@MTF how is everything going with Mailerlite? Any feedback from your readers about your new design yet?
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum:
Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.
Upcoming Live Fastlane Calls (FREE!)
Inventors Virtual Meetup (FREE - All welcome!): Sunday, May, 5th 2024: 11 AM ESTJoin over 90,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.
Free registration at the forum removes this block.@MTF how is everything going with Mailerlite? Any feedback from your readers about your new design yet?
The team behind Ghost run a newsletter on running a newsletter here: Publisher Weekly
It occurred to me that I'm effectively running a newsletter with my blog. I'm almost certainly moving to Ghost this week, one or two things left to check before I pull the trigger.
I've been testing Ghost this week and it's wonderful to use. I've got a few tweaks to test with the code before I switch completely.
Sorry to hear that the rates have dropped.Unfortunately the move caused my open rates to drop from average 60-65% to 45-50%.
Since people now need to click a link in the newsletter to read the issue I now also know how many are active readers. And that number is depressing - out of 306 subscribers who received my last issue only about 30 clicked the link.
My feedback rates on Feedletter are also down to almost nothing. They dropped from about 15 votes to 3.
We'll see how it evolves over the next weeks. As much as these numbers suck I know that the current setup is necessary for better future prospects. It also uncovered how many of my subscribers aren't engaged.
Sorry to hear that the rates have dropped.
Did you verify your domain at Mailerlite? I didn‘t do that at first and had all of my emails go to the spam folder. Since I verified it, every email I tested so far went to the inbox.
Currently working on the second article. Also trying myself at social media, mostly Instagram and looking into ways to link to the articles on Reddit without it seeming like spam and without violating the rules of many Subreddits.
Thank you, I‘m going to participate more in some Subreddits. Done that before and found it a pretty good way to offer value to others. Maybe I find a way to do that again.With Reddit, you need to start participating in your chosen subreddit(s) first without promoting anything. Then maybe link to an article in a comment. Then after maybe a couple of weeks try linking directly from your post.
Thank you for your thoughts on this. I got to admit, the term „Stories to warm your mind and heart“ can be a bit misleading as the articles are not really stories. I already thought about changing it but really liked the term, so I kept it until now. Maybe it‘s time to change it now. Ideas or Insights instead of Stories would probably fit better to the articles.Your angle is a bit unclear to me. At first sight it looks like a newsletter the style of r/UpliftingNews but then the articles are more about psychology. I'd narrow this down a bit because at the moment I think that many people will be confused.
I figured out I don’t want to build, grow, or manage a community. I’m happy to engage in the forum, as a hobby and break from working.I just realized the irony of me being your stereotypical lone wolf and trying to create a community with my newsletter. Perhaps I should change my plans to something that would account for my non-social personality as I've already learned on many occasions in my life that me + being social in a group simply doesn't work.
I figured out I don’t want to build, grow, or manage a community. I’m happy to engage in the forum, as a hobby and break from working.
I do like the idea of building a email newsletter. It’s one-to-many communication rather than many-to-many.
My switch to WordPress and MailerLite has uncovered how few people actually read my newsletter.
Now that I send people to the website to read the article (instead of sending the entire issue in the email) I can easily track how many actually read them (or more precisely, go to the website).
My average open rate is between 50-55%. My click-through rate is just 13-15%. This means that out of about 350 subscribers, only about 40 bother to visit the website.
Seriously questioning the entire model if people subscribed to a newsletter on freaking EXCELLENCE can't even be bothered to click on a link. Sometimes I feel like I'm not cut out for this stuff anymore.
that's actually quite high.
Most people don't click through to read emails... most people talk big but won't take action.
I remember hearing a statistic from Tony Robbins that 90% (or more) of people who bought his personal power tapes didn't listen to them.
But the 13% that are clicking through are the people you want to be thinking about.
Also, you don't know if that's 13% clicking through, or 13% one week, and a different 13% the following week (meaning 26% of your audience are reading some emails)... so it could be a greater proportion of your audience reading some emails, but at any one point in time only 13% will be reading the latest one... if that makes sense?
If you're hitting 13% click throughs, keep going!
I understand what you mean. I could check the data but I'm pretty sure it's the same people every week.
Also, keep in mind that it's a link to an article. You open the email to get a link to this week's issue. I know for a fact that way fewer people are reading this than before on Ghost because I have almost zero Feedletter feedback on the articles (and previously I had up to 15-20 votes).
Take a look at the stats (I added the feedback form with #12, then switched to WordPress/MailerLite from #17):
View attachment 43367
The numbers aren't visible there but Issue #15 got 30 votes while Issue #18 (sent last week) just 6.
