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Super Library Marketing: Practical Tips and Ideas for Library Promotion

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Why Print Marketing Still Works for Libraries… and How to Prove It!

Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library

Quick Summary

  1. Print marketing is not dead. When used strategically, it helps libraries cut through digital noise and even strengthens digital marketing.
  2. Measure return on investment of print marketing with opt-ins, QR codes, custom trackable links, and interactive prompts.
  3. Repurpose print content across social, blogs, and email to extend its reach and prove its impact.

Every day, I run with anticipation to the mailbox.

I can’t help myself. As a member of Gen X, snail mail was a significant part of my life when I was growing up. A letter or postcard from a family member or friend brought me such joy. We had phones, of course, but no social media. So if a friend went on vacation, I couldn’t follow each step of their journey on Instagram.

I also love mail because it’s physical. There is something about the feel of paper in your hands that adds to the joy of reading. It’s why I prefer print books to eBooks.

And I know that digital correspondence is also permanent, but there is something different about a stash of letters, held together with ribbon or string, kept to be read again years later.

What does any of this have to do with library marketing?

The 10th Annual Super Library Marketing survey closed a few weeks ago. I’m analyzing the results now and will publish the full report on January 5, 2026.

But one theme has emerged already: Library promotions are getting lost in the constant digital noise.

I work with hundreds of libraries worldwide every day at NoveList. They’re all facing this struggle. And some are beginning to lean on print to cut through the noise.

That’s because print still matters when it’s intentional, measurable, and audience-focused.

Print is not dead. It’s strategic!

It might feel old-fashioned or even risky to invest staff time and budget in print. After all, email and social media offer instant metrics and quick reach. But here’s the truth: Print has never been more valuable.

Now, I realize this statement may come as a surprise. Readers of this blog know how much I value email marketing. It is, hands down, the most effective use of your marketing time.

But clever library marketers know that there are some audiences we cannot reach with email. Print helps you connect the dots between those groups. It can spark attention in people who might otherwise overlook your digital promotions. And it can deepen the relationship with those who are already engaged with your library.

Imagine this: You’ve been on a store’s email list for years, eagerly clicking through their sales messages. Then one day, a coupon shows up in your mailbox. Suddenly, the brand feels even more present, more valuable, and you’re more likely to act on the next email, too. (BTW, this example is born of my own experience with Bath and Body Works!) And it works because…

Print doesn’t replace digital marketing; it amplifies it.

How do you know if your print marketing is working?

Here’s the challenge I’ve always faced with print marketing: How do you prove that it’s effective? How do you know it’s worth the investment? Because, let’s face it, print can be costly.

Here are five concrete ways you can measure the effectiveness of print marketing at your library.

1. Start with an opt-in model for longer print publications.

Many libraries print thousands of copies of their print newsletter or magazine. Then they send them out to all the people living in their service area. They might also send copies home with each child in their school district.

I totally understand that strategy. But it’s akin to sending un-targeted email messages. If someone isn’t already engaged with the library, the sad truth is they may throw that print piece in the trash. That’s a waste of money for the library and a waste of time for you.

A better approach is to ask readers to opt in to the publication. There are a couple of ways to do this.

  • Ask people to sign up either when they sign up for a library card or through an email campaign.
  • Send your print publication to anyone who donates to your library’s fundraising groups.
  • Put copies out in your branches. You can also distribute copies to partner organizations with locations that have a lot of foot traffic, like museums and theaters. Be sure to include a QR code so those new audiences can sign up to receive their own copies at home.

2. Make your print marketing interactive.

Ask readers to post a social media comment on a story or an event in your print publication. This works really well for print calendars and fliers.

Add a unique hashtag to the piece, and ask people to use it when they post their comment. Then count how many comments you receive.

You can also ask readers to send an email with an answer to a special prompt, like, “Which storytime is your child’s favorite?” Create a special inbox to receive comments from your print publications. Then you can count the number of emails you receive.

