PDF E-Mail Newsletters

"Recently I conducted an interview with Roger Parker entitled "PDF Newsletters: retro or a smart move?" (www.wordbiz.com/archive/pdf_enewsletters.shtml). Do you see any problem in sending an e-mail newsletter as a PDF attachment?" -- Debbie Weil, WordBiz Report

I am a great fan of Roger C. Parker's One Page Newsletters concept (www.onepagenewsletters.com). He is the design genius of our generation who taught desktop publishing excellence to thousands. There's no doubt that PDF is the only popular medium that allows a publisher to control with precision how an e-newsletter is finally viewed.

The real drawback to PDF e-zines, however, is the fact that they don't open automatically in current e-mail programs. They come as an attachment -- and many people (myself included) think twice about opening attachments, even if they know the sender. Too many PDF e-zines just don't get read. And perhaps 20% of recipients don't yet have the free Adobe Acrobat Reader plugin needed to view PDF documents.

One compromise might be to use an HTML "wrapper" message to describe and outline the contents of the newsletter, teasing recipients to open a PDF attachment and assuring them of its safety. If you can convince readers that the attachment is both full of excellent content and not a virus carrier, PDF e-zines can be a great medium. Perhaps a better alternative is not to send a PDF e-mail attachment at all, but have readers click on a link in your e-mail wrapper to download the PDF e-zine from your site. That way they get your carefully designed newsletter without triggering attachment paranoia or a warning about opening a PDF attachment.