What did you do after you hit “Send” on your last email campaign? If you only checked your open rate, nodded, and moved on, you might be overlooking valuable insights.

Your emails don’t stop working once they’re sent. For publishers, newsletters aren’t just tools to drive traffic or subscriptions—they’re a conversation with your audience. But how do you interpret what readers are telling you?

By reading your email data carefully.

Every open, click, and scroll is a clue about what your subscribers care about most. Let’s explore how to look beyond surface metrics and uncover the story hidden in your data.

Campaign Reports

In eCommerce, campaign reports often focus strictly on revenue. For publishers, though, they can reveal deeper trends that sustain long-term growth.

Analyzing your reports helps you time campaigns strategically, identify your most valuable audience segments, and discover which content performs best.

For example, if your Monday emails consistently drive more subscription upgrades, you can adjust your schedule to match that behavior. Or you might see that curated lists outperform daily recaps in driving conversions.

Imagine you run an independent digital publication. You send a “Top 10 Weekly” newsletter featuring curated articles and special offers. At first glance, your metrics seem fine—open rates and clicks are steady. But conversions are low.

This is where a deeper look into your campaign dashboard pays off.

Your dashboard typically includes:

Performance overview, showing opens, clicks, and engagement trends
A/B performance, revealing which version of your subject line or layout performed best
Recipient activity, detailing how subscribers interacted with your email
Link clicks, showing which parts of your message attracted attention
Device and client data, indicating whether your audience prefers mobile, desktop, or other platforms
Location activity, highlighting your most engaged regions
These details help you adjust your next campaigns. You might find that readers in Sweden using mobile devices are most responsive to premium offers, while those in China engage more with free resources on tablets.

For deeper analysis, you can build a custom report. Selecting the “Performance Chart” widget gives you a clear view of how many clicks and visits led to paid subscriptions.

The result is a clear picture of how your campaign contributed to growth.

Custom Fields

A generic newsletter listing every new article may overwhelm subscribers and lower engagement.

On the other hand, emails tailored to your readers’ favorite topics and interests can significantly improve results.

Custom fields make personalization simple. Instead of collecting only first and last names, you can also gather details such as preferred genres, favorite authors, or desired publication frequency.

Consider a “Weekly Digest” newsletter that lets subscribers pick their favorite topics during signup. Information like preferred_content_type, favorite_author, subscription_date, and location can all be stored as custom fields.

This enables messages such as:

“Hey [First Name], this week’s top [preferred_content_type] is here, featuring [favorite_author].”

To set this up, use custom field tags like {{preferred_content_type}} in your subject lines or email body. You’ll make every email feel personal without creating multiple versions of the same campaign.

Creating a custom field is simple—just click “Add New Custom Field” in your email list section and start capturing the details that matter.

A/B Testing

If you want to truly understand what resonates with your audience, A/B testing is essential.

Testing different subject lines, layouts, or content types can reveal what inspires readers to click and convert. Over time, this process will help you refine your approach and deliver more engaging emails.

Final Thoughts

Email campaigns are much more than single events—they’re ongoing conversations with your readers. By digging into your reports, customizing your messages, and experimenting with A/B tests, you can create newsletters that feel personal and drive results.