3. Use custom trackable links.

When I worked at the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library, I used Bit.ly to create special trackable links for our website. With a free Bit.ly account, you can edit the back half of a link and then track how many people click on it. This makes it easy to see which traffic is coming directly from your print marketing.

4. Add QR codes.

Add a QR code to your print piece, then track how many scans you get. One library marketer I spoke with takes this a step further by creating a different QR code for each poster, depending on where it’s displayed. That way, she can compare engagement across different locations or departments!

Pro tip: This strategy works for all your library’s print pieces, from bookmarks to event flyers. If you ever feel like you’re doing too much print marketing, the data you collect from trackable links and QR codes can help you make the case for (or against) continuing.

5. Repurpose your content across other channels.

Save time and amplify your content by repurposing stories from your magazine or newsletter into social posts, blog articles, or email content. If those repurposed pieces perform well digitally, it’s another signal that your print marketing is resonating.

When I worked at the library, many of the stories we published in our quarterly newsletter or on our blog were repurposed in this way. This helped us to get more traction for the stories and gave us another way to measure whether the story is interesting to our audience.

This trick can also help your community to learn that you have print promotions and give you a reason to solicit sign-ups for the print version!

How is your library using print marketing?

I’d love to hear how your library is using print. Share your experiences in the comments below.

Need more inspiration?

Library’s Print Magazine Is a Community Must-Read! Here Is Their Secret Formula.

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Library’s Print Magazine Is a Community Must-Read! Here Is Their Secret Formula.

Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library

I’ve signed up for a lot of emails from libraries. A few weeks ago, an email hit my inbox… my first from this library… that made me sit up.

It was a link to a print news magazine called Words from Marion County Public Library System in Ocala, Florida.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen a print news magazine from a library. And this one was so good, I had to reach out to the editor, Karen Jensen, the library’s Community Liaison. She and several other employees manage all the marketing and public relations for the library. Karen also oversees grants and volunteers and is the liaison for all six of the library’s Friends groups.

A native of Valparaiso, Indiana, Karen graduated from Ball State University with a liberal arts degree. After college, she worked for a large radio station in the Midwest as a copywriter. She also took on a variety of jobs within the equine industry. Her love of horses was fed by her childhood library trips.

“I was a horse-crazy little girl (who grew to be a horse-crazy adult) and was so completely drawn to Marguerite Henry’s Misty of Chincoteague, King of the Wind, and Walter Farley’s books, The Black Stallion,” remembers Karen. “Books were some of my favorite gifts as a child and adolescent and my nose was buried beneath the pages much of the time. The rest of my leisure time was spent in the barn with my beloved horses!

Her passion for horses and a business prospect brought her to Ocala, Florida where she worked primarily within the public and nonprofit sectors before joining the library in 2009.

“The first issue of our quarterly WORDS magazine was in the spring of 2009 before I joined the library system,” recalls Karen. “I arrived in time to spearhead the fall issue and have served as the magazine’s editor since that time.”

“The magazine provides a central information source for all events, and updates on library information and resources, in both print and digital formats. It offers a professional means for sharing information with elected officials, community partners, and a myriad of other groups and individuals with whom we all come in contact.

-Karen Jensen

“Although by no means our only method of communicating with the public, it is a key reference point for all staff when working within our community.”

Words has evolved from its original eight pages to its current 20 pages and is funded entirely by the Friends of the Ocala Public Library. Work on each issue starts six months before the publishing date.

“There is a creative meeting with managers and supervisors quarterly where we establish the theme and content for the next issue,” explains Karen. “Upon the selection of the theme and content, I will seek volunteer writers from within our library staff, as well as within the community.”

Words is unlike other library newsletters, in that it’s a balanced mix of in-depth stories and library promotion. The issue I received included a patron interview on fall traditions, a piece on a historic tourist destination, and a preview of an upcoming library program featuring a chef from the World Equestrian Center. It’s informative, educational, entertaining, and beautifully designed.

“The number of print copies has always been small, with a current print quantity of 4,500 for three issues and 5,000 for the summer issue for nine library locations,” says Karen. “In addition to the small print quantity, the library system uses a mail management system (LibraryAware) to disseminate monthly updates to more than 80,000 patrons in Marion County.”

