It’s Wednesday, July 31, and a few weeks ago, my son turned 1. It got me thinking about how much has changed over the past year — including the way I work. So this week, I wrote out a few lessons I’ve learned from fatherhood that have made me a better newsletter operator. But first…

Thanks for all the kind notes about last week’s story! It’s always a risk to try a new format, and I was so thrilled to hear that the piece resonated with so many of you. I’m working on future editions of Ask a Newsletter Therapist — expect to see more of those later this year…

If you saw lower-than-usual open rates last week, it might’ve been due to this Apple bug…

And if you want a deeper look at what open rates actually mean, this guide might help…

—Dan (say 👋 via email or LinkedIn)

All of our newsletters this summer are presented by GetResponse, an email marketing and automation platform with comprehensive, affordable, and easy-to-use tools to grow, engage, and convert your audience.

If you’re looking for an ESP with powerful automation and monetization tools, give GetResponse a try.

Becoming a Dad Changed the Way I Think About Newsletters

My son, our first child, turned one recently. I expected fatherhood to change just about everything about my life — less sleep, less free time, lots more dirty diapers. But what I didn’t realize was that becoming a dad would change the way I think about work and reframe the way I think about a lot of my daily tasks.

Become a dad changed the way I ask questions, prioritize after-hours work, handle mistakes, and even write alt text for images. Here’s what I’ve learned that I apply to my newsletter work. Read the story →

GetResponse is an email marketing and automation platform that does all the stuff you’d expect from an ESP — plus a ton of things you wouldn’t. They offer a versatile form and pop-up builder, which you can use to customize calls to action on your website and display them based on 30+ targeting options, including time on site, scroll depth or exit intent. They offer multi-step automations that work not just with email, but also with SMS or desktop/mobile push alerts. For anyone who might be hosting webinars, they’ve got their own webinar tool that you can use to host live or on-demand webinars. Plus: They’ve got tons of built-in features to help you monetize your emails, segment your list, design beautiful emails — and great deliverability, too.

GetResponse is a comprehensive, affordable, and easy-to-use email platform. I think you should give their set of tools a closer look.

*This content has been promoted by our partners*

From my reading list...

ICYMI: Claire Zulkey felt stuck with her newsletter. So we talked through a few options — and here’s what she did. (Inbox Collective)

Sherwood, which runs Robinhood, released a survey about why readers love newsletters. There are lots of interesting nuggets in here. (Magna Global)

Some good advice here on to follow up with potential newsletter advertisers. (Revenews)

If you’re in the local newsletter space, you should be paying attention to what’s happening at the Manchester Mill. (The Guardian)

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📬 No. 41 | Becoming a Dad Changed the Way I Write Newsletters

Becoming a Dad Changed the Way I Think About Newsletters

From my reading list...

Older messages

📬 No. 40 | Questions for a (newsletter) therapist

📬 No. 39 | The four quadrants for growth | Apple Mail changes coming

📬 No. 38 | We’re back! | Interview with Tangle’s founder | Newsletter job board

📬 No. 37 | Questions to Help You Build a Better Newsletter

📬 No. 36 | Two newsletters, two languages

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