And let me point out that I had about 100 fewer readers when the newsletter was still on Ghost so these numbers are even worse.
I don't get the point of subscribing to a newsletter that you don't even read.
Are these numbers saying that your readers were more engaged with Ghost than what you have currently?
KEY TREND
Personality-driven content
True fans of quality cinema will remember the classic quote from Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights: "if you ain't first, you're last".
This sentiment has long been a popular one in journalism and news reporting. With emphasis put on the value of getting the "big scoop".
But for newsletters? Not so much (anymore).
Smart operators are rapidly learning that readers place little value on you being the first to "break" a story in their inbox.
The audience is looking not for news, but for the writer's personal take, opinion and insight on a given subject.
As Toby Moses, head of newsletters for The Guardian told Press Gazette:
"There’s been this personality-driven news trend recently [...] newsletters feel like they offer an opportunity for a way to talk to readers quite directly that is distinct from what you can do on the website".
This dynamic makes sense in a world where — increasingly — people's media consumption habits are shifting rapidly from brands and channels to creators.
It's also a huge opportunity for newsletter operators.
Being "first" is hard and unpredictable. It requires a huge budget. And you're constantly fighting against superior distribution channels for "time-sensitive" media — like push notifications and Twitter.
Embracing personality-driven content, on the other hand, plays into a newsletter operator's strengths.
The inbox is an inherently personal place. Where the reader will afford you more attention than they would elsewhere.
More importantly — unlike competing to be first — there's nobody out there who can write your personal take better than you can.
So how will this play out?
Already, we can see the changes unfolding across newsletters of all kinds...
- The Guardian is one of many traditional publishers ditching the "bundle of curated links" approach to newsletter creation in favour of original, long-form newsletter content
- Morning Brew and other first-movers are acquiring/launching personality-driven newsletters of their own, like Money with Katie
- Newsletter operators are seeing value from investing more time into strengthening their personal connection to readers. From being active on social media, to events and more "personable" content formats like video on TikTok and Youtube
Our take is that this isn't a fad. It's a trend that's here to stay.
Just started learning Ghost for my own benefit. Am senior web developer btw.Be careful if you need any customization with the theme as Ghost is terrible at that (unless you're a developer).
A few is as good as 0Have had a few page views so far, and no newsletter sign ups.
+1.If you're hitting 13% click throughs, keep going!
Interest in the topic? You may be expecting too much from subscribers. Who merely gave an email.I don't get the point of subscribing to a newsletter that you don't even read.
Sucky metric if you ask me. Also - is your conversion tracking is on point? I am yet to see a business that got this 100% right, happy to review it for you and show you how you can review it too.Now that feedback link is on the website and it gets clicked rarely.
Theme styling should be no issue for me, if you get stuck with that, PM me.
No cost but no promises either
Folks pay for the gym all the time and then don't go.
Sucky metric if you ask me. Also - is your conversion tracking is on point? I am yet to see a business that got this 100% right, happy to review it for you and show you how you can review it too.
Love this. Great engagement too.Last week I sent a survey to my list and asked them a few questions about my newsletter, the content, the length of it, etc. I then followed up with people who left their email address and asked them some extra questions.
Based on the survey and the interactions, I created a new, shorter format for the newsletter. Looks like it was a good move:
View attachment 43489
Mostly people want shorter, concise, and actionable. Adding stories and context can help too, but not everyone is in the right mode the moment they open an email.
(If you don’t mind me saying, I also love that you seem to be more focused now on creating what your audience/market wants.)
What do you mean by conversion tracking? I track sign-ups.
No longer using Ghost.
Curious to what you switched to, and what are your impressions so far?
You are right.A few is as good as 0
Get at least measly 100 or 1000 pageviews
Yes, been reading here and there but haven't really been active for quite a while. Glad to see, that someone remembers me on hereDidn't notice you in a while on forum, good to see you How are things going for you @Supa?
Very happy to see these reactions!Last week I sent a survey to my list and asked them a few questions about my newsletter, the content, the length of it, etc. I then followed up with people who left their email address and asked them some extra questions.
Based on the survey and the interactions, I created a new, shorter format for the newsletter. Looks like it was a good move:
View attachment 43489
Things are going quite good I think, what about you?
My plan is to write about the most impactful books I have ever read. Sharing some stories, thoughts, and takeaways from them.
Not sure if this will lead to anything but at the very least it will help improve my writing.
Join Fastlane Insiders.