I was going to call this post “Has The Offline Newsletter Had It’s Day?” but decided to practice my “National Enquirer” headline skills!  So which top copywriter has quit?

Well, none actually.  However, the great John Carlton has decided to stop writing and publishing his monthly “Marketing Rebel Rant” newsletter.  The last issue was number 67 in December.  That’s over 5 years of top quality material pumped out every month.

I should probably do a “retrospective” of the “Rant”.  Over the years it has provided great insight into how John goes about writing.  It also provided many glimpses of John’s collaboration with Gary Halbert.  Many, many valuable lessons for copywriters and marketers.

However, I have to say that over the last year or so the “Rant” had become a little flat.  It took on a more introspective and dark tone and there was less of the humour and punchy marketing lessons from the early years.

John Carlton will continue to publish regularly on his blog and he’s always worth reading.  There’s a link in the “Blogroll” on the right hand side of this page.

So is the hard-copy, offline newsletter dead?  Certainly many people have moved to digital-only delivery.  However, I think it is a big mistake to discard the tried and true format.

While I recognise that I am only a sample of one(!), my own habits suggest there is value in having a physical newsletter product.  For a start, the thing is actually there in your hands.  Personally, I have only a certain capacity for reading stuff online.  I like having a tangible newsletter that I can grab and take with me and read away from my computer.

The fact it’s delivered in the mail means it’s harder to ignore.  Case in point.  I subscribe to Clayton Makepeace’s “Easywriters Club”.  I read the physical newsletter I get each month but I rarely, if ever, bother to read his online stuff anymore.  OK, that might be my loss but hey I’m busy! 

So, I think the traditional newsletter has life in it yet.  However, that’s just my opinion.  Feel free to add your two cents worth in the comments.