Print to online: Making the shift smart and smooth

Communicators give advice on how to cut newsletter costs and increase readership

If you’re like most communicators, you’ve been eyeing your department’s print newsletter budget and wondering if and how it could be lowered—or whether the costs could be eliminated altogether.

Online newsletters are an appealing way to save time and money, while becoming more environmentally friendly. Killing a print pub for an online version isn’t right for every company; often, integrating print and online is the way to go.

With print journalism in a steady, steep decline, your employees may be ready to get their company news online.

“In the working world, people are so attuned to getting information through the Web, it’s likely they’ll prefer to get company news through the intranet as well,” says Cindy Dashnaw, a freelance communications writer and editor. “Magazine readership is falling, but [people think] just because it’s your employee newsletter that’s going out in print, they’re going to read it. It’s crazy.”

Here are some tips for a smooth and successful transition.

Conduct a survey

It may seem obvious, but if you’re not sure whether employees will embrace an online newsletter over a print version, try asking them.