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Lessons from Pivoting My Newsletter Twice (And Why It Worked)
Insights, Mistakes, and Strategies Revealed!
Victoria Kurichenko
February 28th, 2025
Have you ever skipped a few newsletters and ended up not reaching out to your audience for months?
Or maybe you’ve sat down to write your newsletter, ready to connect with your audience, but then you weren’t sure what to say?
Yep, I’ve been there.
As an SEO writer and content creator, I’ve relaunched my newsletter twice in the past year. I was experimenting with topics and audiences, but each time, I failed miserably.
If you wonder how to pivot a newsletter but aren’t sure that it’s the right call, I’ve got you covered.
In this article, I share my personal story—how I started (and restarted) my newsletter several times, deleted my email list more than once, and kept changing directions until I finally figured out what works.
With beehiiv, I could turn things around and shape my newsletter into something my audience looks forward to each week.
My weekly editions get a 77% open rate—seriously, that’s no joke!
The secret? Truly understanding your audience. And I’ll show you how to do the same.
You’ll also learn how to evaluate your newsletter, realign it with your goals, and engage your newsletter audience after a break.
Without further ado, let’s get started!
Table of Contents
4 Subtle Signs It’s Time to Pivot Your Newsletter
Before you put a ton of work into restarting a newsletter, you should first understand if it’s worth your time and energy.
I’ve compiled some of the most common reasons why content creators (myself included) start thinking about giving their newsletters a fresh start.
If any of these reasons feel relatable, even a little, that’s likely a sign to get ready for a newsletter revamp.
You Lost Excitement For Your Newsletter
Do you still feel excited when it’s time to write your newsletter?
If your answer leans toward no, it might be because the topic no longer aligns with your current interests.
Losing motivation is one of the top reasons creators quit their newsletters. Sure, their audience is still waiting for fresh updates, but they no longer feel inspired to hit “Send.”
I’ve been there.
When I started my solopreneur journey, my focus kept shifting from teaching Medium writing tips to diving into blogging and SEO. These were totally different topics with entirely different audiences.
But as soon as my enthusiasm cooled off, I abandoned those email lists and had to start over.
Your newsletter can align with your business goals and serve your audience well, but only if you stay motivated.
That's why it’s important to consider your newsletter topic before committing. It’s something you'll have to stick with for a while. But if deep down you know it’s time for a change, it might be time to pivot.
The average newsletter open rate on beehiiv was 38.69% in 2023.
For comparison, the GetResponse Email Marketing Benchmarks report shows a worldwide average of 39.64% and a click-through rate of 3.25% in 2023.
Do you keep an eye on your newsletter engagement metrics?
If these metrics steadily decline or hit below the worldwide average, it’s a sign that your audience’s needs have changed, and your newsletter no longer serves them well.
In addition, you might notice an increase in unsubscribes or, worse, a silent loss of interest that’s harder to detect.
When this happens, it’s time to step back and rethink your strategy. Are you still delivering what your audience wants?
When my newsletter’s open rate fell below 40% in 2024, I cut my list in half and removed disengaged subscribers.
Why? Because a smaller list of 1,000 highly engaged readers is much more valuable than 10,000 people who don’t really care.
It wasn’t an easy decision, but it worked. My stats have improved. Now I know I send my emails to people who genuinely want to hear from me.
If your newsletter engagement declines, maybe it’s time for a similar rethink!
You’re Running Low on Ideas
Ever find yourself staring at a blank screen, wasting hours trying to figure out what to say in your newsletter?
Perhaps you are currently running low on ideas for your newsletter.
Been there. Done that.
Sometimes, it’s not a lack of ideas but a sign that you’re simply burned out.
When your creative energy feels drained, the best thing you can do is pause. You’ll be surprised how much clarity and energy can come from simply taking a break.
I know this firsthand.
After launching my second newsletter about writing on Medium, I hit a wall. I had tons of ideas to share—until I didn’t. Burned out and out of ideas, I decided to pause everything.
And you know what? That’s okay. Life happens. Putting pressure on yourself to produce content rarely ends well when you’re not feeling it.
If your enthusiasm is fading and you’re struggling to serve your audience well, take some time to reflect.
Ask yourself: Do I still have fresh insights or value to share? If not, maybe it’s time to pivot and explore a new direction for your newsletter.
You Crave a New Perspective
Feeling like it's time for a change?
Let’s say your newsletter is doing great, but deep down, you feel a nudge to try something different.
You might want to explore new topics, experiment with formats, or send your newsletter more frequently.
