In this issue, I’m sharing a mistake I made early on when building newsletters and one I see all the time. I focused on growing the list fast without thinking enough about segmentation. It worked at first, but eventually engagement suffered. I’ll break down why that happens and how enrichment and smarter segmentation can dramatically improve open rates, clicks, and overall performance.

When I first started building newsletters, I was focused almost entirely on growth. I made the signup process as simple as possible. First name and email address felt like the right move. Fewer fields meant less friction, and in the beginning, it worked. The list grew quickly and the early metrics looked strong.

As the audience expanded, engagement became inconsistent. Some emails performed well while others barely moved. I realized the issue was not timing or creativity. It was that I did not actually know who I was talking to.

By keeping the form minimal, I had built scale without context. I had email addresses, but no real insight into roles, industries, seniority, or intent. That forced me into broad messaging. Every email had to appeal to everyone, which meant it rarely felt deeply relevant. Over time, that lack of relevance showed up in open rates and click-through rates.

Avoiding extra form fields initially felt smart because I was protecting conversion rates. What I underestimated was the long-term cost. A large list without segmentation looks impressive, but it limits personalization and meaningful connection.

If I were starting a newsletter today, I would do three things differently from day one:

The shift for me came when I started using newsletter enrichment solutions. Instead of re-collecting data manually, I appended additional insights to my existing list. Suddenly, those anonymous subscribers turned into defined profiles. I could see job titles, company sizes, industries, and behavioral signals.

With that visibility, segmentation became strategic. I could tailor messaging to founders differently than enterprise executives. I could adjust content for marketers versus operators. Subject lines became more specific. Calls to action aligned better with where each group was in their journey.

The results were clear. Open rates improved because the messaging felt more relevant. Click-through rates increased because the content matched real needs. Unsubscribes slowed. The newsletter felt less like a broadcast and more like a conversation.

Looking back, I still believe in reducing friction at signup. But I now think just as carefully about how I will understand and segment the audience over time. Growth matters. Relevance drives performance. Once you combine enrichment with thoughtful segmentation, a newsletter becomes a true driver of engagement, trust, and results.

If you’re looking for guidance on how to do this you can contact me here.