Jeremy Flint Posted…

I think for most people in the internet/web industry, RSS is more popular. But what about mom and pop sitting at home that have NO IDEA what RSS is? I guess it really all depends on who the target audience of the content is.

Mike P. Posted…

E-mail newsletters have been *very* effective for some of our clients. As Jeremy said, it depends on your audience, but I can assure you that many people are doing very well with e-mail newsletters ;-)

(and paying a fair price to have them sent out and tracked, too!)

Brady J. Frey Posted…

I have many clients where newsletters are highly effective, if not instrumental in their marketing still

The last health website I did, Body Ecology, lives and breathes by their newsletter, and it brings in the most money for them -- simply because their user base is typically over 35 at the office or at home, and email is what they prefer. Average users, not too technical, but still interested, and don't want to have to 'find' their information. Even RSS readers require us to refresh every now and then:)

I don't think this will ever die except for the high end users like us, plugged in.

Jared Christensen Posted…

Does any one offer both email newsletters and RSS feeds? If so, what is the ratio of subscribers? Do newsletters out way RSS feeds? I work for bhg.com and we do not offer an RSS feed, but our audience is older and less technical. It may not be worth it for us to offer one.

Brady J. Frey Posted…

Jared, I would argue that it's so simple to code RSS, much less automate it -- that it wouldn't be so much of a burden you shouldn't consider it. What do you have to lose by coding an RSS feed, possibly a few minutes? But what do you have to gain by putting it on bhg.com? Possibly an audience you've lost or not gained prior. It never hurts to overkill your marketing, so long as it doesn't become an overhead cost burden or a PR eye sore.

Besides, maybe your specific site would be perfect for that type of test:).

Dave Greiner Posted…

We're constantly hearing great stories from our customers about how successful their email newsletters have been for them and their clients.

It's really all about doing things right. Offer something that people actually WANT to read, get their permission and then deliver on that promise. If you follow best practice and give people what they're asking for, email marketing can be a huge winner.

JH Posted…

Real people don't use RSS. Simple as.

Jacob Rask Posted…

It depends, but I don't think that e-mail newsletters will never die. The usage of RSS is obviously spreading -- it's getting mainstream. It will be. But for more general audience sites today, I wouldn't rely on only RSS, but I don't see any point in not offering it, since stated, it's really hassle-free.

And if someone who read RSS-feeds (I just taught my mom..) but doesn't expect to find it on your site, they might get more interested.

Oliver Posted…

Newsletter is just a way of holding onto the viewers. RSS, however, is a way for viewers to discover information. But i mean, with all the advertising and stuff going around, who isn't misguided?

Jim Posted…

They aren't as effective as they used to be.

Now that I'm using Atom and RSS feed, I've been able to clean up my inbox significantly. I think it's great that I'm finally using my inbox for communication with actual human beings instead of having 99 automated email notifications for every "real" email.

Unfortunately, there are some backwards organisations out there that don't provide feeds. When I get an automated email from them, I unsubscribe, look for a feed, and if I don't find one, I email them and tell them why I unsubscribed.

Basically, if you are sending out newsletters by email, and you don't provide the same information via feeds, then you have lost me. I know I am not typical, but I suspect there are a significant number of people who act like me. I believe that, as feeds get more and more popular, this trend will grow.

Try it yourself: every time you get an email newsletter of some sort, unsubscribe, and add the newsfeed to your aggregator. You'll be amazed at how much clearer and more useful email becomes when you don't have to wade through loads of junk. Sure, it's still cluttering up your aggregator, but it's less of a distraction and appropriately prioritised.

Jon Posted…

The email newsletter is done, it is so 2001. Blogging is much more 2005. People are getting much more sceptical to signing on to anything, at least with your primary email account. Even if it is a serious company, and a serious web page. When an email account starts to get over 20 spams a day, the account is essentially ruined.

Tim Hill Posted…

I agree with Jon, with antispam technology becoming more prominent now I wonder if all those newsletters going out are actually reaching the intended audience.

I'm not convinced people would go through the process of unsubscribing now when they could more easily block the address in future. Users would need to be comfortable with your company before they would trust that the unsubscribe process may work.

Antispam laws coming into effect in most countries will probably relax some people though, because their is a way to complain against companies spamming you.

Jared Christensen Posted…

Good point Brandy, why not have an RSS feed, all of our content is automated anyways. Why not deliver it in one more format, especially one that is so easy to create.

Quick question, how does every one feel about ads showing up in there feeds? Some site are already doing it!

Brady J. Frey Posted…

Ads in my feeds actually bother me less than adds on websites -- so long as they are at the bottom and don't intrude with me reading the content. I typically tend to look at them more than when on a website... and especially more when they are just text and not graphical - mostly because I tend to keep the width of my reading column small next to my feeds, and if the image is too large, it causes either a nasty scrollbar, or just me ignoring the whole thing.

Vitaly Friedman Posted…

"We also know that people don’t read, they scan."

My point exactly. I don't think that newsletters are really useful. For my part, I definitely would never click on ANY advertisements in, i.e., SlashDot newsletter. So for me, personally, it "has become an obsolete marketing tool".

Chris Pirillo Posted…

It's okay to have both... we do. :)