For many nonprofit organizations, a website and email communications are replacing the printed newsletter as the primary member communications tool. In an effort to reduce mailing and printing costs, some organizations have eliminated the printed version of their newsletters altogether.

However, there are a few good reasons for your nonprofit organization to swallow the production and mailing costs of printed materials and include them as part of your overall communications plan. Your organization's ideal communications strategy will involve balancing your web-based communications with strategically-planned printed materials.

Why Your Website is a Critical Communication Tool

Your website is the first point of contact most people will have with your organization. People who are seeking information about your organization — existing and potential members, donors, and the press — will all go to your website first.

To make your website the go-to place for your organization, your website must be dynamic and designed to attract repeat visitors. You can achieve this by:

• Providing timely new content on a regular basis
• Including information on issues your members care about

What Your Website Can Do

A well-designed website can help your organization accomplish its goals and potentially reduce the amount of time that staff or volunteers spend on administrative work. Here's a short list of things your website can do for your organization:

• Brand your organization or cause. Your website will be your organization's primary public face. It can work in your favor, or it can work against you. If your organization is small and volunteer-based or just starting out, you can create a simple website with a few graphics and extras — but make certain the content is current and all links are working.
• Provide information about your organization. Here is the standard information about your organization to include on your website:
• Mission statement
• Organizational history
• Staff and contact information
• Project information
• Directions to your office (if you have one)
• Board of Directors list, sometimes with email addresses
• Archive your newsletters. Newsletters and press releases make great web content. You can either post these as links to PDF versions of your printed work, or you can adapt the text into HTML files. If your newsletters are especially content-rich (like a magazine), you could assign an intern or volunteer to the task of scanning your older newsletters for your website's archive. This is a great way to build content on your site with minimal new effort. Your organization may be able to get assistance from Recollection Wisconsin to digitize your printed materials and post them online.
• Collect membership dues and donations. You can use your website to collect donations by securing an online donations processor. Some companies specialize in nonprofit offerings, like Acceptiva. If your organization is okay with advertising Google on your site, you can signup for no-cost online donation services through Google Checkout, a feature provided through Google Grants.  (In November 2013, Google Checkout will become Google Wallet).
• Advertise events. If your organization is putting together even a small event, like a gathering at a local pub to discuss issues, put it on your website. Events will give life to your online presence and encourage repeat visits to your website.
• Link you to partners. Your website is a key means to connect with your partners. Your partners might be sponsors, other organizations you are working with to accomplish your goals, university programs that provide you with interns, or businesses that are helping you to host events. Most donors like to be recognized more than once publicly. Many organizations have a sponsors' page on their website with links to the sponsors' websites. The sponsors' page is also a good opportunity to promote the idea and opportunity for sponsorship. Sponsor promotion may include examples of events and projects that sponsors have supported recently.

What Your Website Cannot Do

You should not rely on your website to do everything for your organization. For example, your website cannot do the following:

• Fix all your problems. Your website is a communications tool that can support your organizational objectives and maximize the efforts of a small staff. It cannot replace your staff or raise money without a complementary effort to direct traffic to it.
• Operate without ongoing maintenance. A poorly maintained website is almost as bad as having no website at all. Dated information, bad links, server malfunctions, and muddy images all work against your goal.
• Be your sole communication tool. Even a great, interactive website needs a complementary outreach system — via email, online surveys, Twitter, instant messaging, printed materials, and word of mouth — to direct traffic to your site.

Why You Shouldn't Abandon Printed Materials Altogether

Even in the Digital Age, printed materials have a role to play in organizational communications. Here are three reasons why your organization should not abandon print communications altogether:

• Not everyone is comfortable with computers. Although digital media and devices are widespread, many people still prefer to read the printed page rather than their computer (or telephone) screen. This preference is not a factor of age — senior computer use has doubled in the past decade, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. If you assume that all of your supporters and potential supporters regularly check their email and use their computers to archive old materials, you will likely leave some of those people in the dark.
• Print media is easier for some people to archive. Some business offices have tried to become paperless with their electronic files organized into electronic folders. Electronic files are typically backed up on a server or master hard drive to ensure that digital information is not lost during a power surge. However, some people simply do not feel comfortable trusting machines to save critical documents. And many people choose to print out copies of their digital communications for reading and archiving anyway.
• Printed media feel special. When you distribute your content in print form, you maintain control over the final look and feel of the materials. A good-looking newsletter can be a keepsake. Emailed communication can easily be overlooked, deleted, or inadvertently held up in junk mail limbo.

How You Can Use Print Communications Effectively

Printed matter can be pricey, especially if you use high-quality paper stock and images. Email is essentially free. Therefore, you should reserve high-quality printing for special publications.

Your organization can seek out sponsors to cover the costs of your printed materials. Your board can help you locate appropriate sponsorship for printing. Common sponsors include businesses that benefit from your work, especially if they are already members. Always recognize these sponsors — in print and on your website.

If your organization chooses to preserve the tried-and-true newsletter tradition, make your newsletter something your members want to hold onto. For example, you may include serialized training materials such as a tips column focused on historic home do-it-yourself (DIY) projects. Newsletters can also be retooled to become magazines, especially if several volunteer writers pitch in.

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