I’m not surprised to learn that Words is a hot commodity for patrons.

“We hear from patrons and community members asking, ‘When is the next issue coming out?’” explains Karen. “And, as with many print magazines, there are always special favorites that really resonate within our community. Typically, it is themes about natural resources in our county or other highlights. People really love learning about their community and we certainly want that to include their public library!”

“We now have very few remaining print copies at the end of each quarter and typically run out before the end of the quarter at our larger branch locations. We do, as supplies allow, take print copies to outreach events, but more than likely have a flyer with the QR code and how to sign up to receive a copy available at tabling events.”

“Our library system administration and staff love the magazine and even when it is an add-on to workloads, are so very proud of the final result. And there is really nothing to compare with receiving an email from a community partner, an elected official, or a mom of three who says, ‘I just love Words!’”   

Karen’s advice for any library looking to start a news magazine

Tip #1: Start with a plan.

  • Establish goals, audiences, what is to be accomplished, and by whom, early on.
  • Factor in how you will measure your outcomes. This is really such an important part of any public relations/communication efforts. How will you know if this is a cost-effective endeavor? What is the ROI?
  • How often will the newsletter be published?
  • Who will the editor be?
  • Who will manage the production?
  • What are the costs associated with the news magazine production and how will the costs be covered?

Tip #2: Determine what combination of formats is going to work best for your audiences.

  • If cost is a factor, digital format will be the most realistic.
  • Explore a mail management platform that will work for your community of patrons. We selected LibraryAware and it has really helped to expand the footprint far beyond the print or website reach.

P.S. You might also find this helpful

Library Cracks the Code on How To Tell Stories to Stakeholders: They Use Email! Here’s How Their Targeted Newsletter Works

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Four Steps to Transform Your Library’s Plain Old Newsletter into a Marketing Masterpiece (With Examples!)

Photo courtesy Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. People in the newspaper room, circa 1900.

I love to read anything in print. The texture and smell of the paper, the actual physical weight the words have in your hands, and the ability to re-read and annotate the pages give a sense of importance to the printed piece that you can’t get when you read something online.

Digital exhaustion is a real phenomenon, and the pandemic has only made it worse. According to Statista, the average daily time spent with digital media is expected to increase from seven hours and 50 minutes in 2020 to just under eight hours in 2022.

Even though people are spending more time online, that online space is crowded. It’s harder for the library’s message to break through all the content noise.

People want a more personal connection to their marketing. A printed promotional piece appeals to the senses. It’s tangible. It occupies physical space and creates the value of possession. Your audience must physically interact with it, and that makes it authentic and reliable.  

And for members of our community who don’t have access to the internet, or who don’t have a connection strong enough to support streaming videos or high-resolution downloads, print is the key to marketing success.

Most libraries have a printed newsletter. I want to challenge your library to take that piece and transform it into a powerhouse marketing tool.

To do that, you’re going to trim down the number of events in the piece and add stories about your library and its patrons.

Here’s how you can transform your newsletter into a promotional masterpiece that people will want to read. There are examples of great library print pieces at the end of this post!

Make a plan and an outline.

Divide your publication into pages. Then, plot out what you are going to put on each page.

You’ll want to create a balance between the sections of your piece. Start by dividing your publication into thirds.

  • One third will be dedicated to promoting collection items, including booklists, streaming music and movies, your physical movie and music collection, and magazines.
  • One third will be dedicated to events and programs.
  • The final third will be stories about patrons and staff and the ways the library has impacted their lives.

Pick one big story to serve as your cover.

Some cover stories we used at my library included:

A father and son who visited all 41 branches of our library in one day.

A middle schooler who gave a speech about library funding.

A 103-year-old woman who read three books a week, thanks to the work of our outreach department.

How to use the library to determine if stories on the internet are fact or fiction.

Once you determine your cover story, place it in your outline about halfway through your publication. You want people to have to read several pages to get to it.

