iPads. Smartphones. Android tablets. Websites, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, e-mails, RSS feeds, laptops, desktops, notebooks, ultrabooks, even TV and radio.

With so many ways to get information that don’t involve paper, why would anyone in their right mind choose a trade magazine to get the word out about their products or services?

I could quote you numbers about magazine readership or about growth in tree-based media, but it all comes down to one thing: psychology.

Most digital media is pull media. In other words, you have to pull out the information you want. It doesn’t come looking for you in most cases, and even when it does, you can ignore it. Sometimes you can’t help but ignore it. That e-mail about the new issue of Cabbage Farmer Today being available? It got buried in with some other e-mails yesterday and was forgotten. Oops. The same is true with that text reminding you that the latest Solid State Storage weekly podcast was live on the website. Lost in a sea of other text messages.

Not so with a paper publication. It announces its arrival with great fanfare. A live human being employed by the United States Postal Service brings it right to your door. Brightly colored, its headlines entice you to learn more about the latest in insurance products or how to increase your assembly line efficiency overnight with these four simple steps. The paper magazine doesn’t disappear. No, it lies patiently in your physical mailbox down next to the break room, or on the side of your desk. And it’s good for an entire month. You can’t delete it. It won’t get spammed. It doesn’t have broken links, server errors or pop-up ads. And it smells good: old-fashioned, honest and trustworthy. You can touch it. It’s real. It’s tactile. You can fold the corners, highlight specific content, and pass it to Larry in accounting. It’s believable. It’s been vetted and edited by actual professional writers. There’s little chance that it will turn out to be rumor started by a 14-year-old in Boise.

As much as we love (and embrace and utilize) digital media at Trade Press Services, there are convincing reasons why paper trade journals are still around. Given the opportunity, we can help you tell your story in a trade publication today. Call Gerri at (805) 496-8850 or e-mail [email protected] to find out how.