Case study: How this local publisher grew newsletter subscribers by 25%

Key Takeaways:

• Purging inactive users and migrating only engaged readers (active within the last 3–6 months) is the fastest way to skyrocket your open rates.
• Keep your subject line under 40 characters, front-load emojis so they don’t get cut off on mobile, and write copy that builds genuine curiosity without resorting to clickbait.
• Don’t rely solely on a standard signup page; leverage print QR codes, inline article links, employee email signatures, and community events.
• Utilize your Email Service Provider’s built-in growth tools—like beehiiv’s recommendation network, automated welcome series, and audience segmentation—to scale efficiently.

We recently wrapped up a several-month-long project for the National Trust for Local News where we helped its Colorado publications launch six newsletters and transition to a new email platform. 

I want to tell you a little about that project today and really focus on the strategies that were used which helped grow their subscriber base by 25 percent and their open rates over 50 percent.

Our newsletter expert Penny Riordan led this successful project and it went so well a really nice case study was created based on her work and their engagement.

Let’s talk about the biggest lessons learned.

Lesson 1: Focus on engaged subscribers

The project included moving to a new email platform, but one of the most important decisions had nothing to do with technology. During the migration, we took a hard look at the subscriber list and chose to move only active, engaged readers to the new platform.

I know many are focused on how big your email list might be, but what really shows the value of your newsletter is the actual engagement it gets.

So that list cleanse is critically important and you don’t need to switch to a new email provider to do that. Most email platforms allow you to segment subscribers who have engaged recently (last 3-6 months) and then serve your newsletter to that audience.

Lesson 2: Spend more time on subject lines

You can spend hours perfecting your newsletter content, format, images and ads, but if your subject line doesn’t trigger someone to open it, all of that hard work is for not.

That’s why we focused so much on creating great subject lines. Here are some of the top takeaways we pushed:

• Before sending the newsletter, ask yourself whether the subject line is interesting enough to make you open it.

• Be specific whenever possible, because readers are more likely to open emails that clearly explain what they’ll learn.

• Don’t mislead readers, but do create curiosity. Just make sure you deliver on whatever you’re teasing.

• Subject lines should be under 40 characters for mobile optimization. And if you use emojis, put the emoji at the front of your words so the emoji doesn’t cut off.

• Review your top subject lines and identify the formats (is it questions, statements) that drive opens and do more of that.

Lesson 3: Promote newsletters everywhere

It’s critical that invites to sign up for your newsletter are featured everywhere and that you are constantly thinking of new ways to help readers sign up.

Here are a few best practices:

• Add signup links to employee email signatures
• Use QR codes to drive signups in print
• Have a great newsletter sign up page that’s easy to navigate
• Promote newsletters through website articles (inline)
• Use social media and paid campaigns
• Collect subscribers at community events
• Use contests and giveaways for signups

Lesson 4: Use growth tools already in your ESP

This lesson is very similar to how media companies get the most engagement out of social media and that’s by using the platform’s tools.

In this case, the Colorado group tapped into beehiiv’s recommendations feature to promote more of their newsletters. That’s a simple example on how to get more out of the platform that you are paying for. Here are other things you could consider:

• Build welcome series’ through the ESP’s tools for your newsletter
• Create unique segments that tie to your niche focus
• Take advantage of best practice customer service calls and webinars
• Review your sign up forms to make sure you’re collecting the right info

Penny and I would love to tell you more about this project and how we can help your organization with your newsletter strategy. Respond to this email so we can set up a time to chat.

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