If you follow technology, or even if you just read this blog, you should know that “blog” has replaced “newsletter” for tech-savvy dentists. With a newsletter, you can outsource your content. You subscribe to a publication, a company creates the piece, then plugs your name in, prints, then mails – and whabam – all done. Easy peasy lemon squeezie, right? But with print newsletters, you pay for paper, printing, and postage. It’s quite an expense. Cha-ching. No one needs that in this economy!

Some practices create their own newsletters, which can be great if the dentist has a talented writer and editor on staff – and that writer and editor has extra time to devote to creating the content, laying out the design, finding the photos, and printing the newsletter. Don’t forget about distributing the newsletter via snail mail or e-mail.

If you opt for an e-mail the newsletter, be prepared to deal with with spam filters, bounce-backs, and unsubscribe requests. Maintaining an email list can be a real headache. You can hire it out, but again… cha-ching.

Let’s just get down to it. Here are the pros and cons: (more…)