It’s Wednesday, January 15, and I’m thrilled to be back in your inbox for another year! But first…

My motto for 2025 is to add uncommon and unexpected value to everything I do. And with that in mind…

I’ll be holding a workshop for newsrooms, this June 16-18, in Copenhagen, Denmark. And in addition to the workshop, I’ll put together a custom growth audit for each team that joins. I hope you’ll join me there…

A thank you to this quarter’s sponsor, Optimism. I’m so excited about the project we’ll be launching together later this month — keep your eyes open for the big announcement…

To make my site more accessible, I’m testing out a tool to produce audio versions of our stories. You’ll see an audio player at the top of today’s story. Give it a try — I’d love your feedback on it...

—Dan (say 👋 via email or LinkedIn)

All of our newsletters this month are presented by by Optimism, an email-first media company. They believe in the importance of bringing positive and informative content to the inbox. Through Curated By Optimism, they’re working with like-minded media companies to drive traffic to publications like yours.

Interested in learning more? Get in touch here.

What I Learned About Newsletters in 2024

One of the fun parts about my job is that it allows me to tackle new challenges and educate myself about new or evolving issues in the email world. I’ve been in this space for 13 years, and I’m still learning about how to get the most out of the inbox.

An even better part of my job is that I can share some of what I’ve learned with you.

I spent my winter break reflecting on the lessons I learned in 2024. I think a few of these lessons might help you figure out how to build your best email strategy in the year ahead. Here’s what I learned

A big thank you to Optimism, the wintertime sponsor for Inbox Collective — they’re making everything in the newsletter and on our website available for free to all readers.

Even if you’re unfamiliar with Optimism, you probably recognize one of their nearly 20 email-first brands, including History Facts, Nice News, and Word Smarts. This year, they’re also expanding their partnership program with like-minded media companies. Through Curated By Optimism, they’re driving traffic to external partners and promoting their great content — and with traditional traffic sources continuing to drive fewer readers to publications, new partnerships like this could help your newsletter or site grow faster in 2025. Interested in learning more about how to partner with Optimism? Get in touch here.

*This content has been promoted by our partners*

From my reading list...

From experimentation to monetization to growth, here’s the advice 25 newsletter operators wish they’d gotten at the very start. (Inbox Collective)

Here’s how to build your own AI tool to write better subject lines. (Newsletter Examples)

The team at Tools for Reporters — the newsletter I helped launch more than a decade ago — just announced their paid membership with a really smart strategy. (Tools for Reporters)

Ciler Demiralp put together an interesting report on the state of newsletters on Substack. (Newsletter Circle)

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📬 No. 62 | What I learned about newsletters in 2024

What I Learned About Newsletters in 2024

From my reading list...

Older messages

Join me in Copenhagen this summer!

📬 No. 61 | What I wish I’d known

📬 No. 60 | “Little things can actually make a big difference”

📬 No. 59 | Designing a better newsletter

📬 No. 58 | Improving your landing page

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