A rather new concept is using a blog like an e-newsletter.
I love the approach from a marketing and an SEO standpoint.
- Rather than sending PDFs or E-blasts via e-mail to subscribers, a blog offers dynamic content that maintains the same look over time.
- A blog instead of an e-newsletter makes subscriber management much easier.
- Its easy to transmit and easy for customers to subscribe in a way that works with their existing habits (live bookmarks, posts via e-mail, feed readers, etc.)
- From an SEO standpoint, the blog approach provides an opportunity for more content on your site and more inbound links.
- You can archive posts, allowing for customers to revisit old items.
- It provides an opportunity to distribute press releases when they’re timely vs. lumping them together in a monthly newsletter.
The one drawback I can think of is not getting each subscriber’s contact information. However, users are in control, whether you like it or not. If you provide continuous value, they’ll want to do business with you.
I am going to be pushing for this approach at my company.
Do you have any other drawbacks or benefits of using a blog as an e-newsletter?
Also, I’ll be on vacation this week. This will be my last post for a while.