My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
Validate if your newsletter subscribers are actually engaged readers
Newsletter operators who want to measure true engagement vs vanity metrics
1 day test, immediate resultsWhat Success Looks Like
High reply rate (>10%) to personal outreach email from founder
Steps to Execute
Send personal email from founder to subscriber list
Ask simple question requiring short response (where do you live, do you like the newsletter)
Keep tone casual and personal, not promotional
Track reply rate within 24-48 hours
Compare to benchmark: quality newsletters get >10% reply rate
Checklist
Inputs Needed
- Newsletter subscriber list
- Founder email address
- Simple question to ask subscribers
Outputs
- Reply rate percentage
- Qualitative feedback from engaged subscribers
- Clear signal on subscriber quality
Example
“Newsletter with 20,000 subscribers sends founder email asking 'Where do you live?' Only 3 people reply, revealing that co-registration has created fake engagement despite good open rates.”
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