Strategies To Increase Newsletter Readership

There are so many poorly done newsletters/email campaigns. As someone who turned an organization's newsletter w/ 15-20% open rates (quarterly) into two weekly newsletters each with consistently 65-70% open rate for years, I've learned a lot of lessons. Here's how to make your email something your audience can't wait to read: -Find the anti-pattern -5x value rule -Get over yourself, focus on delight -Trash compactor mindset -Only serve your fans What these mean: 1. Find the anti-pattern Figure out what your audience is craving for, that difference that would be so refreshing they would exhale when they learn about what you write. When I worked my first VC job, most VC fund newsletters were self-congratulatory announcements about portfolio company raises, investor press mentions, and occasionally a thoughtful piece. Pattern: Self-promotion in service of fund promotion. Anti-pattern: Zero self-promotion, only pure value given. Figure out what everybody does that is bad, and flip the script. 2. 5x value rule A lot of writers lack the humility to consider the fact that their idea/message/offer is simply just not as valuable as they think. When marketers/writers ask me for feedback, I tell them to consider what they think would be enough to get someone to care about their writing. Then 5x that bar. Make it so high a bar for value that it would be an "of course" decision for someone to read/respond/share about your stuff. 3. Get over yourself, focus on delight. It is obvious when newsletters are written with a KPI/explicit transactional goal in mind. Impress LPs to get them to invest. Convert those customers to subscribe for a plan. Get people to request meetings with you. If you provide delight in their experience of your product, the results will come. What would you do if you only want to make them as delighted as possible by your email every time they read it, without any conversion needed? Do that. The conversions will come. 4. Trash compactor mindset Remove the excess volume from your emails. I don't just mean concision in terms of length. Every marginal word you write should provide something of value - learning, insight, engagement, social proof, etc. If the next sentence doesn't raise or maintain the average value per word of your piece, don't include it. That might mean segment your audiences with different versions. Every sentence is a chance for the reader to lean in, or for them to rationalize why this is the last one of yours that they will read. 5. Only serve your fans. Don't try to get people onto your newsletter for subscriber-growth-sake. Every subscriber should be on your distribution because they make the active choice to become an audience member. If you had to describe what you write about and someone wouldn't automatically sign up, don't do it for them. Make something that will be shared word-of-mouth that will get them anyway. Opt-out list building does not make up for a low bar for content.

Is your newsletter's click-through rate stuck at 0.5-1%? 5 ways to consistently hit 3-4% CTRs (a few lessons from working with top newsletters): 1. Put your links above the fold Reader attention drops fast. So, put your most clickable content at the top before anyone scrolls: • If you're curating news: move the most compelling stories to the top • If you're running ads: test sponsor placement before the first section • If you're linking out to long-form content: tease it up high 2. Write short emails with one CTA Not every email needs to be a blog post. Often, a short, focused message with one clear ask performs better, especially for launches, webinars, or sponsor promos. 3. Ditch corporate language for sponsor copy Stop writing like a brand. Start writing like a human who actually uses the product. Bad: "This CRM helps you track customers and increase conversions" Good: "I used to forget to follow up. Day AI now pings me in Slack before key meetings with a reminder: ' Hey, you’ve got a meeting in 3 days—you still need that data.’ I wouldn’t remember otherwise, we LOVE this thing" 4. Segment your data Your readers aren’t one-size-fits-all. So, segment your list to send more relevant messages to smaller groups of readers based on their: • Engagement history (e.g., opened the last 5 emails, clicked on a SaaS-related link) → Use your ESP • Demographics or job roles (e.g., marketers vs. founders) → use Megahit • Purchase stage (subscriber vs. trial user vs. paying customer) → Use subscription management platform / ESP Example: Got a sponsor for a marketing analytics tool? Instead of blasting it to everyone, send it only to people who: • Have clicked on previous marketing tools • Work in marketing roles (based on past surveys or onboarding questions) • Have engaged with similar content Even basic segmentation can 2–3x CTR. 5. A/B test Start with small micro-optimizations: • Button vs. text link • Hyperlink color (blue vs. black) • With/without images • Sponsor-written copy vs. creator-written For example, The Neuron uses images while 1440 doesn’t, based on reader feedback. Both approaches work. That’s why you test.

As consumers, we expect information to come to us. I used to think personalized ads were creepy, but now I'm just thankful. Sometimes, ads are so calibrated that I'm like, "Thank you for showing me exactly what I needed/wanted to see" 🙏 Get this: Companies know more about their employees than their customers, yet 72% of companies blast the same message to all (Gallup). Starting to see the disconnect here? ⛓️💥 Would you ever read a newsletter... that's not meant for YOU? Your employees aren’t dodging you. The reality is you only have 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒔 to capture their attention before they scroll or archive. There are now 𝒇𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 in the workplace. You must think like an internal marketer. Otherwise, your messages will continue going unread. I like dos and don'ts, so here are a few I learned from our customers: ❌ Don't force your employees to log into something to digest information. ✅ Meet them where they are. YOU need to provide the versatility. ❌ Don't rely on one medium across all your employees e.g. newsletters. ✅ Diversify multiple formats of content to match mediums to mindsets. ❌ Don't send your message once and expect information absorption. ✅ Schedule a series of 7-8 touch points to reinforce the message. It doesn't need to be boring; it can be fun! And what's in it for you? Well, companies that hyper-personalize see 3x higher engagement and 40% lower turnover (McKinsey). 🧪 TRY THIS EXPERIMENT 🥽 Create dynamic content in your newsletter tailored toward your exact audience by department and region to start. Ask the Department Head to write a few relevant sentences at the top (above the fold) and include a background image of their local city... ... then say what you need to say. Notice your uptick in readership and reactions. Continue experimenting, iterating, and sharing tangible data back to the business. Master the art of how to capture your employee's attention... ... and you'll become a very popular internal communicator in no time. Don't be surprised if people ask you to help them with their campaigns 🏆

