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Hey, Grow Newsie reader!
As we wrap up 2025, there's no better time to conduct a thorough newsletter performance analysis. Whether you crushed your goals or faced unexpected challenges, analyzing your year's data is essential for sustainable growth.
Today, I'm walking you through exactly how to review your newsletter's 2025 performance and use those insights to dominate in 2026.
Why Year-End Performance Analysis Matters
Think of your year-end review as your newsletter's annual health checkup. According to recent industry data, publishers who regularly analyze their metrics see 27% higher year-over-year growth compared to those who don't track performance.
Your 2025 data tells you:
What content truly resonates with your audience
Which distribution strategies delivered ROI
Where you're leaving money on the table
How to set realistic, data-driven goals for 2026
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The 10 Essential Metrics to Analyze
1. Open Rate Trends
Your open rate shows whether your subject lines and sender reputation are working. For 2025, the average newsletter open rate sits at 43.46%, up from 42.35% in 2024.
What to analyze:
Monthly open rate averages throughout the year
Best and worst performing subject line patterns
Impact of send time on open rates (data shows 10-11 AM performs best)
Day of week performance (Monday and Sunday typically win)
Action item: Identify your top 10 highest-performing subject lines. What patterns do they share? Length, tone, use of numbers, questions, or emojis?
2. Click-Through Rate (CTR)
CTR measures how compelling your content is. The 2025 benchmark is 2.09% for general newsletters, with media publishers averaging 4.10%.
What to analyze:
Which content topics drove the most clicks
Optimal number of CTAs per email
Link placement effectiveness
Content format preferences (text vs. video vs. infographics)
Pro tip: Calculate your click-to-open rate (CTOR) by dividing unique clicks by unique opens. A healthy CTOR is 10-20%, showing your content engages those who open.
3. Subscriber Growth Rate
Track how your list expanded throughout 2025. Break this down by:
New subscribers per month
Growth rate percentage
Subscriber sources (website, social media, referrals, ads)
Cost per acquisition by channel
Formula: (New subscribers - Unsubscribes) ÷ Total subscribers × 100
4. Engagement by Segment
Analyze performance across different audience segments:
New subscribers vs. long-term readers
High-engagement vs. inactive subscribers
Geographic performance differences
Device preferences (mobile vs. desktop)
Key insight: Subscribers who opened 50% or more of your emails in 2025 are your VIP segment. They deserve special content in 2026.
5. Revenue Performance
If you monetize through ads, sponsorships, or paid subscriptions, track:
Total revenue generated
Revenue per subscriber
Revenue per email sent
Conversion rates from free to paid
Sponsor retention rates
Calculate your ROMI (Return on Marketing Investment) to understand true profitability.
6. Unsubscribe Rate
The average unsubscribe rate jumped to 0.22% in 2025 (up from 0.08% in 2024, partly due to Gmail's easier unsubscribe features).
What to analyze:
Which emails triggered the most unsubscribes
Patterns in unsubscribe timing
Exit survey feedback (if you collect it)
Healthy range: Below 0.5% is solid. Above 1% needs immediate attention.
7. Email Deliverability
Your delivery rate should be 95%+ in 2025. Lower rates hurt all other metrics.
Check for:
Hard vs. soft bounce rates
Spam complaint rates
Inbox placement rates
Domain reputation scores
8. Content Performance Rankings
Rank every edition you sent in 2025 by:
Open rate
CTR
Social shares
Direct replies received
Revenue generated
Your top 10% reveals your sweet spot content. Your bottom 10% shows what to avoid.
9. Send Frequency Impact
Analyze how sending frequency affected engagement:
Did daily emails maintain engagement or cause fatigue?
Were weekly newsletters opened more consistently?
Did special editions outperform regular ones?
Industry data shows 57.1% of creators sent monthly newsletters in 2023, but higher frequency often drives better engagement when content quality remains high.
10. Reader Feedback & Surveys
Qualitative data matters as much as quantitative. Review:
Direct subscriber replies
Survey responses
Social media mentions
Referral rates (how many readers shared your newsletter)
Creating Your Performance Dashboard
Here's how to organize your analysis:
Step 1: Export Your Data
Pull reports from your email service provider (ESP) for the full year. Most platforms (beehiiv, Mailchimp, ConvertKit, etc.) offer CSV exports.
Step 2: Build Comparison Views
Create these comparison tables:
Q4 2025 vs. Q4 2024
Monthly performance throughout 2025
Best month vs. worst month
Your performance vs. industry benchmarks
Step 3: Identify Your Top 3 Wins and Challenges
Be honest about what worked and what didn't. For example:
Wins:
Grew list by 45% through referral program
Increased CTR by 28% after redesigning CTA placement
Launched paid tier with 12% conversion rate
Challenges:
Open rates declined 8% in Q3 during summer slump
Mobile engagement lagged desktop by 35%
Unsubscribe rate spiked after frequency increase in September
Benchmarking Against Industry Standards
Context matters. Here are 2025 benchmarks to compare against:
Media & Publishing:
Open rate: 34.23%
CTR: 4.10%
Unsubscribe rate: Under 0.3%
General Newsletters:
Open rate: 43.46%
CTR: 2.09%
CTOR: 6.81%
If you're significantly below these, prioritize improvement. If you're above, analyze what you're doing right to replicate that success.
Setting Data-Driven Goals for 2026
Based on your 2025 analysis, set SMART goals:
Example Goals:
Increase open rate from 38% to 45% by improving subject lines and send time optimization
Grow subscriber base from 5,000 to 8,000 through referral program expansion
Launch paid tier and convert 10% of free subscribers
Reduce unsubscribe rate from 0.4% to 0.25% through better segmentation
Increase CTR from 2.1% to 3.5% with more compelling CTAs
Your Year-End Review Action Plan
Week 1: Data Collection
Export all 2025 data from your ESP
Compile revenue numbers
Gather qualitative feedback
Week 2: Analysis
Calculate all 10 key metrics
Create comparison charts
Identify patterns and trends
Week 3: Strategic Planning
Set 2026 goals based on data
Plan content calendar improvements
Budget for growth initiatives
Week 4: Documentation
Create a presentation or report
Share insights with team/stakeholders
Archive for future reference
Tools to Streamline Your Analysis
Consider these platforms for deeper insights:
Google Analytics 4 for website traffic from newsletter clicks
UTM parameters to track campaign performance
Brand24 or similar tools to monitor newsletter mentions
Databox or Glueletter for automated performance dashboards
The Bottom Line
Your newsletter's 2025 performance data is a goldmine of insights. The creators who take time to analyze thoroughly will make smarter decisions, waste less time on ineffective strategies, and grow faster in 2026.
Don't let this year's lessons go unlearned. Block time this week to dive into your data. Your future self will thank you.
Keep growing!
With love,
Nikhil
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