"It’s All About the List – Stupid!"
For so long, it's all been about the list, but I think the rise of the social networks will start to change all this. For now, let’s just compare E-mail newsletters with blogs.
Ease of Publishing
Blogs are certainly easier to publish than e-mail newsletters — and much faster. The blogging platform allows you to write and instantly publish your thoughts with a built-in content management system, automatically becoming part of your website content.
E-mail newsletters, on the other hand, aren't so automatic. They must be written, laid out in an attractive HTML format, copied into a web interface and scheduled to be sent out. If you want to add the content to your website (which I strongly recommend), that is a separate step again.
Cost
The most popular blogging platforms are free — Blogger and WordPress. Yet email service providers usually charge based on the size of your mailing list.
Frequency
Blogging at its best includes frequent posts. Three times a week might be an appropriate minimum for an active blogger. A frequent poster is seen in a positive light. E-mail newsletters should be published a minimum of twice a month. Once a week is acceptable, but the content has to be excellent. E-mail too often, and you'll be perceived as spamming. So it’s possible to be in communication more often with a blog and get away with it.
Notification and Content Delivery
Blog readers are typically alerted to a new blog by means of an RSS feed, which they access using an RSS reader, such as the one built into Microsoft Internet Explorer.
E-mail newsletters, however, arrive in the subscriber's e-mail box; the reader doesn't usually have to go to a website to read the newsletter, as is the case in a blog.
Readership Metrics
Blog readership can be measured by unique visitors to the blog site and by the number of subscribers to an RSS feed (tracked by FeedBurner).
E-mail newsletter readers are measured by the number of subscribers, qualified by such fuzzy metrics as open rate and inbox delivery rate.
Since spam filters dispose of a significant percentage of even double opt-in newsletters, e-mail delivery isn't as reliable as it used to be. However, nearly 100% of Internet users actively use e-mail. Active RSS reader users, on the other hand are only a fraction of that — though RSS users tend to be more active Internet citizens and visit more websites.
Subscriber List
E-mail newsletter publishers have an actual list of e-mail addresses — and often names and locations — of their subscribers, while bloggers have no tangible list at all.
An active, up-to-date list is considered a business asset, since it enables the publisher to push to subscribers newsletters and advertising at will. It can't force subscribers to open or even read an e-mail, but it can count on delivery of a high percentage of the e-mails sent — despite the challenges posed by spam and spam filters.
Which Should You Choose?
Quite frankly, it's getting harder and harder to market by email because of spam, spam filters, spam accusations and so forth. (Notice the common denominator?).
And call me stupid, but the people online talking up email have already acquired and built up large lists (when it was easier to do so).
Whereas some blogs are so influential, that they have figured in industry politics.
So when it comes to which is best? Blogs or e-mails? All I will say is count me in for both.
But please don’t tell me “it’s all about the list, stupid!” You see it’s 2008 now and blogs build business relationships too.
