Using Newsletters To Communicate In Modern Times
The number of ‘printed on paper’ (or hard-copy, as the jargon goes) newsletters has been subjected to a huge growth trend during the last few years; in some cases as much as ten times the previous figure. This has been caused by significantly increased numbers of people who now own personal computers. The same story is being reported in Canada, Europe, Australia and elsewhere.
The fact is that anyone who owns, or has access to, a computer and a desktop printer can publish a newsletter with very little more skill needed than they probably already have. These home produced newsletters may be the bottom end of the market in terms of quality etc but they are nevertheless a significant factor in the new growth and distribution of paper newsletters.
It does not require a lot of effort to produce an electronic newsletter compared to that required for a hard copy one. The costs are insignificant too and the finished product is ready for distribution immediately without the need for further preparation, processing or, of course, printing. That is why the growth figures for e-newsletters are so much more impressive even than printed newsletters.
E-newsletters, or ezines as they are more commonly called nowadays, are more popular than ever because they are produced electronically and distributed over computer networks, including of course, the ubiquitous Internet. The rise of these types of newsletters is nothing short of phenomenal. Every subject is covered and every conceivable group that can be thought of has become a recipient. In fact, they became established as the major form of communication for special interest groups during the first decade of the Internet.
The perception that the electronic format is not to be trusted is a hard one to dispel. People are still more used to the feeling of permanence that they get from paper newsletters compared to the fly-by-night reputation of some ezines. Also, there are many who have always readily believed what they read in print but who have a totally different perception of what they read online.
The truth is that the choice between the electronic and the printed format is often of no real importance. As often as not, the type of readership determines which one to go for. Obviously, if most of the potential readers are online then the electronic version would be the obvious choice. On the other hand, if only a few of them have a computer, or they live in a geographically confined area, a hard copy newsletter will be the obvious choice. Over time however, the continuing expansion of the numbers of Internet users and therefore of electronically produced newsletters, will continue to rise.
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