters proliferated as marketing tools. More significantly, however, in the last decade, newsletters have morphed into what we now call eNewsletters, blogs, Web content, articles—or just plain “content.” If it is published on a regular basis and carries information of interest to a particular group, it is still a newsletter. To paraphrase Shakespeare, a newsletter by any other name is still a newsletter.
For centuries, newsletters took the form of mini-newspapers or magazines. More than 400 years ago, newsletters circulated in England, carrying news of local citizens who had traveled to the New World. Centuries later, printed newsletters remain a popular option among business marketers. Think of the one-page flier that comes with your quarterly 401(k) statements. It offers news you can use—often tax- and financial-planning tips based on current market happenings and recently passed legislation.
As technology has evolved, so have newsletters. E-mail newsletters represent valuable marketing opportunities for many businesses, large and small, including health care practices. For example, today we received an e-mail from our health insurance provider. It included a recipe for a healthy vegetarian lasagna, a reminder that the health insurance company offers discounts on health club memberships, tips on quitting smoking and three healthy ways to manage stress in the new year—all useful information.
With free online platforms from Blogger, Typepad, Wordpress and others, anyone can be a blogger these days. Many businesses—from one-person entrepreneurs to multinational corporations—use blogs to reach out to and engage with customers. Take Patagonia, for example. This seller of high-end adventure gear has a blog that features stories of interest to its customers. Recent posts include a story about camping in Patagonia, a recommendation of a new Web site about grassroots environmentalism and a recipe for a traditional Sicilian pasta with sardines.
Facebook now counts 800 million users worldwide. Twitter hosts more than 100 million users, half of whom tweet on a daily basis. More than 135 million people use LinkedIn, and Google+ is expected to have 85 million users this month. More and more, businesses are using social media sites to keep in touch with customers. Look at the National Hockey League’s Facebook wall, and you’ll see postings announcing the all-star roster, player trades and players returning to the ice after injuries—along with video clips from recent games and trivia questions. Each post draws hundreds of comments and “likes.”
Facebook walls, blogs and electronic newsletters may not look like the traditional newsletters of the last century, but they all serve the same purpose—communicating relevant information to a specific audience. Regardless of the medium, a well-conceived newsletter contains information perceived by the recipient as important and valuable.
Call it an eNewsletter, a blog, a Facebook wall—or whatever else future technology may bring us—but a newsletter by any other name is still a newsletter.
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