Modern digital tools have perfected the art of interruption, but they’ve left untapped a major opportunity: words on paper. In a world where inboxes are a cluttered battlefield, the physical mailbox offers a peaceful, premium refuge. That’s why, a few years ago, I decided to try something old-fashioned: a monthly printed newsletter for my clients and prospects.
The Krehbiel Letter took its inspiration from The Kiplinger Letter. It’s four pages of red meat written to be read or scanned easily.
Here are ten takeaways from the experience.
1. Print reaches people that email doesn’t.
When the inbox is full, try the mailbox. Some of my readers told me they don’t read email newsletters – even the ones they like, and which have good content – because it’s just too much work and by the end of the day they’re sick of their devices. The Krehbiel Letter, by contrast, was like a welcome respite to enjoy with a drink after work.
2. You don’t get the same reader feedback from print.
When someone’s reading an email newsletter, it’s easy for the reader to hit reply and send feedback. The reader is already in the email app, so it’s a natural transition.
That doesn’t translate into print. Print publishers have to do special reader surveys and such to find out what people are reading and what they like. It’s also notoriously hard to get someone to move from print to digital, e.g., to read something on paper and then take an online survey. A reader in print mode is not in digital mode. (Which is part of print’s charm.)
Print publications also don’t have metrics like opens, clicks, time on site, etc. The publisher sends the thing to the post office and never really knows what happens after that.
Since the metrics are thin with a print publication, the publisher’s focus shifts from chasing clicks to pure content quality. That’s not a bad thing.
3. Print offers interesting options, like smells.
It’s a mistake to think of your publication as one product that is available in “print and digital editions.” That kind of thinking limits what you can do in different mediums.
There are things you can do in a digital publication that you can’t do in print, and vice versa. Explore those options and make each product the best it can be in its medium. (For a long time I added a seasonally appropriate scent to each Krehbiel Letter.)
4. Print is expensive and a pain to manage.
Printing, postage, and the general management of a print publication is expensive. You can send a lot of emails for the cost of one printed letter sent by USPS, so you have to count the cost. Is a printed version worth the lift?
But … again … the fact that you had to put some effort into it is part of the charm, which leads to the next point.
5. People feel special when they get a print newsletter.
Admit it, email has become a burden and a drag on your life. It’s a chore that has to be managed. Nobody is happy when they get an email.
A print publication is special. It’s a treat and a luxury.
6. Reading a print newsletter is both more relaxing and more focused.
When you read an email, you’re in productivity mode, or in “anxious digitally connected” mode. You’re on your computer, or you’re feeding your addiction to that hideous surveillance device you carry around all the time.
The print newsletter will sit on your end table and patiently wait until you have a time to sit down, relax, and read it thoughtfully. It’s not a hurried experience. You’re not in a rush to clean out your inbox. You actually have time to think about what you’re reading.
7. You can’t “publish then edit” with print.
If you make a mistake on a blog post, you can fix it. That’s nice, but it encourages bad habits. It subtly leads to a sloppy attitude towards quality with digital publications.
Print memorializes your thoughts, which forces you to be a little more careful.
8. Print can be a firewall against AI content scraping.
Everything you publish on your blog is being stolen by AI. While someone could scan your newsletter and feed it to Sam Altman’s latest obscenity, it’s not very likely.
9. There’s no phishing with paper.
When you open a print newsletter, you don’t have to worry that you’re getting a virus or giving away your login information to some scammer.
10. An envelope is more interesting than a subject line.
Just like the subject line of an email or the headline of an article, the envelope teaser is a call to action: “Open Me!”
But it’s more interesting. The teaser is a different experience in some intangible way.
An envelope serves multiple functions. You can put other things in it — like a BRE, a flyer, or a business card. You can put a colorful sticker on the back. You can use foil, or different colors and textures of paper. The envelope is (or can be) a way to enhance the reader’s experience in a way the subject line can only dream about.
When should you consider a print newsletter?
There’s good and bad to print. It’s slow and expensive, but it has its charms, and it’s important to keep it as an option in your publishing toolbox.
Here are some situations where you might consider a print newsletter.
- When you have a discreet group that you want to do something special for.
- When your audience isn’t active online.
- When you want to provide a more curated, custom experience.
- When your audience needs a break from their phones.
- When you want to create an experience that lasts longer than a message in Outlook.
If your content matters, don’t let it become a statistic in an inbox. Consider putting it in someone’s hands.
Okay, I lied.
I titled this article “ten things I learned …” because I thought that was a compelling headline. The truth is that I created The Krehbiel Letter because all this was true and obvious years ago, before I wrote the first issue. Unfortunately, “true and obvious” doesn’t always mean “top of mind.” Sometimes we need to be reminded of the things we already know.
If it was such a great idea, why did you stop?
I’ve put the printed Krehbiel Letter on pause for now because of a strategic shift. I’ve reorganized my work life and the added work and expense of a physical letter no longer serves my long-term goals.
I hope you take the time to think carefully about the potential benefits of a printed newsletter – for a select, premium market. Yes, it’s costly. Yes, it’s costly. Yes, it’s slow. No, you don’t get great metrics. But, when your goal is to be memorable and meaningful to your premium audience, print is the ultimate high-value channel.