---
aliases: ["Weekly Newsletter Metrics"]
Is A: Procedure
Belongs to: "[[responsibility-content-production]]"
Cadence: Weekly
Owner: "[[person-luca-rossi]]"
---
# Weekly Newsletter Metrics

Reviewing newsletter metrics weekly creates a tight feedback loop between content decisions and audience response. Rather than waiting for the monthly deep dive in [[procedure-monthly-subscriber-metrics]], this lighter weekly check catches performance shifts early and keeps content production decisions grounded in data. It takes 15 minutes and prevents the slow drift of publishing into a void without knowing what is landing.

## Steps

- [ ] Pull the latest newsletter edition's performance data from the email platform (wait at least 48 hours after send for stable numbers)
- [ ] Record [[measure-open-rate]] and compare against the 4-week rolling average — flag any significant deviation (more than 5% in either direction)
- [ ] Record click rate and identify which links or sections drove the most clicks
- [ ] Check unsubscribe count for this edition — a spike may indicate a content or frequency mismatch
- [ ] Review any reply emails from readers — note themes, questions, and feedback worth acting on
- [ ] Compare this edition's performance against the same content type from previous months (e.g., technical deep-dive vs. personal essay)
- [ ] Log all data in the weekly metrics tracker for trend analysis
- [ ] Share a brief summary with [[person-sara-ricci]] highlighting what worked and what to learn from

## Notes

- Open rate is a directional indicator, not a precise measurement. Apple Mail Privacy Protection inflates it, so focus on trends and relative comparisons between editions rather than absolute numbers.
- Click rate is the most reliable signal of content engagement. If open rate is stable but click rate drops, the content may be less compelling even though the subject line worked.
- Reader replies are qualitative gold. A single thoughtful reply often reveals more about what resonated than any metric dashboard. Do not skip reading them.
- Resist the urge to over-optimize based on a single week. One low-performing edition does not mean the topic is bad — it might mean the subject line missed, or external factors (holidays, competing news) suppressed engagement.
- This weekly data feeds into the [[procedure-content-calendar-review]] — use it to adjust upcoming topic selection based on what the audience is responding to.
