Is It *Too Easy* To Subscribe to Your Newsletter?

For the longest time, the newsletter growth playbook has been simple: eliminate all friction.

Landing pages with one field.
One-click subscribes.
Auto-filled lead forms.
Referrals and recommendations on autopilot.

Lists grew and grew and grew.

But all of growth and scale comes with a cost. Because the easier it is to join your list, the easier it is to end up with the wrong people on your list.

So in our latest podcast episode and in this article, we are pushing back on the “growth at all costs” mindset. We share how strategic friction can actually improve the health of your newsletter, boost retention, and give you more leverage with sponsors and partners.

The Real Cost of Frictionless Growth

It’s easy to fall into the trap of obsessing over subscriber count. Vanity metrics are the bees knees.

Big numbers means big success, right?

But if your list is full of people who archive your emails, rarely (or never) click, and don’t even remember who you are – that’s a problem for a few reasons:

• Engagement rates plummet. Less opens, less clicks, less excitement about your brand.
• Deliverability suffers. Email providers notice when lots of people ignore your emails, and they start sending you to spam folders.
• You waste money. If you’re paying per subscriber or running ads to grow your list, every unengaged subscriber is money down the drain.
• Sponsors get lame results. Low engagement means your newsletter sponsorships don’t convert, making it harder to get repeat brand deals.

And maybe the worst part about all of this low-friction growth is that you start to feel like your newsletter isn’t “working” when the real issue is that you’re attracting the wrong audience in the first place.

3 Ways to Add Friction (Without Killing Conversions)

Friction doesn’t have to mean adding unnecessary pain. Sometimes it’s just about adding intent.

Here are a few easy ways to do that:

1. Add Another Form Field (ex: First Name)

If someone isn’t willing to put in the extra 3 seconds to give you one extra bit of info upon signing up—like their first name—then they probably aren’t going to be a great subscriber.

Why do this?

• Adds a tiny barrier that makes people think for a second
• Also gives you the option to personalize future emails

Dylan recently did this and saw no reduction in conversions on his landing page. AND he got one more data point for personalization (their first name!)

(And it’s also easier to tell if you’re getting list-bombed as the first name field usually ends up being a bunch of gobbly gook.)

2. Add a “False Double Opt-In”

Using double opt-in is one of the simplest ways to ensure subscriber intent: The new subscriber has to receive, open and click in a confirmation email to become a “confirmed” subscriber.

But double opt-in also has its drawbacks: like if that one-and-only confirmation email you’re allowed to send goes straight to Spam folders (or even the Promotions tab).

The result? A potentially highly-engaged, quality subscriber never sees that email. Now they’re stuck in email purgatory and you can’t email them.

Instead of auto-adding people to your list (which can include a lot of low-quality subscribers), create what I call a false double-optin:

• If they don’t engage after that, remove them
• People still get automatically added to your list
• Your welcome email asks them to “confirm” by clicking a link
• If they click, they’re showing intent and a desire to be on your list
• If they don’t click, tag them for a re-engagement sequence

Want to see this in action?

My friend Kristin writes the Drunk Business Advice newsletter and she uses this exact tactic.

The Two Camps of Friction

You don’t have to choose one hardline, friction approach, but it helps to know your options.

1. Add Upfront Friction

This is akin to most of the above strategies I shared.

Upfront Friction is perfect for:

• Paid growth
• B2B newsletters
• High-value lead magnets

What it looks like:

• Multi-field opt-in forms (ex. name, industry, job title)
• Clear disqualification criteria or unchecked boxes
• Extra steps that force the visitor to want it (real or “false” double opt-in)

Workweek and HubSpot are masters of this. Their email lists are super high-quality because only the most qualified folks make it through.

2. Add Friction After the Sign-up

This approach works well for anyone who is growing via recommendation networks or who doesn’t want to cause sign-up friction.