Johns Hopkins Hospital had a problem. They had a big email list of hundreds of thousands of subscribers…. But what were folks subscribing for? The newsletter was talking about medical breakthroughs, and profiling award winning staff, and highlighting deep dives into everything from Alzheimers, to women's health. The open rates were <10% as a byproduct of no expectation to reality match. A lot of brands as they grow fall into this trap. We did a few simple things to hike up engagement rates 3-4x... 1) We looked at what folks who were engaging with the newsletter were actually clicking into or inquiring about. This is how we determined the best dozen newsletters to create from probably 100+ topics. 2) We built a dozen newsletters specialized to different issues the readers cared about and then sent two emails over the course of a quarter focused on transitioning folks from a generalized newsletter to the specific newsletters they cared about (you can manage this easily via a preference center in tools like ActiveCampaign). A great added benefit was that instead of 1 newsletter that normally got ignored, many readers subscribed to 2-3 of their favorite topics so total opens went way up. 3) We cleaned out older or unengaged leads (unsubbed) that no longer were interested (some 10-20% of the list), improving deliverability and engagement dramatically over the following 6-12 months. More brands should consider multiple specialized newsletters. In a noisy world, folks want to read about exactly what they are interested in, with minimal fluff or extraneous info to dig through.

Single-topic newsletters will either lose your audience or you'll burn out thinking of your next big idea. One week, it's a case study. The next, it's a random hot take. The week after that… crickets. Your readers don't know what to expect — so they stop opening. The newsletters that win are like binge-worthy TV shows. 📺 Consistent. 🎬 Predictable in structure (but fresh in content). 🍿 Readers look forward to the next edition. Here’s how to create a repeatable newsletter format that hooks readers: 1. Create 4-5 core sections your readers will love. Think: News, Hot Takes, Tools of the Week, Quick Tips, Customer Stories, etc. 2. Stick to the format every single send. Don’t switch things up randomly — consistency builds trust. 3. Rotate fresh insights into these segments, but keep the layout and flow the same. Your readers should know what they're getting BEFORE they open. The result? More opens, more clicks, more readers who can’t wait for the next issue. Want to see how we build newsletters for B2B companies that readers open out of habit? (Link in comments)

If I Were a CMO at a Media Company With 100,000 Subscribers, Here's How I'd Turn That Email List Into a Money-Making Newsletter…. First, I'd fix the damn content. Most newsletters read like they were written by a committee of bored interns. No personality. No edge. Just corporate word salad. I'd blow that up and rebuild with: • An opener that makes people think "damn, I need to read this" • Story curation that actually helps readers make sense of their world • Quick hits for busy people who still want to feel informed • Ads that don't make readers want to gouge their eyes out • Quirky insights that make them feel smarter than their peers Your content isn't just "content" - it's why people let you into their inbox in the first place. Respect that privilege. Second, I'd segment subscribers like my life depended on it. The "blast everyone the same generic newsletter" approach is newsletter malpractice. I'd build simple segments based on what people actually click on. The finance nerds get more finance. The industry gossip lovers get more tea. Not rocket science. When you know who likes what, everything gets better - your content, ads, open rates, everything. Third, I'd build a monetisation strategy that doesn't suck. Most newsletters either monetise too aggressively (alienating readers) or too timidly (leaving money on the table). I'd create a mix of: • Sponsorships from brands that actually make sense for the audience • Affiliate deals for products I'd genuinely recommend to a friend • Premium offerings for the die-hard fans who want more The key is balance. Subscribers aren't stupid - they know you need to make money. Just don't be greedy about it. Fourth, I'd stop treating the newsletter like an island. Your newsletter should feed your social. Your social should feed your website. Your website should feed your newsletter. Every piece of content should work twice as hard. That insightful analysis in Tuesday's newsletter? That's Thursday's LinkedIn post. That interview with an industry leader? That's next week's X thread. Work smarter, not harder. Fifth, I'd obsess over keeping subscribers around. Getting someone to subscribe is just the beginning. Keeping them opening, reading, and clicking month after month? That's the real game. I'd make new subscribers feel welcome. I'd recognize the loyal ones. I'd surprise and delight when they least expect it. Treat subscribers like the relationship they are, not the metrics they represent. Finally, I'd turn the CEO into someone worth listening to. Every media company has a face. Make sure it's one with something interesting to say. Have your leadership share perspectives, predictions, and behind-the-scenes insights that only they could provide. Do that consistently, and that 100K list becomes an asset that makes consistent $$$.