What we can learn from Indie Hackers' new bespoke newsletters

As I'm sure some of you are aware throughout 2019 IndieHackers
moved away from a one size fits all email digest and started offering users the option of up to seven tailored newsletters:

It's email segmentation at it's finest. And, with great pleasure, I decided to do a break down why it works so well:

1) Better subscriber experience

Instead of “batch and blasting” their entire list, users now cherrypick the specific topics they actually want to read about.

If you just want podcast updates you're not going to be bombarded with “Top Milestones” and “Growth Bites”.

2) More email opens

• Previously Indie Hackers would send 150,000 emails / week.
• With tailored newsletters they're sending 310,000:

It's not rocket science. The result is more Indie Hackers in your inbox. More clicks to the website. And a greater % of total users engaged.

3) More valuable emails

The sheer volume of items in the old digest made it impossible to go into any depth. A podcast episode or text interview would be summarised by just a quote and a title.

Now, with a bespoke email for each part of the digest, there’s actually space to add value. For example, the podcast newsletter is filled with “exclusive commentary from host, Courtland Allen.”

4) Improved deliverability

And finally, there's a second-order benefit of segmentation.

“More valuable emails” results in a greater % of emails being opened and clicked. Both of which are considered “positive actions” by mail providers and the result is improved deliverability to primary inboxes.

Voila! There's nothing left to say except it's light years ahead of the competition and only a matter of time before Product Hunt try and copy it! Thanks @csallen and @channingallen for sharing newsletter sizes.

That's all folks. If you want to learn more about marketing, I share real world marketing strategies from successful startups over on MarketingExamples.com. Any questions, I'll be in the comments :)