Paper, Electronic or Both?
Inviting people by electronic means appears to be the trend these days. Long gone are the days of writing personal notes or invitations. Reasons given for going electronic are that it is quick, easy and cheap. That approach is Ok if you are reaching out to your close friends. Unfortunately you don’t get good response results when inviting strangers to your special events. Most people are flooded with emails and are too busy to read them.
In my opinion, many companies and non-profit organizations are realizing that keeping print materials in their budgets yield much better response results. My suggestion is to use both methods of inviting or informing people in your inner and outer circles.
You can continue with email blasts only but run the risk of getting poor responses. Or you can double up on your special events with proper printed material and increase your chances of having a successful get together. If your concern is that we will run out of trees, then let me put your mind at ease. Paper mills are committed to planting three trees for every tree they harvest. The answer is that there will be more trees around for future generations to enjoy than today.
Yes, email blasts are inexpensive versus print and postage costs. But keep in mind, you get what you pay for and it may not be pretty. The last thing you want is to be the only one at your party!