We all want more opens and more clicks, right?
Well, in this GIR Growth Lever edition, I invited Dylan Redekop back to share how some of the best newsletters optimize for more engagement.
Take it away, Dylan!
Creators like Katelyn Bourgoin, Alex Garcia, Ben Collins, and many more understand the power of optimizing for engagement.
So I’m diving into what they—and others—are doing to get more engagement.
And how you can do it too.
In case you missed last week… this is Part 2 of a 3-part series sharing some of the best optimizations we’ve seen over the past 2 years of researching the biggest newsletter creators. You can find the first part about optimizing traffic here: 6 ways you can turn more viewers into subscribers.
Let’s get into it.
How To Keep Your New Subscribers Engaged
Getting new subscribers is a battle won.
But getting new subscribers to engage with your newsletter is the war that never ends.
I found some newsletter creators who have found ways to grab new readers’ attention and keep them engaged early on.
Alex Garcia’s Optimized Onboarding Strategy
Alex has created a two-part onboarding process so good that more and more people are copying it.
It all starts with his “Thank you” page.
Thank you pages are an afterthought for most creators, but Alex is all about optimizing every touch point.
He understands it’s his chance to stand out and spur engagement from the get-go.
Here’s how he does it.
The Thank You Page
1. The first thing you see is the Marketing Examined logo (crown) and a big, bold headline statement which includes a partly censored expletive to catch your attention and a note of gratitude “Holy Sh*t. You’re amazing.”
2. Alex includes a very obvious progress bar that shows you the next steps in the process. This is a subtle reminder you’re not quite done with the sign-up process.
3. He also asks you to “reply to the Welcome email.” He’s using a mix of social proof and the Bandwagon effect by showing you an image of other people replying, which subconsciously makes you more likely to reply.
4. Then Alex prompts you to click a link (a link to Gmail because I signed up with a Gmail address), which will automatically search my Gmail inbox for his welcome email.
5. Alex even optimizes his newsletter sponsorships by including them on the thank you page. At the time of this writing, he’s running a giveaway that includes his signing up for a sponsor’s 14-day free trial.
Then, Alex optimizes his Welcome email for even more engagement. Here’s how.
The Welcome Email
Once you’ve signed up, you’re also getting a great Welcome Email.
Alex shows off his personality here as well, which is important to keep readers engaged.
He’s also repeating the same “favor” from his Thank You page—but he goes a step further with the small threat, “If not, you won’t receive any of my newsletters.”
It might be a little hyperbolic, but Alex is pulling out all the stops to make sure you engage with his emails from the beginning.
Katelyn Bourgoin’s Reverse Lead Magnet Strategy
Here’s another one I’ve seen people using more and more lately.
There’s a way you can get your subscribers engaged early on so they don’t just unsubscribe the next day.
I first saw Katelyn Bourgoin doing this in her welcome email.
She optimized for engagement by making an irresistible offer to new subscribers—as long as they replied to her welcome email.
After you sign up, Katelyn sends you an email….but it’s not your typical welcome email.
Katelyn immediately lets you know there’s “a special surprise coming your way.”
This isn’t something you knew about ahead of time, nor was it something you were expecting to get.
This is what we call a reverse lead magnet.
With other newsletters, people sign up just to get the lead magnet. Then they might unsubscribe once they get what they came for.
But in this case, you signed up for the newsletter — and now you’re getting a free resource as a bonus.
It’s brilliant!
What I love about this welcome email is that it doesn’t just surprise and delight her readers, it’s also super tactical.
To actually receive the gift, she asks you to…
→ reply to the email
→ move it to your inbox
→ and click a link.
If you know anything about newsletters and inboxes, getting replies reduces the chance of future newsletter editions going to spam.
This is a big deal for keeping engagement metrics like open rates and click-through rates up.
How To Optimize For Newsletter Opens
Okay, we’ve seen what the experts are doing to optimize for engagement in the onboarding phase…
But what are they doing to optimize for regular newsletter opens?
There are 4 main elements you can test and optimize to improve your open rate:
- Sender “From” name
- Subject line
- Preview text
- Sending day & time
We’ll focus on the first two: Sender “From” name & Subject line.
Why not the other two?
Optimizing them can (and likely will) impact engagement and are worth testing. But…
→ Preview text is very subjective to your subject line and newsletter content.
→ Optimal send day & time depends on a number of factors: where readers are located, whether your newsletter is B2B OR B2C, type of newsletter (news, education, etc).
That’s probably why in the 70+ Growth In Reverse deep dives, no newsletter creator has mentioned Preview text or Sending day & time as a key growth lever.
Testing the Sender “From” Name
Why it Matters: The sender’s name is usually the first thing subscribers notice in their inbox, and it plays a big role in whether they trust and recognize the email as one they want to open.
Back to Alex Garcia. He’s tested a variation of “From” names over the years.
(Not sure if you noticed or not but Alex tests everything—hence his appearance yet again.)
Here are a few times Alex tested this:
He’s been using “Alex Garcia” for a long time, and then he tried “Alex G.”
