Your business newsletter can be one of the best tools in your marketing toolbox. Newsletters serve many functions including lead generation, client education, and the promotion of your legal services.
Newsletters can set your law firm apart from its competitors and position you as an industry leader. But how should you deliver your newsletter to your audience?
The following will help you determine the benefits and drawbacks of print and email newsletters so that you make the best choice for your law firm’s marketing strategy.
The Power of Print Newsletters
Despite living in a digital world, print newsletters still carry much weight for law firms looking to market their services.
Print newsletters have historically been shown to achieve higher response rates when compared to digital newsletters sent via email or other distribution channels.
A well-crafted, relevant, and useful print newsletter can give your practice anywhere between a 3 to 5 percent response rate.
In addition, print newsletters give recipients a physical product, which inherently has a greater perceived value. They can be transported and held onto over time, which increases the likelihood that your audience will actually read your content.
The biggest drawback of print newsletters is their cost. Printing and mailing newsletters adds to your marketing budget. So you’ll have to weigh the higher cost against the potential for higher response rates.
The Ease of Electronic Newsletters
Email newsletters have almost become the norm in online marketing. Most businesses offer some way for existing and prospective clients to receive ongoing correspondence related to the services they provide.
Email newsletters are an easier and more inexpensive way to nurture prospects and provide greater value to your target market. This allows law firms to send newsletters frequently without any significant increases in cost.
Email newsletters can also be sent according to your audience segmentation. This means that your newsletter can be customized to each recipient based on a number of factors including:
- Legal needs
- Purchase history
- Occupation or industry
- Location
This results in content that’s tailored to the recipient, which increases conversion rates and engagement with your brand.
The design of your electronic newsletter can be updated easily, which lets you optimize its look and usability over time. It can be integrated into other online assets including your website and social media pages.
But electronic emails are also easier to ignore. The public is often inundated with emails from friends, family, work, and businesses trying to get their attention. Deleting or unsubscribing from your email newsletter can be done with a simple click.
This is the biggest drawback of electronic emails, and your law firm must keep this in mind when creating and distributing a digital newsletter.
Using Print and Digital
When it comes to print and electronic newsletters, the good news is that you don’t have to choose just one. Both can be used to target a specific group within your target market based on your insight into their needs and preferences.
Integrating both print and electronic newsletters into your marketing strategy leads to better results, improves brand recognition, and makes marketing spending more efficient.
Done correctly, print and electronic newsletters can each supplement the other, creating a more integrated experience for your target audience.
Your law firm can offer exclusive content within each format in order to compel electronic newsletter recipients to sign up for your print newsletter and vice versa.
If you choose to just use one format, you’ll need to consider your budget along with the resources required to produce each.
Designers, printers, copywriters, and other key team members will be needed at different levels with both print and digital newsletters.
Which type of newsletter has produced the best results for your practice? Are you still not sure if your law firm should use a print or electronic newsletter?
You can add your questions or comments below. Getting the right information to make the best choice for your newsletter strategy will reduce your marketing costs will maximizing the result you achieve.
