The Pitfalls of Posting Newsletters Online

Let’s post our newsletter online as a .pdf! We’ll save money. We’ll reach more readers. And we can publish more pages, since we aren’t paying for printing.

Posting newsletters online (as .pdf files) seems right on so many levels – especially for nonprofit organizations and others looking to cut expenses.

But in the rush to moving those newsletters online, we sometimes overlook (or ignore) the strengths and weaknesses of each medium.

Many readers may *prefer* print. They might read the dead-tree newsletter while working out, eating breakfast or lounging on the couch – situations where online reading is unappealing or impractical. In addition, older readers may not have internet access. Readers *can* print the newsletter, of course, but how many of us will actually print a 15-page file?

It’s more convenient for the organization, but less friendly to the reader. Those .pdf files have many advantages for delivery: they play nicely with Macs and PCs, they preserve the layout and formatting, and they are easy to create using different applications. They can also be clumsy to navigate, challenging to read, and painfully slow to download – especially when files are loaded with graphics and images.

It traps the content. Although .pdfs can be optimized to be easily indexed by search engines, few files have been configured for this purpose. And as mentioned above, they are often time-consuming to load and awkward to use.

In other words, we limit the search potential of the content and create barriers for users. A far better approach: post the information as web pages, rework the articles as blog entries, or add comment capabilities to encourage discussion.

It doesn’t necessarily make the newsletter better. If your organization is concerned that the printed newsletter readership doesn’t justify the production costs, shifting the newsletter online as a .pdf likely won’t help. Talk to readers, learn what’s important to them and make the newsletter more relevant.

There’s little harm in posting newsletter files for archiving purposes or other secondary uses. But before you axe the printed newsletter, be sure it’s a well-informed, reader-focused decision.