Today, we’re continuing our “Metrics that Matter” series and focusing on your station’s newsletter—and specifically, the metrics that actually matter. I have one client who switched newsletter platforms last year and complained that this new service was removing his subscribers. He would say, “Every week, we lose 40-50 subscribers. We started with 25,000 and now have 14,000. I need to find another service!” I’ll tell you why the service culled those subscribers shortly. The fact is that most of us get caught up in how big our email list is.
The Problem with Focusing on List Size
It’s impressive to say, “We’ve got 25,000 people on our list!” But an extensive list doesn’t mean much if people aren’t getting, opening, reading, or clicking them.
If your open rate is consistently at 10%, that means 90% of your audience never sees your message. And if your click-through rate is near zero, that list isn’t helping your website traffic—or your advertisers.
A big list that doesn’t perform well is like a crowd that’s ignoring the stage. It looks good, but let’s be honest – it’s not worth anything.
Why Cleaning Your Email List Is a Good Thing
So, back to our client who’s been losing subscribers. A good newsletter service will automatically remove subscriber emails from your list if they are returned as undeliverable or bounce repeatedly. Other services may require you to remove these manually because they charge per subscriber.
It might feel counterintuitive, but removing inactive subscribers and bounced email addresses is one of the best things you can do for your newsletter. A bloated list filled with dead ends doesn’t just skew your numbers—it actually hurts your deliverability.
Email services track engagement, and if too many of your messages go unopened or bounce back, future emails are more likely to land in spam folders—even for actively engaged subscribers.
By pruning your list regularly, you improve your open rates, make your data more accurate, and ensure you’re reaching the people who actually want to hear from you. For subscriber counts, smaller and engaged is always better than large and silent.
What to Focus on Instead
The metrics that actually matter in your newsletter are:
- Bounce rate – this tells you what e-mails are no longer receiving your content – consider removing them.
- Open rate – this tells you how many people cared enough to open your message.
- Click-through rate – this shows how many took action once they opened it.
- Unsubscribes – this helps you understand when you’re missing the mark.
If your open rate is low, start with the subject line. Is it boring? Vague? Spammy? Does it sound like a generic promotion or have the same “WXYZ Newsletter” every time?
Then, look at the content inside. If people open the email but don’t click anything, the message may not be clear, or the design may make it hard to read – especially on mobile.
And if you’re seeing a lot of unsubscribes, ask yourself whether your newsletter is delivering value—or just filling up inboxes with stuff people didn’t ask for. Focus on creating value for your current subscribers to win back those who have unsubscribed.
What You Can Do This Week
Here’s your action step for this week:
Look at the last three email campaigns you sent. What were the open rates? What were the click-through rates? Compare the best one and the worst one.
What made the subject line on the best one stand out? What content got clicks? And what didn’t?
Try sending your next newsletter with a clearer, more specific subject line. Keep it brief. Add a strong call to action, and make sure there’s a clear benefit for the reader.
And if you haven’t already, segment your list. Not every listener wants every message. An easy way to segment your list is by delivery schedule. Have different newsletters that go out daily, weekly and monthly. Or perhaps you segment them by types of content – like local news only, events only, or local sports. The more targeted you get, the better your results will be.
Total Subscribers is NOT the Metric that Matters.
Remember, your email list isn’t about how many people are on it—it’s about how many people are engaging with it. Savvy advertisers will (and should) ask for engagement values over total subscribers.
This week, pay attention to how your audience is responding, and use that insight to make your next message more effective.
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