Newsletter vs. Blog: The Digital Cage Fight

You can’t afford to waste time on the wrong tactics. Publishing new content is one of your most important tasks, and choosing where to publish it can make the difference between getting on the freeway or driving through quicksand.

So you’re probably looking for ways to be more efficient and post your content where it’s going to have the biggest impact.

And since you can’t do everything, you may be wondering…

What Is the Difference Between a Blog and a Newsletter?

A blog is a permanent place to post your content, usually on a website. The important point is anyone can see it, even years from now.

If you write a blog post today about your favorite walnut pie recipe, and someone searches for pie recipes six months later, they can find it.

Every blog post is a separate web page. Over time, the SEO value of all these pages accumulates, until your blog has enough gravity to attract its own traffic.

A newsletter has a different set of superpowers. It goes directly to your subscribers, which means a significant percentage of your readers will see it. The number varies by industry, but on average, 17-28% of email newsletters get opened and read.

The trouble is, once you hit “send,” your newsletter is no longer under your control. Many factors affect the delivery of your newsletter, and whether it lands in the inbox or falls into the spam folder.

Also, your newsletter content usually has a brief life. Let’s say you publish your pie recipe in an email. Six months later, someone wants to see it. Unless they received the original email and saved it, they would be out of luck.

Blog Vs Newsletter (Key Considerations)

A blog is a useful resource for search engine optimization (SEO).

People you have never contacted can find you from your blog, either through a search or through links in social media and other websites.

As we mentioned already, the content you put on your blog is searchable forever, unless you deliberately remove it. This is how blogs generate organic traffic.

A blog can also be an important “digital business card” that builds trust and credibility.

If someone Googles your business, they are likely to find your blog. If you’ve filled your blog with useful content, this will demonstrate your expertise to a visitor.

Another great thing about blogs is that they are a low-friction way for readers to engage with your content. They don’t have to subscribe; they can browse your content without a commitment.

And if your visitor finds a helpful solution to their immediate problem or question on your blog, they are likely to sign up for your newsletter or reach out to do business with you.

This makes your blog a powerful recruiting tool. Many of the best tactics to build your subscriber list involve optimizing a blog for sign-ups.

If a blog is useful for acquiring new contacts, a newsletter is one of the best ways to engage your existing contacts.

A newsletter goes directly to your readers, and they have already given you permission to send it. In fact, they are usually expecting it. It’s easy to have a lot of people reading your content right after you publish.

You can send polls in your newsletters to gain new insights about your readers. You can announce new events and products. Perhaps best of all, your newsletter is a goal-crushing monetization machine.

Let’s look at the ways to make the most of your blog and your newsletter.

Blog Vs Digital Newsletter (Unlocking Maximum Value)

If you’re trying to position yourself as a thought leader, a blog is essential. People can look you up and find a wealth of your best content in one place.

If your business relies on frequent, direct selling, then a newsletter is a no-brainer. A newsletter lets you send offers whenever you want, at a microscopic cost, to people who are already familiar with you and your business.

It’s worth noting that a blog can be invaluable in generating more sign-ups for your newsletter. At the same time, a newsletter is a cheap, easy, and effective way to drive traffic to your blog.

E-Newsletter Vs Blog (How To Get Started)

Another important thing to consider when you're asking about a blog versus a newsletter is implementation.

This is where there might be more similarities than differences.

To set up a blog or a newsletter, you need a platform that allows the customization you want and follows best practices for SEO, deliverability, and compliance with the law.

You'll probably want to save time by finding a good template, and you’ll need to put some thought into colors, branding, and the overall appearance of your blog or newsletter. Choosing the right name can be a game-changer.

Once you have everything set up, you'll have to produce content on a regular basis. This is one of the areas where templates, such as those provided by beehiiv, make your job easier.

Now, here’s an important time-saving tip: Once you go through the trouble of creating either a blog or a newsletter, you don’t have to repeat most of the upfront work. You can repurpose a lot of your blog content into newsletters, and vice versa.

This is why the most successful SMBs have both blogs and newsletters.

Imagine what you could accomplish if you had a platform that supports a blog and a newsletter! Do such wonders exist in the real world?

Blog Vs Email Newsletter (Closing Thoughts)

The conclusion here should be obvious.

There is no point in asking the “blog versus newsletter” question. You should simply have both.

Fortunately, there’s an easy way to get the best of both worlds.

When you sign up for an email newsletter with beehiiv, you also get a dedicated, professionally optimized website to go with it.

Your blog will have a host of essential tools, from SEO to reCAPTCHA and analytics (plus, we’ll teach you how to use all these features).

A blog and newsletter with beehiiv includes tools to manage your subscriptions, user authentication, paywalls, billing, and more.

We’re constantly giving you new tools and tactics to drive more traffic to your blog and encourage more sign-ups for your newsletter.

So, instead of overthinking the newsletter vs. blog debate, we highly recommend you set up your beehiiv newsletter now.