Nielsen claims that "Bloggers tend to be all one extreme edge" and that most people prefer newsletters. Umm, maybe Nielsen needs to climb out of his ivory tower.
I'm finishing up a blog for a site that caters to baby boomer women, especially those who have very little technical skills. The client wanted a blog because they wanted to encourage conversation and teach their readers how to use blogs.
The newsletters that I manage for clients, on the other hand, have about 30% readership. That means that only 30% read the newsletter - the rest just delete it. Of those people who read the newsletter, only about 10% click on any links within the newsletter. Additionally, 5-10% of each issue bounces back because of spam blockers or the user's emailbox being full.
For the clients that I have created a blog for in addition to their newsletter (and they link to the blog in the newsletter) we are already seeing greater readership, greater scope and an impressive community of commenters.
Sorry, Jakob - your academic conclusions don't match my real-world experience.
technorati tags: jakob nielsen usability newsletters ezines blogs
I've done both newsletter and blogs and I can say that blogs are soooo much better. It gives my readers a chance to comment on what I've written and interact with me. Plus, they get to know me as a "real" person, and not just someone who feeds you information and has a hand out waiting for you to buy something.
Posted by: Maria Palma | June 24, 2006 1:47 AM | Permalink to Comment