Newsletter or Blog? Have Both!

Web Hosting Provider Explains

First, there were email newsletters, or ezines. Then came blogs. Is one better than the other?

For some purposes, yes. But together, they can be better than just an email newsletter or just a blog. Newsletter or blog - The drawbacks of each are the advantages of the other, so they complement each other well - web hosting provider explains.

Benefits of email newsletters

Email newsletters are a familiar vehicle, and they're a vehicle that goes to individuals' in-boxes.

How recipients perceive and use email newsletters

• Almost everyone who uses the Internet uses email.
• Newsletter readers can go from the newsletter in their in-box to your website with just a click.
• Professional-looking email newsletters can create a positive impression of your company.
• Newsletter readers are reminded about your website regularly without having to use RSS feeds.
• Recipients can forward email newsletters to other people.

How you can use email newsletters

• Newsletters can feel more personal than blogs.
• Newsletters have subscriber lists, which allow you to contact your readers and to gather information about them.
• You can link to blog articles in your newsletter.
• You can include special offers and other types of content in email newsletters.

Drawbacks of email newsletters

Email can be problematic, and the work behind newsletters is more involved than in publishing a blog entry.

Receiving email newsletters

• Newsletters arrive when senders send them, which may not be the optimal time for recipients to read them. They can get buried in in-boxes and possibly never be read.
• Spam filters block many bulk emails, often including legitimate emails.
• If email newsletters aren't blocked because they're bulk email, they might get blocked by spam filters if they're in HTML or contain certain words. For example, a newsletter with an article about breast cancer could get blocked because it has the word "breast" in it, particularly if the word is in the email subject line.
• Many people refuse to sign up for newsletters because of the concern that they'll receive spam.

Sending email newsletters

• It takes time to maintain mailing lists. Some people may need help subscribing, and some emails will bounce when you send out your newsletter.
• Newsletters require more work than blog entries do.
• Depending on the program you use for your mailing list, it can cost you each time you mail out your newsletter.

Benefits of blogs

Blogs don't have the email problems that newsletters do. In many ways, they're more usable than newsletters, and they help you by being online, where search engines and people can find them.

Blog usability

• Blog software is free and easy to use. (Commercial blog software is also available.)
• Adding blog entries to your website is easy. One click, and they're published at your site.
• People don't need to give you their email addresses to find blog updates. They can subscribe to the blog RSS feed or just check your site regularly for new content.
• You can provide the option for people to sign up to be notified when you have new blog content.
• Blogs are interactive. Readers can leave comments, and you can respond to their comments in the comments section yourself.
• Increasingly more businesses are using blogs at their websites, making them more familiar to people online.

Blog content

• New content appears at the beginning of blogs, so visitors can see what's new right away.
• Blog entries can be a variety of lengths.
• You can update or correct blog content at any time.
• Blog comments become part of the content, and if some people comment regularly and interact with each other, a community can grow from your blog.
• You can link between blog articles and put them in categories with other articles about the same topics.
• Site visitors can read older content as well as newer content at any time.

Blogs, SEO, and traffic

• Search engines index blogs and display blog pages in their search results.
• If other webmasters like your blog content, they can link to it from their sites.
• Social media site users can bookmark, link to, and discuss your content.
• You can link to your blog content from the rest of your site and in newsletters.
• Having a blog as part of your site can help bring more traffic to your whole site.

Drawbacks of blogs

The main drawback of blogs is that they don't have the advantages of email newsletters. Without a newsletter from you in front of them, some people may forget about your website. In addition, blogs need to be monitored.

Blogs and information

• Not everyone knows how to use RSS.
• Unless you set up a mailing list for your blog updates, readers don't get notifications of new content in their in-boxes.
• Without a mailing list, you have less information about your audience.

Blogs and comments

• Blogs attract spam. You need to monitor the comments and trackbacks and remove those that were added just to post links to other sites, as well as other types of spam.
• Some blog comments may be critical of your products, services, or company.

How to use email newsletters and blogs together

With both newsletters and blogs, you have online content, and you can deliver your content, or links to it, directly to some of your target audience. Here's how:

• Create your blog. Make sure that it has an RSS feed.
• Publish at least a few articles in it so that your audience can have an idea of what to expect.
• Create or find a suitable newsletter template.
• Decide what type of content you want to include in your newsletter. Will you just send links to new blog content, or do you want to include other content as well?
• Provide a newsletter sign-up box or link in your blog. Include a privacy policy statement stating that you will not sell, rent, or give away email addresses.
• When you have new content in your blog, send out your newsletter to your subscribers.

In addition, consider publishing your email newsletters online after you send them to your subscribers. The newsletters will then provide all the benefits of newsletters and of blogs.

Related blog articles

Blog articles about email newsletters

• Build Your Subscriber Lists
• Sending Out a Newsletter? Read All About It
• Testing Email Marketing Effectiveness
• Email Campaigns: Don't End Up in the Trash Bin

Blog articles about blogging

• Getting the Most from Your Post
• SEO Your Blog
• Blogging for Business

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