18 Comments

Be careful about dropping subscribers that show as not opening your newsletter... that isn't always an accurate metric.

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I came to ask how to avoid that issue.

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I have a cold subscriber sequence that runs for three months and send 3-4 emails asking them to click a link to stay on the list. So I give them ample chance to tell me they want to stay. If they don’t then they get deleted

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Do you do that outside of Substack or does it have a system for email sequences?

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I do this outside of Substack. I don't believe Substack has the ability to do that and I don't think it acts like a traditional ESP where your deliverability gets messed up with less opens? I could be totally wrong. Maybe how often you're shown to people is affected by unopens?

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If I clean my sub list I get low numbers again 😭 I dont like this game. 😔

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It’s true. Painful to see numbers go lower. But I think of subscribers who don’t open or engage as not there to begin with 😬 they just harm sender reputation. So in the end it’s only better for both you and the inactive subscriber

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How many images are too many?

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If you use AI in your writing, it will possibly end up in Gmail spam. They often know.

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Great advice Lea and thank you.

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This was very helpful information.

I have been asking my subscribers to add me to their email contact list. I will try to implement the rest of the tips you suggested as well.

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Great information! Thank you

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Thanks for sharing Lea! I noticed my last newsletter got sent to the spam folder. This was so helpful! Archiving in case I need to reference it again!

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Thanks for the insights. You are one of the few newsletter focused writers that truly understands the pain points.

Do you think the recommendations can also harm our email list since some of the subscribers just subscribe to multiple newsletters in bundle way due to recommendations

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Great tips, Lea.

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These are so helpful, thank you.

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Aww man, I know that cleaning your email list is necessary but I don't want to do it. Of course I don't want a list full of folks who aren't reading either.

Thanks Lea.

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