The Death of Print: Is it Time to Abandon Ship?

On May 24th, there was an article (click here to see New York Times article) in the New York Times reporting that the Times Picayune, which has been around for 175 years is reducing its printing schedule to three days a week, becoming the first paper of its size to make this move. The article also references the same survival measures being taken by smaller papers, including our own Huntsville Times. Since I haven’t received a print newspaper for several years, this is no surprise to me, and it doesn’t directly affect me, but I do feel a sense of sadness at what feels like the passing of an age.

This is just another sign to prove that what we’re all hearing about is true: Print is dying. Not that long ago, I was managing print operations for a company that was struggling because of the diminishing print industry. In the past six years printers have been closing their doors at an increasing rate all over the country—some that have been in business for more than a hundred years. There is mounting pressure to cut prices, which means operating on leaner margins, resulting in the need to reduce wages and maintain fewer employees in order to just survive.

So, if we haven’t seen skyrocketing costs for print media yet (mark my words, that day is coming), why should we move away from this medium now?

Because what’s even more important than knowing what is happening in the print industry is knowing why. Print is diminishing because more and more consumers want to receive their news and other communications through the digital medium (hint: this is why the post office recently needed a federal bailout as well).

And here is what matters to us: We shouldn’t be making the switch away from print because print is dying; we should make the switch to digital because this is how our prospects and customers want to receive these types of communications. To most consumers, when we ignore this trend, we look outdated, inflexible, unresponsive, and uncaring.

If print is still working for you, and you’re still getting good prices, then you don’t need to abandon that medium just yet, but you do need to add digital channels. In addition to appealing to your customers and prospects, you will see these benefits as well: better tracking of campaigns and results, more opportunities to communicate with your customers, better cross-sale rates, and increased loyalty. Who wouldn’t want these things?

‍