Is it possible to do all of your nonprofit marketing online and avoid printing costs entirely? Many nonprofits are dumping their boring print newsletters in favor of email versions, and some are forgoing the printed annual report in favor of a pdf download or basic web pages instead.
The extent to which you can eliminate your print budget depends on your audience and what you are trying to communicate. If the people you are trying to reach all check their email regularly or login to the same websites or check their RSS readers frequently, you might be able to pull it off. But for many nonprofits with audiences who are not tethered to the Internet, print will always be a necessity.
The best approach is to evaluate your options each time you decide you need to communicate with your audience. Don’t assume ahead of time — actually think it through. Is that message best delivered to them in print or online, or in some other way, like over the phone or in person? You have to match the audience, the message, and the delivery.
Of course, the printing industry will argue that print will never die. Check out this very clever video called Printing’s Alive (warning to sensitive ears: it contains bleeped cussing).
Thanks to the ADCMW Creatives List for the video tip.