Here are some other ideas for stories to put in your publication.

  • Staff and patron reading recommendations, including quotes about why they love and recommend the books.
  • Stories behind the forming of a book club.
  • A profile of a teacher or a school librarian who takes advantage of services like teacher collections and support from the library.
  • How your library has helped someone find a job or earn a degree.
  • Profile of a small business that used your library to launch a successful company.
  • Behind the scenes of a certain department at your library. For example, I interviewed the manager of our Preservation Lab, which restores and preserves rare items in the library’s collection such as military uniforms, books written on palm leaves, and all kinds of historically valuable photographs. In another issue, we took people along for a ride with our Outreach Services and talked to the people whose lives were changed by the simple act of bringing books to their homes.

Make sure each page includes at least one call to action.

Calls to action are very important, even in print. Remember, if you want your cardholders to do something, you must tell them to do it explicitly!

End each article with a call to action, like, “To learn more, email us.” Or “To join this book club, visit our website.”

The whole point of your print publication is promotion. Make sure that you give your readers a way to interact with your library and take the next step.

Give yourself time to edit and review.

Typically, it took me about a month from start to finish to write, edit, and review my 12-page print publication. Specifically, my timeline looked like this:

  • Four weeks before we went to print, articles written by other staff were due.
  • Three weeks before we went to print, I thoroughly read and edited each article. I used my own punctuation and grammar skills, plus Microsoft Word’s review editor, and a Grammarly extension on my browser to perfect each article.
  • Two weeks before we went to print, I made copies of the publication and passed them around to at least five staff members inside and outside of my department. I asked them to carefully read the articles and mark any mistakes they noticed.
  • One week before we went to print, I gave copies to senior leaders for final approval.
  • I also made a copy for myself and read it out loud. This is a trick I learned from journalism school that I still use today for this blog! Your brain may automatically correct errors when you read silently in your head but if you read each word out loud, as if you are doing it for an audience, you’ll find missing words or grammar errors that you never noticed before.

Some examples of great library print promotional pieces that incorporate promotions and stories about the library (that you can read online!)

Niles-Maine District Library Newsletter

Department of Library Services Newsletter from the University of Pretoria

The Storyline from Oak Park Public Library

Next Page from Bucknell University

Source from the Howard County Library System

Between the Columns from Eastern Kentucky University Libraries

Does your library have a print publication that you’re really proud of? I’d love to see it! Please let me know where I can read it by hitting the Feedback button on the bottom left-hand side of this page.

You May Also Want to Read These Articles

How Can You Tell If People Want To Read Your Library’s Print Newsletter or Magazine? Some Not Exactly Scientific Ideas!

📚I Was Wrong About Bookmarks! How to Use Print to Keep People Coming Back to the Library

Angela’s Latest Book Review

Couple Found Slain by Mikita Brottman

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Frustrated with Your Library Marketing Newsletter? Here’s Why You’re Not Getting the Results You Want AND How to Fix It

I hold a controversial opinion. Newsletters are an ineffective tool for library marketing.

I totally understand why libraries create them. Our customers are a wide and diverse audience and our budget is limited. Newsletters are an easy and efficient way to get information to our audience.

But many libraries are frustrated by the lack of demonstrable results from their newsletters, both the print and email versions. And there’s a reason you can’t get good results from a newsletter.

The mistake is: You’re sending the same message to all of your cardholders.

It’s understandable. It feels like the natural thing to do. Your library has great stuff and you want everyone to know about everything.

The problem with that approach is that your cardholders are individuals. One message never fits them all. The needs and interests of your cardholders vary greatly.

I’m not suggesting you ditch your newsletter. By transforming the way you approach your current print and e-newsletter, you can make it actually work! The trick is to make changes that increase your newsletter’s value by refining the message.

Tips that work for both print and e-newsletters

Give your cardholders LOTS more of what THEY want. I know you’ve been keeping track of attendance at events and holds or checkouts of books you promoted in your previous newsletters. If you notice that your newsletter audience turns out for a particular type of event or that they like a particular genre of books or collection items, put MORE of those in your newsletters.

