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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.

Because of their perceived permanence and the fact that they can be held in the hand, paper newsletters have a degree of authority that online publications cannot hope to match. Electronically produced media, on the other hand, is distrusted in comparison because it is still seen as too easy to do and too open to fraud. They are also seen as too prone to accidental erasure which could amount to a major catastrophe.

From a practical point of view, the choice of format is often not an issue. If the target market is confined to a small area or if the people that make up that target market are not likely to be online in large numbers, then hard copy is the obvious choice. If, on the other hand, a large proportion of the potential readers are online, then an ezine is the obvious way to go. As time goes by, the trend towards the adoption of electronic newsletters is bound to continue since the number of Internet users is continuing to expand at such an incredible rate.

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