Blog
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Why your free archive is training people not to subscribe
An open archive feels generous. But the better-indexed it is, the more it teaches your best readers they don’t need to be on your list.
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How to use Amazon SES to send newsletters at scale
Amazon SES is roughly 10x cheaper than the alternatives, and once your monthly send count crosses about 50,000 you stop being able to ignore it. The playbook we wished we’d had when we moved: setup in the right order, the parts vendors don’t tell you, and what to do six months later when reputation problems…
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The opening line nobody reads (and why you keep writing it)
Most newsletters waste the first 10 words on apologies, hellos, or context. Here’s what to do instead.
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How click tracking signals to Gmail that you’re a marketer
The wrapper around every link in your newsletter is teaching inbox providers to filter you out. The fix is one toggle.
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The timestamp in your footer that’s costing you readers
There’s a tiny piece of metadata in every send that quietly tells half your audience the email isn’t for them.
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Where half your signups quietly disappear
Confirmation emails are the most under-considered part of a newsletter funnel. They are also where most growth leaks out.
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Bounce rates are a hiring decision, not a problem to fix
Every bounce is a signal — but most operators read the wrong signal. Here’s what the bounce list is actually telling you.
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The five subject-line formulas that train readers to ignore you
Patterns Gmail’s algorithm catches faster than you do — and what to write instead.
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Send frequency is a retention decision, not a content one
How often you send is the single biggest lever you have on lifetime subscriber value. Most operators get it backwards.
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The plain-text version that secretly halves your delivery
Every HTML email carries a plain-text twin. Yours is probably empty — and Gmail notices.