9 ingredients that make newsletter readers actually open your emails
Ann Handley, author of Everybody Writes, got a question from a reader in Germany named Markus. He wanted to know how to find his voice in newsletters, blog posts, and YouTube scripts. He called it making the Posteingang (German for inbox) sexy again.
Her answer turned into a full breakdown of what separates emails readers look forward to from emails they delete without opening.
The nine ingredients
Handley outlines nine elements that consistently show up in newsletters people actually want to read. The piece, published on her site, is aimed at anyone writing a newsletter with a real personality rather than a broadcast blast.
The metric worth tracking
One of the more concrete takeaways from the piece is a focus on the Open to Write Back Rate (OWBR), a signal Handley uses to measure whether readers are genuinely engaged rather than just passively scrolling. It comes up in the context of Klaviyo as a platform for tracking this kind of reply engagement.
The operator takeaway
If you run a newsletter as a distribution channel for your product or service, voice is the moat. Anyone can copy your content strategy. Almost nobody can copy a writing personality readers feel like they know. Handley’s framework, built around her Total Annarchy newsletter, is one of the more practical starting points for developing that kind of presence.
The full piece is on annhandley.com.
I’m founder of BizStack at Cagri Sarigoz LLC and a passionate advocate for entrepreneurs.
With over 14 years in tech, marketing, and AI, including my role as Head of SEO at CitizenShipper and co-founder of TaleBot at Intale AI, I’m dedicated to sharing genuine, useful product insights and tips.
At BizStack, I aim to cut through the digital noise to provide clear, actionable advice.
And more than all else, I’m a father to a (always) little girl and a husband.
Contact me at [email protected] for assistance.
