🤫 Secrets to Increase Open Rates

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👋 Hey!

Ready to level up your newsletter game this week? We've packed this issue with actionable growth strategies, automation time-savers, and real success stories from the newsletter trenches. Let's dive in!

🔥 This Week's Hot Takes

Clean your list monthly for instant open rate wins. Removing inactive subscribers boosts deliverability and engagement fast. It's the quickest path to real, sustainable open rate improvement.

Scaling to $10K/month without burnout. Shows profitable growth is possible without sacrificing your values or mental health—practical inspiration for sustainable newsletter scaling.

Medium doubles down on first-person stories: What Pope Francis was really like. Original, personal narratives keep newsletters fresh and stand out in a crowded content landscape—consider featuring unique voices to boost engagement.

Newsletter success hinges on content market fit. Without content market fit, it's almost impossible to build a sustainable and profitable newsletter business. Nail this before anything else!

Tumblr Fixes Web Search, Resolves Blaze Issue. Smoother web search and reliable post promotion means fewer headaches and more visibility for your Tumblr-hosted newsletters.

⚙️ Automation Deep Dive

Zapier + Kit: Effortless Subscriber Segmentation Workflow. Discover how you can automatize your subscriber segmentation effortlessly.

Before: Tagging and segmenting new subscribers required manual updates or custom code.

After: The updated Zapier app from Kit lets you set up no-code automations for tagging, segmenting, and reacting to UTM source data—all with one-click authentication.

Result: Newsletter creators save hours weekly, cut manual errors, and launch targeted onboarding sequences instantly.

Want to build your own workflow? Check out Kit’s Zapier Knowledge Base for step-by-step guides!

🧰 Tool of the Week

Buttondown's Subscriber Activity Filter

Why You'll Love It: Instantly see which subscribers are most engaged with your content, making segmentation and personalization a breeze.

Best For: Newsletter creators who want to identify their super-fans and target content to different engagement levels without complex data analysis.

🧪 A/B Test of the Week

A list of things you can A/B Test. No need to limit yourself with just the headline of your newsletter when it comes to A/B Testing. You need to be open to try every optimization, or let the pros run the show for you.

📨 Newsletter Dissection

Spotlight: The Medium Newsletter

What Works:

• Timely, thematic content hooks into events like Earth Day

• Thoughtful curation—links to engaging, evergreen essays from Medium’s archive

• Relatable, personal voice and clear calls-to-action (like 'Finish Your Draft Day')

  Creator Quote:

  "Human habitat is better when it also provides a home for the wild nature it would otherwise displace.""

  Explore more on rewilding and creative community-building in this edition.

💡 Growth Hack of the Week

The $5 Chick-fil-A Gift Card Referral Hack

How: Offer a $5 Chick-fil-A digital gift card to any subscriber who refers two unique people (using their referral link) within a 3-7 day window. Set up and automate the process with tools like Beehiiv's built-in referral system. Keep the reward digital, cap cost per subscriber, and verify real signups to prevent fraud.

Why: Guaranteed, meaningful rewards tap into your readers' love for 'free lunch,' create urgency, and keep costs under control. Subscribers referred by friends are more engaged and loyal.

Expected Result: Under $2 cost per high-quality subscriber, 55%+ open rates, and consistent spikes in growth with each promo.

😂 Meme of the Week

When your open rate drops 2% and you're convinced all your subscribers hate you now.

🔗 Quick Links

• Automate your newsletter easily with HeyNews

• Ways to increase your open rate

• Buttondown adds in-house tracking for faster links

• Kit launches AI-powered content matching for newsletter recommendations

Thanks for reading,

— Eren Daskesen & Cagri Sarigoz

P.S. Some links might be affiliate/referral links, helping me out at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support! 🙏