Which gives better results, a blog or a newsletter?
We’ll look at considerations in picking the winner for you. The points aren’t listing in any particular order.
IN THIS CORNER: Blogs
The more quality content you publish online, the more likely you are to be ranked high by Google and considered an authority in your subject area.
— Forbes, June 2013
Blog Pros
- Makes you known to strangers
- 100% permission-based: subscribers opt-in on their own
- 100% free with Google Blogger (no hosting, optimized for search) [the platform for this blog]
- Two-way communication: readers can leave comments
- Shareable via social networks
- Old content can get new traffic (see case study)
- Improves your Google Author Rank
- Public content helps build trust
Blog Cons
- Can't see who's reading: could be competitors, though this may not matter
- Audience takes time to build
- Visitors rarely subscribe and you have no way to contact them
- Writing takes time (ideal is at least once a week)
- No privacy: you're visible to the world (which could be a plus)
The Case Of Seth Godin
![Seth Godin Seth Godin](https://si0.twimg.com/profile_images/67490765/bloghead_bigger.jpg)
Since Seth already has a large audience, his approach works well for him.
IN THIS CORNER: Newsletters
Email marketing is a great way to reach your customers where they are without spending a lot of money. But it’s a big responsibility, too — people don’t give their email addresses to just anyone. — Forbes, Oct 2012
Newsletter Pros
- Lets you see who's reading and what's read (by person and in total)
- You can add subscribers with no effort on their part (with their prior permission)
- Very flexible (send messages on demand, segment your list)
- Takes little time (e.g., fine to send once a month)
- Builds a mailing list, a valuable asset
- Might link with your CRM for even better analytics
- Allows "drip campaigns" to send a series of prescheduled emails
- Lets you exclude competitors as subscribers
- Hidden from search engines (like an individual email)
- Can make your list available to others (i.e., you send out an email from someone else to your mailing list)
- Less writing (your content can be links to articles by others, as in Transparence)
- You can segment your list to run multiple campaigns or multiple newsletters
Newsletter Cons
- Must be permission-based (limits your reach)
- Requires a clean, up-to-date mailing list if you’re sending to current contacts (takes time to prepare)
- Hidden from search engines (though you can post issues online)
- You can be reported as a spammer (even if you aren't)
- Content must be valuable to your audience (not just your self-promotion)
- Extra features and more subscribers cost more (though the basics may be free)
- A perception that they're salesy (since they often are)
- The cost increases with your audience size (generally not a problem unless you're getting the wrong subscribers)
The Case of Dan Pink
![Dan Pink Dan Pink](https://si0.twimg.com/profile_images/2637496500/ffbcf4c2dad36342fe310745b9ddefeb_bigger.jpeg)
“We’re going to shutter the blog and instead expand and deepen our collection of videos, articles, and guides on working smarter and living better”. — Dan Pink, Jul 17, 2013Dan will communicate through his newsletter, which has over 71,000 subscribers. If you don’t already subscribe, sign up. You’ll get a newsletter which is useful and interesting. You never know what you’ll get. Here is the current issue.
Dan is effectively changing from two-way communications to a broadcaster. That approach can work since he’s well known.
The Winner Is …
If you're established and have built a quality contact list, you have a valuable asset you're probably underusing. A newsletter could work well for you.If you're new, you may not have a mailing list yet. A newsletter is a way to build one since you now have something you can offer everyone.
In my case, I started with a blog but that was in 2007. Today, I might start with a newsletter like Dan Pink’s. The ideal is having both, but you can start with one.
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