Print it and they will come

You’ve seen the plea at the end of e-mails, something like: “Think before you print.” or “Please consider your environmental responsibility before printing this e-mail.” Printing an e-mail, pdf or whatever is, in a way, like taking a shortcut across a nice lawn. It might not be okay, but it’s convenient and how people want to do things. That is, people want to see text and graphics on paper.

A recent SIFO study confirms the power of print – not of e-mail or PowerPoint slides, but of customer magazines. Consider these findings:

• 36 percent of magazine readers reveal that they have made a purchase as a result of what they have read in a customer magazine.
• 59 percent say a customer magazine has positively influenced their perception of the company.
• 66 percent of readers make some kind of contact with the company behind the magazine.


The internet, billboards or brochures are great channels for communication – though they can barely compete with a magazine when it comes to relationship building. Readers of customer magazines are 63% more likely than those who don’t read the magazine to recommend the company in question to others.

I love trees – and lawns – as much as the next guy, so please don’t print e-mails unnecessarily. Instead, print effectively, build your business and give your customers what they want: a magazine.

Kris Walmsley

Andra bloggar om: kommunikation, företagskommunikation