30 days later, he tried “[email protected].”
The point is: Alex isn’t complacent — instead, he’s constantly testing things to get the most engagement he can from his newsletter sends.
Best Practices & Recommendations for Testing “From” name:
- Test personal vs. brand names: For newsletters that are more personal or have a unique “voice,” using the creator’s name instead of the brand name can feel more approachable (e.g., “Chenell – Growth In Reverse” vs. just “Growth In Reverse”).
- Keep it consistent: Once you find a “From” name that resonates, be consistent to build familiarity and trust.
Potential Impact: Open rates are likely to increase a bit with an optimized “From” name—especially for newsletters in lifestyle, creator, and educational niches, where trust and familiarity with the person behind the content are crucial.
Optimizing Your Subject Lines
Why it Matters: The subject line is the next thing subscribers see after the sender’s name. It’s your email’s “hook” that both sets expectations and creates curiosity.
Make it really good (but not clickbait) and you’re almost guaranteed more opens. But a subject line that works for one newsletter might not work for another.
Subject lines are not one-size-fits-all.
Instead of just copying a popular newsletter’s subject line, test and experiment to find what works best for your newsletter and your audience.
With that caveat out of the way…
Here’s how some newsletter operators (including Chenell!) are using subject lines to stand out in increasingly crowded inboxes.
Own an Emoji
Luca Rossi of Refactoring has used the same emoji in his branding since the beginning. Every email he sends includes this emoji.
It’s also in his social profiles to stay consistent.
More recently, he changed his logo to be a side view of that emoji, but it’s still the same concept.
Alex Garcia does this too: every subject line from Marketing Examined has a “🔍” magnifying glass emoji.
Why an emoji?
When your readers consistently see a unique emoji tied to your subject lines (and ideally, social profiles), it aligns your branding and familiarity in their inbox.
Speak Your Audience’s Language
When you have a highly targeted and focused niche, you can add relevant and “different” subject lines that will stand out in the inbox.
I love how Ben Collins’ speaks to his niche audience: people using Google Sheets!
So clever and playful. And sure to stand out in the inbox. I’ll bet this one performed well for Ben.
Other Things to Consider With Subject Lines
Sadly, there’s no magic subject line wand you can wave to guarantee higher open rates.
But one thing Chenell has found to improve open rates is including some kind of figure in her subject lines. Usually, that’s a mix of:
→ subscriber count
→ revenue
→ time period
Her open rate is noticeably lower if she doesn’t include one or more of those figures.
She writes about growth, so it makes sense: that’s the info her readers want to learn about. Numbers and figures might be irrelevant to your audience.
Remember, subject lines aren’t one-size-fits-all.
Here are a few other things to consider when it comes to subject lines:
- Curiosity vs. Clarity: Test subject lines that create curiosity (“Why 80% of people get this wrong”) versus those that are more direct (“5 tips for better email marketing”). Depending on the audience, either approach can perform better.
- Length: Aim for 40-50 characters for a balance of intrigue and readability, especially for mobile readers.
- A/B Testing: Experiment with two or more different subject lines to a sample of your audience. Then send the “winner” to the rest. If done strategically, you’ll be able to figure out pretty quickly which words, phrases, etc, resonate most with your readers.
- Personalization (optional): Test out dynamic tags to include the recipient’s name or other details (but keep it subtle and don’t overuse).
Expected Impact: Optimizing subject lines alone can boost open rates a lot. I think it’s safe to say this is the most impactful engagement optimization you can make, but you’ll need to test regularly and iterate as needed.
Be Careful of the Words In Your Subject Lines
Some words are spam filter traps. You’ll want to avoid words like…
- “free”
- “buy”
- “limited time”
Using these words can potentially land your newsletter into Spam or Junk folders. No bueno.
Write Better Subject Lines with These Tools
Here are a few tools you can use to help with creating more engaging subject lines:
Catchy Email Subject Lines via ChatGPT. Simply add your newsletter content and this GPT creates subject lines in different styles (Russel Brunson, Justin Welsh, Alex Hormozi, etc)
Email subject line tester. Just paste your subject line and get a score (out of 100) with alternative subject line options and ways to improve it.
Mastering Newsletter Engagement
So there it is. We’ve seen how the pros do it:
- Alex Garcia’s masterful two-step onboarding
- Katelyn Bourgoin’s clever reverse lead magnet
- Smart Sender name & subject line strategies from multiple creators
But here’s what really matters: testing and iterating until you find what works for your unique audience.
Start with your onboarding sequence, experiment with your subject lines, and don’t be afraid to try new approaches.
Engagement isn’t just about opens and clicks—it’s about building a relationship with your readers from the very first interaction. Focus on that, and the metrics will follow.
Back to you Chenell!
Thanks, Dylan, that was great.
If you haven’t already, make sure you follow Dylan on the socials (Twitter and LinkedIn).
🧪 Also, I’m curious if you’ve been experimenting with any of these strategies and how they’re working (or not) for you?
Reply below or tag me on LinkedIn and fill us in.
