Your newsletters and emails aren’t hitting your subscribers the way you want them to. Don’t take my word for it — a new Pew Research study claims, “about six-in-ten newsletter readers (62%) say they don’t end up reading most of the newsletters they receive.”
This habit isn’t demographic-, race-, or education-related. The outlet noted, “Similar shares of Americans across age groups get news from email newsletters.”
This is notably different from other sources of news. But how do you get anyone to open your email that either had a team of five (or AI) work on it, because there seems to be no in between?
I myself am subscribed to 10+ daily newsletters, and I read about one or two a week. Yup, you read that right — one or two a week. Here are a few ideas for newsletters to capture the attention of the 62% (like me).
1) The Subject Line is Your New Headline
When I wake up to see The New York Times email me “The Morning,” it almost always ends up in the trash unread. It’s been happening for so long that the newsletter is now being filtered to spam by the AI gremlin attached to my Gmail. Phrases like “you can bet on it,” “the next conflict,” and “a royal arrest” aren’t enticing enough to click. None of this makes the 62% care about what you have to say. Have an interesting subject line. Don’t be basic.
The Gray Lady’s cooking newsletter team is more likely to get a click with dynamic headlines like “I’m sick of winter, so I’m cooking this dish” or “A new dumpling dinner for you.”
They are automatically engaging the reader to read. It is for you. Oh? Something special for me? Now I need to click to know what it is. Why I care about this newsletter (from the same outlet, no less) is significantly clearer than the former.
2) Make Sure Your “Breaking News” is Actually Worth It
The Washington Post should be behind bars for the murder of the phrase “Breaking News.” On average, readers get three to five “breaking news” emails from the outlet a day, and almost none of them are worth the phrase breaking, let alone engaging.
“As Prince Andrew fell, Queen Elizabeth II held out hope, and Charles and William fumed” is not breaking news.
For the sake of this column, I read the piece, and there was nothing new. Hardly worth the breaking news email push, and definitely trying to exploit an already hypersensitive topic for clicks.
3) Clear and Concise Information (aka Smart Brevity)
WaPo has one newsletter I would religiously read when I was a showrunner, “The 7.” I’ve literally based a three-hour show off this newsletter. Why? Because it tells you what you need to know first thing in the morning. The subject line is always super long.
Take Friday’s, for example: “What a fake ICE tip line reveals about America; nor’easter forecast; how to stop ‘brain rot’; and more.” It’s a lot to digest, but it concisely tells you what is going on. It gives you a few bullet points highlighting what WaPo’s staff deems to be the most important points in the story, with the option to read more.
No gimmicks. No crazy dancing effects. Just smart, direct, to-the-point information. Honestly, it does “Smart Brevity” way better than Axios’ competing newsletter (which I unsubscribed to).
4) Create a Community
Independent outlet Roca News was founded by three guys who have no background in media. They started with some Instagram posts, a newsletter, and a dream of non-partisan news in 2020, and have high engagement from their readers. Why? Because they want to hear from them.
They ask questions like “What was the highlight of your weekend?” or “We want to hear from you: Have energy prices risen in your area? Are you concerned about the increased energy demand from data centers? Let us know what you think by replying here.”
Sadly, with the switch to Substack, they don’t always have questions (or informal polls) like this in the newsletter anymore, but they are still keeping readers engaged by asking what they think.
One of their best newsletters came out in January after the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Their subject line: “What Venezuelans Think About Maduro’s Capture.” There were so many diverse thoughts. It really opened up a conversation among people who otherwise wouldn’t be connected.
The community William Carney, Max Frost, and Max Towey built around some Instagram posts and a newsletter is incredible, and I guarantee if they released the data, their percentile read rate would be higher than many of the mainstream media outlets. Today, the outlet is going beyond Instagram posts and newsletters — they are doing investigative documentary reporting from across this great nation.
Every outlet has different priorities and different demographics they are reaching. I get it. But I truly believe you should be treating your newsletter like a radio host treats their show. You are writing a newsletter for an audience of one. That is not something AI can do, on the radio or in print or digital.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.
Krystina Alarcon Carroll contributes features and columns for Barrett Media. She has experience in almost every facet of the industry including: digital and print news; live, streamed, and syndicated TV; documentary and film productions. Her prior employers have included NY1 and Fox News Digital and the Law & Crime Network. You can find Krystina on X (formerly twitter) @KrystinaAlaCarr.