When you crave a change, it’s your inner compass steering you toward growth and new opportunities.
That’s how we grow and become even better at what we do!
So, if you find yourself craving a new perspective, it might be a sign that your newsletter is ready for a pivot.
In this case, you don’t need to abandon your core values and come up with brand-new ideas.
Instead, start small. You can slowly introduce new ideas and see whether your audience is ready for something new.
I hope things are clearer now about whether this is the right step for you. If you're starting small and wondering how to prepare for a change or where to begin—I’ve got you covered!
The five-step process I’ll walk you through will help you take a good look at where your newsletter stands, keep the strategies that work, and lay the groundwork for an awesome relaunch.
Ready? Let’s dive in!
Why Trust Me?
I'm Victoria Kurichenko, an SEO expert, content writer, and solopreneur. In addition to managing my client business, I also focus on growing my own website and running a Medium blog with over 20,000 followers.
Step 1: Evaluate Your Wins and Challenges
Before making any changes, take a moment to think about what went well and what didn’t.
Your wins are the foundation you’ll probably want to carry forward.
You can start by identifying your:
Best-performing newsletter growth strategies
Top-performing newsletter topics based on audience engagement
Successful email campaigns based on revenue
Subscriber feedback (if there’s any)
Your email marketing tool should help you pull this data for a deeper look.
For example, beehiiv has a powerful 3D Analytics dashboard. This feature gives content creators a deep dive into their newsletter’s performance with three key reports:
Subscribers report: Understand your audience growth
Post report: See how your content performs
Clicks report: Track engagement through link clicks
Here’s a quick summary of the data you can measure, track, and analyze with beehiiv 3D Analytics. Check out more details about beehiiv analytics.
With this data, you can clearly see what works and double down on the channels that bring you the most engaged and valuable subscribers.
For instance, when I did my year-end review with beehiiv 3D Analytics, I discovered that one of my top-performing posts in 2024 earned me $112 from just one newsletter and a sponsored ad!
This insight was a game-changer. It showed me that my audience enjoyed topics about content writing. So, I started sharing more about my journey as a content writer.
But it’s not just about what works. This dashboard can also help you spot what doesn’t work. That way, you can stop wasting time and resources on strategies that don’t deliver results.
Maybe some topics didn’t click with your audience, or your growth has slowed down. Dig into the data and ask yourself:
Was it a timing issue?
Did the audience lose interest?
Was it the way you presented your content?
Remember, not every strategy stays effective forever. Don’t be afraid to pivot or leave outdated methods behind. It’s all about learning from the past and adapting to create a better newsletter for your audience.
Step 2: Redefine Your Goals
What would you like to achieve after restarting a newsletter?
Here are a few ideas to help you think about your email newsletter goals:
Grow the number of subscribers
Improve the newsletter engagement
Monetize the newsletter through ads or sponsored content
Turn your newsletter into a paid subscription
Whatever the idea resonates with you for your newsletter, it’s important to set SMART newsletter goals.
Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
You can track, measure, and analyze these goals to evaluate the performance of your newsletter.
For example, you could aim for something like:
Grow the number of subscribers by 20% in the next three months by using LinkedIn and teaming up with other creators.
Boost your newsletter open rates from 45% to 55% over the next six weeks by optimizing subject lines and sending at optimal times.
Convert 100 free subscribers into paying members in two months by offering exclusive content.
Land three sponsored deals in the next quarter.
It might be tempting to go after all these goals at once, but that could be overwhelming, especially if your newsletter is a side hustle.
Keep it simple. Start with one or two goals at a time.
Remember, your goals can change as your newsletter grows. Use the data and feedback you get to adjust and improve along the way.
Step 3: Plan Your Relaunch
By now, you should ideally have your goals clearly defined.
At this point, it is all about turning your goals into actionable steps for your newsletter’s fresh relaunch.
Here’s the checklist I followed when relaunching my newsletter, and it could be valuable for you as well:
Assess whether your existing newsletter audience aligns with your goals
Clean up your email list if necessary
Focus on 2–3 main topics your newsletter will consistently cover
Decide how often you’ll send newsletters—weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly
Update your newsletter’s branding and layout if you believe it’s needed
Plan how you’ll announce the relaunch of your newsletter
Plan how you’ll reintroduce yourself to your audience
Use polls or feedback forms to gather valuable input from your readers
Track open rates, click rates, and subscriber growth to measure the success of your relaunch.
To make these steps actionable, create a timeline to organize your relaunch tasks. For example, you can start by setting specific deadlines for each item on your checklist.
