Yesterday, Newspower sent a marketing email to newsagents. Plenty of newsagents have shown me the email. It is neat, upbeat and confident. It promises buying power, social media done for you, seasonal campaigns, digital solutions and support.
On the surface, it reads well. Look a little closer, and what I think are gaps start to show. What I share here is my opinion about what the email reveals, and what it does not. Do your own research though, draw your own conclusions.
Big claims, light proof
The email leads with “largest”, “most trusted” and “35+ years helping stores grow sales and improve performance”. Those are big claims.
There are no numbers. No current store count. No retention percentage. No satisfaction or trust metric. No average growth figure. No example showing how performance actually improved.
What does most trusted mean, what evidence supports this?
“Proven” is used as a label, but there is nothing in the text that proves anything. For a major decision like joining a group, that is a problem.
“Retail growth made easy” – really?
The theme of the email is “Retail Growth Made Easy”. Growth is presented as simple: time-saving tools, seamless online and digital solutions, “nothing for you to do but display and sell product.”
Anyone who has run a newsagency knows that is not how it works. Real growth usually comes from hard, sometimes uncomfortable, decisions about ranging, space, stock, staff and local engagement.
When a marketing pitch underplays the work required, it is selling comfort more than change.
Buying power without context
“Save up to 25% on key product lines” is a headline promise.
Up to. On key lines. Compared to what? Standard wholesale? Going direct? Another group? There is no category example, no base price, no sense of how common this saving actually is.
“Exclusive discounts and offers” sounds attractive. But exclusive could mean “different”, not “better for the retailer overall.”
If buying power is a core part of the pitch, it deserves more than a single “up to” sentence.
Digital offer reads like a commodity
The digital list is complete: social media management, Google Business Profile setup, targeted online ads, affordable website and ecommerce.
The problem is it could be any agency website for any small business in any category. There is nothing newsagent-specific. No examples. No numbers.
The Facebook posting service promises up to six posts a week across standard categories. Posts are described as designed to drive customers, but there is nothing about engagement quality, local distinctiveness, or measured sales impact.
Volume is not the same as value.
Ink and toner promise is too broad
One of the flagship programs is about ink and toner. The pitch is to “become the go-to ink and toner retailer.”
Anyone trading in this space knows it is not that simple. Big-box retailers, specialist chains and online players set tough benchmarks on price and range. The economics vary sharply by location. In many metro and inner suburban areas, chasing destination status in this category is a real risk.
The email does not mention stock risk, SKU count, location filters or exit plans. It presents a broad opportunity without the cautionary detail this category deserves. That is a significant gap.
Support sounds busy, not defined
Support is a major theme: dedicated business managers, a members-only network, educational videos, weekly virtual meetings, events, trade fairs, bulletins.
It is a long list. But it reads like a brochure. There is no sense of how often a retailer will actually hear from their business manager, what support looks like when a store is struggling, or any example of a store that was turned around and how it happened.
Activity is not the same as outcome. The email does not make that distinction.
For everyone, not quite right for anyone
The email speaks to “independent newsagents” as one group. That is the only segmentation.
No nuance for regional versus metro, high gift versus low gift, lotto-heavy versus lotto-light, centre versus high street, or operator appetite for change. No sense of who the group is not a good fit for.
Retailers are not one thing. A pitch that treats them as one thing will struggle to be genuinely useful to any of them.
Why this matters
A polished email from a marketing group is not a decision-making tool. It is an invitation to ask harder questions.
When you read something like this, look for big claims with nothing behind them, category promises that ignore obvious risks, support that is listed but not described, and comfort language that papers over the work a genuine business change actually takes.
If a group wants you to trust them with a slice of your future, the least they can do is give you enough detail to judge them on more than slogans.
The email in question is slick. The weaknesses are in what it chooses not to say.
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I own newsXpress and can be reached on 0418 321 338 or at help@newsxpress.com.au.