Library marketers are often pressured to promote what their co-workers or bosses think is interesting. Or worse, what their co-workers think the audience NEEDS to hear.

I’ve actually had to gently explain to my colleagues that, while reading classic authors like Ernest Hemingway and Jane Austen are good for the brain, most people are not looking for an intellectual challenge when they reach for a book. It’s like getting kids to eat their vegetables. Veggies are healthy, but if your child doesn’t like them, they’ll clamp their mouth shut and refuse to take a bite.

The newsletter audience is the same. You can’t make people attend events or read books because they’re healthy or intellectual. Library marketers sometimes have to be an advocate for their audience; you have to be persistent in your defense of what your cardholders want.

At my library, we pivoted our newsletter to focus more on our the parts of our collection that our cardholders like. We had the data to back it up. We know that our cardholders really love content about coding and coding classes. We know they love mystery books. We know they love workshops about writing and publishing their own books. We learned all of these nuanced preferences by carefully measuring our audience’s response to marketing in all areas. Patterns emerge. And now, we do a lot of promotion around these areas because we know, for a fact, that our cardholders love this kind of content.

Make your content helpful, not promotional. Your cardholders are regularly bombarded with offers, sales, and promotions, both in their inbox and in your mailbox. To get people to read your newsletter, the content needs to be interesting, useful, or helpful.

Hundreds of studies and surveys about consumer behavior show us that content that is educational or entertaining gets better results that content that is promotional. So how can you promote something while being entertaining or informative? Content marketing in the answer.

Content marketing is a strategic approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience–ultimately, to drive profitable consumer action.

Content marketing breaks through the noise and the clutter by providing compelling, useful information for your cardholder–any type of information. It addresses whatever pain points your cardholders have. It positions your library as the go-to place for information. It builds trust.

And through content marketing, your library gets a better and deeper understanding of your cardholders. You can use that understanding to do a better job of addressing your cardholders’ needs. It’s a constant circle of giving and it carries more weight for a longer period than a traditional newsletter promotion.

Stop thinking of your publication as a newsletter. Start creating news magazines. Most library newsletters that come to my inbox or mailbox are long and contain a ton of text and images. There isn’t much white space and scanning them is difficult, because there is so much to scan.

At my library, we increased the effectiveness of our print newsletter by transforming it into a magazine. We trimmed it from 16 to 12 pages. My graphic artists started to give the publication a magazine feel in layout, using bolder visuals and shorter, more engaging articles. We left some white space. We changed the balance of the articles from 100 percent promotional to 50 percent informational and 50 percent promotional (even I have to fight the battle with my library to be less overtly promotional!).

What happened when we made these changes? Our news magazine became a must-read. People started asking when the next issue would be out. We had to order more copies. Library staff and outside partners vie for space in the publication. The news magazine is popular!

Tips specific to e-newsletters

Keep the text short and scannable. Your e-newsletter is a touch point, not the end of a conversation. Readers should get enough to be left with the feeling of wanting to know more about a particular subject. Drive your recipients to your website or another platform where they can get more information with compelling text and enticing calls to action.

Make it easy to share your e-newsletter. Include social share buttons that link directly to your library’s social pages.

Segment your e-newsletters. You can segment your e-newsletter in a number of ways… by age, by interest, and by location. This means you’ll need to create more than one e-newsletter. But each one will be targeted to a specific audience, which increases effectiveness. This step will be more work for you but it’s worth it for better results.

By targeting your message, you are more likely to say something that matters significantly to your cardholders. That individualized message makes them more likely to take an action, which makes it more likely that your newsletter will be successful.

More help for library marketers

How the Best Newsletters Get-and Keep-Reader’s Attention from Content Marketing Institute

NoveList’s Guide to Best Practices for Library Newsletters

7 Tips for Creating Engaging Newsletters from Mailjet

Great examples of targeted library newsletters

Dallas Public Library’s Young Black Readers Newsletter

Indian Prairie Public Library’s DVD Preview

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