Schedule a day or two to review your subscribers and scrub off your email list if needed.
You’ll also need quite some time to update your newsletter branding (if applicable) and finalize your core topics.
Now, let me share a few ideas on how you can reintroduce yourself to your audience.
Step 4: Reintroduce Yourself to Your Audience
The average office worker sends around 40 emails daily and receives a whopping 121 business-related emails. That’s a lot for anyone to handle!
So, if you haven’t emailed your audience for a while, there’s a high chance they no longer remember who you are and when they signed up for your newsletter.
Instead of starting fresh, consider reintroducing yourself to your existing subscribers. Here are two simple strategies that have worked well for me:
Reintroduce yourself in an email.
Remind your audience who you are, why they subscribed, and what they can expect from your newsletter moving forward.Set up a 2–3 day automated “Welcome” sequence.
Use this to explain any changes to your newsletter, why you’ve pivoted, and what kind of value your subscribers can expect to get from you from now on.
Platforms like beehiiv make this super easy. For example, you can set up an email sequence based on your audience’s actions.
If you send out a survey, your automation can send different follow-up emails depending on how people respond.
If you’re curious about setting up a welcome series for your newsletter, here’s a helpful guide:
When your newsletter resonates with your audience’s interests, you’ll notice it in the metrics—higher open rates, more clicks, and maybe even some replies with questions.
Of course, some people might choose to unsubscribe, and that’s perfectly okay. Don’t beat yourself up over it.
What matters is engaging your newsletter audience after a break, not clinging to inactive subscribers.
Step 5: Track, Test, and Fine-Tune
Let me take a moment to say that you should be proud of what you’ve accomplished so far.
You’ve put in a ton of work pivoting your newsletter, and I know it’s not easy. Plus, you probably don’t even know if all this effort will pay off yet.
To take out the guesswork, ensure you track your SMART goals, test your ideas, and adjust things as you go.
For example, you can A/B test subject lines or experiment with different CTAs to see what resonates best.
With beehiiv, you can easily set A/B test campaigns right in your newsletter editor. The test runs for up to 180 minutes, but you can adjust it between 5 and 240 minutes. By default, about 20% of your audience will be part of the test, but you can easily change that too.
Once it’s done, beehiiv automatically sends the winning subject line to the rest of your audience. Simple and super effective!
What I Learned from Restarting My Newsletter (Twice!)
Let me confess: I’ve had more than a few failed attempts to start an email list.
In 2024 alone, I:
Switched my newsletter to beehiiv and started all over again
Deleted half of my email list
Changed the concept of my newsletter
This experience taught me that it’s important to choose the right platform for growing your newsletter. The platform should align with your business goals since you’ll likely stick with it for a while.
At the beginning of 2024, my primary goal was to monetize my newsletter. With the previous email provider, I couldn't easily achieve this.
As a solopreneur, I could only spend 1–2 hours weekly on my newsletter. So, I needed something that would give me the most results with the least effort.
To my surprise, beehiiv’s Boosts feature helped me make passive income—about $1–$4 for each subscriber I referred to other content creators.
Below, you can see what I achieved with a modest email list.
Matt Navarra, the creator of the Geekout Newsletter, revealed that beehiiv Boosts is one of his go-to tools for newsletter monetization that helped him make $25,000 since he started using the feature. This proves that every creator can make it big with beehiiv.
On top of that, I didn’t even have to search for newsletter sponsors! Thanks to beehiiv’s Ad Network, I got the opportunity to work with big brands like HubSpot and Ahrefs.
This has never happened to me before relaunching my newsletter on beehiiv!
In mid-2024, I made another big change to my newsletter for two reasons:
My engagement was dropping
I didn’t want to keep my newsletter focused only on SEO
As a solopreneur, I had much more to share with my audience than just SEO tips. So, in August 2024, I completely revamped my newsletter.
I deleted half my list, leaving just over 1,000 subscribers, renamed it “Contentpreneur Corner,” and changed the branding and topics.
It was a tough move, but it was exactly what I needed to align my newsletter with my interests and boost engagement.
Ultimately, my biggest takeaway from relaunching my newsletter in 2024 was not to be afraid to pivot from the norm.
My newsletter had become a bit of a comfort zone, and stepping out of it was hard. But beehiiv showed me that monetizing a newsletter is actually easy if you have the right tools in place. The same goes for tracking your performance and attracting new subscribers effortlessly.
If you’re serious about growing and monetizing your newsletter, start for free with beehiiv.
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