Chapter 03
Reader weather
Page 08
Retention field note · paid newsletters
Readers don't churn—they fade between issues.
Retention by first-month issue opens
Bar chart showing ninety-day retention rising from twenty-two percent for zero opens to seventy-four percent for six or more opens.
80%
60%
40%
20%
0
22%
31%
45%
62%
74%
0 opens
1 open
2–3
4–5
6+ opens
Issues opened during a subscriber's first month