It’s better for:

• Creator-focused newsletters
• Content-first funnels
• Organic growth

What it looks like:

• Unique welcome sequences for subscribers from cross-promotions or ads
• A message at the top of your emails saying, “Don’t remember signing up? Here’s the unsubscribe link.”
• Engagement-based tagging and automated cleanup

This lets you cast a wider net and filter out the wrong fits after they’ve signed up.

Unconventional (and Underused) Ways to Add Friction

Here are a few clever and unconventional (and somewhat conceptual) friction tactics we also spitballed in the episode.

Put Your Unsubscribe Link at the Top

If people don’t want to be there, make it easy for them to leave.

Miles Beckler used to do this with his daily emails – you can see he even had a “report spam” link at the top. I have to wonder if that’s just his way of reducing people actually marking it as spam, and he would just unsubscribe them anyway.

Create a “Gamified” Welcome Sequence

This one’s definitely not for everyone, but it’s fun to think about:

What if your welcome sequence was actually a test to see who deserves to stay on your list?

Instead of just sending a standard “thanks for subscribing” email, you create a 5-7 day sequence where people have to complete small actions to prove they’re engaged.

Maybe they need to reply to an email, click on a specific link, or answer a poll question.

At the end of the sequence, only the people who actually engaged get to stay on your main list. Everyone else gets moved to a re-engagement sequence or removed entirely. BUH BYE.

Or a Gamified Re-Engagement Sequence

You could also use this for re-engagement campaigns.

If you haven’t emailed your list in months, instead of just sending one “I’m back!” email, you could create a sequence that says: “Over the next week, I’m going to share some of my best insights. If you want to stay on this list, you’ll need to engage with at least 3 of these emails.”

The psychology is powerful because it flips the script. Instead of you trying to prove you’re worth their attention, they’re proving they deserve access to your content. It creates a feeling of exclusivity and makes people value what they might lose.

Would I recommend this for most newsletters? Probably not. But for the right creator with the right audience, it could be a fun way to build an incredibly engaged list.

Create Self-Selection Checkboxes

This is one of my favorite ideas from our conversation. You know how you might see a GDPR checkbox to confirm that people are interested?

Why not add something that is fun and super relevant for your audience?

What if underneath your email signup box, you have a separate checkbox that says:

• “I confirm I have at least one houseplant I’m trying not to kill” (for a plant care newsletter)
• “I agree that I’ve started a side hustle or want to start one” (for a side hustle newsletter)
• “I’m a parent who drinks coffee and questions my life choices daily” (for parenting humor)

It’s genius because it serves multiple purposes. First, it adds that extra step of friction – someone has to consciously read and check that box.

Second, it reiterates who that newsletter is for, so they know what they’re getting themselves into.

And third (and most importantly IMO), it’s showcasing that you care about the details and have a personality. It’s one of those things that might get a smirk out of your new subscriber.

If someone isn’t willing to check a fun, quirky box to subscribe, do you even want them on your newsletter? 🙂

Cap Your List (The Anti-Growth Play)

Here’s a wild idea I’ve thought about a lot: What if you capped your newsletter at a specific number and only kept the most engaged subscribers?

Imagine saying: “I only keep 10,000 people on this list. If you don’t open 75% of my emails, you’ll be removed and someone else can take your spot.”

It sounds crazy, but wouldn’t you rather have 10,000 people with a 75% open rate than 50,000 people with a 20% open rate?

Friction Isn’t Necessarily Your Enemy

You don’t have to go back to six-field HubSpot forms. Or make people jump through a dozen hoops just to get your free newsletter.

But you should be thoughtful about how easy you’re making it to join your list. And whether that’s helping or hurting you.

Start small: Add a first name field. Put your unsubscribe link at the top. Be clear about what people will get when they subscribe.

The goal isn’t to make it hard for everyone to subscribe – it’s to make sure the people who do subscribe actually want to be there.

As with anything, experiment. Try it out and see what happens.

Your open rates will thank you, your sponsors will thank you, and most importantly, your actual readers will thank you for respecting their time and attention.