👋 Today, you’re hearing from a fellow Dan and newsletter enthusiast, Dan Oshinsky.

Fabulous first names aside, let’s dive in! 🚀

Dan Oshinsky runs Inbox Collective, a consultancy that helps news organizations, non-profits, and indie newsletters get the most out of email. He specializes in helping organizations build loyal audiences via email and then converting that audience into subscribers, members, or donors.

He previously worked as the Director of Newsletters at both The New Yorker and BuzzFeed. He’s been a featured speaker at events like Litmus Live in Boston, Email Summit DK in Odense, and the Email Marketing Summit in Brisbane. He’s also been widely quoted on email strategies, including in publications like The Washington Post, Fortune, and Digiday.

👉 The Five Levels of CTAs 👈

Confession time: When I first started in the email space, I didn’t know what a CTA was.

I remember being in a meeting, and those letters came up. “We’ve got to experiment with new types of CTAs,” someone said. I nodded my head, and then scribbled into my notebook: “CTA??” I came from the journalism world; up until then, marketing was a mystery to me. When I got back to my desk, I did a quick search and figured it out: Oh, a call to action! Sure, I know what that is!

That was 13 years ago, but all these years later, I still see plenty of newsletters that could use a refresher on their CTAs, both for editorial content and ads. So let’s talk through the five levels of CTAs — working our way towards the types of CTAs that consistently drive readers to click.

🥅 Level 1: Having no CTA.

I’m amazed how many newsletters don’t include any CTAs. Take this email from The Strategist, a New York Magazine brand. As you scroll through their newsletter, you’ll see lots of editorial sections like this — some of the text and images are hyperlinked, but that’s not immediately clear from the design. You might click because the headlines are catchy, but otherwise, you could easily scroll past these sections

I really like the NY Mag emails overall, but I think they can take things up a level. Which brings us to

🐣 Level 2: Adding a link into your copy.

In Level 2, there’s not a clear CTA in your newsletter, but at least you’re telling them that there’s a link to click on. You’re using an underline, bold font, or color to indicate that there’s something worth clicking.

Take this example from The Newsletter. They’re incorporating their core color (purple) into every link, and they’re bolding the links to make them stand out — both are good design choices. But it’s still not entirely clear what you’re clicking through to. When they say they’ve “been reading (a lot),” are you being taken to a recent book recommendation? To a list on their site? (Spoiler alert: the link goes to a Goodreads list.)

This is a step in the right direction, but it's not quite as effective as…

🏋️‍♀️ Level 3: Including a text-based CTA.

A decent CTA tells you the literal action you’re about to take — we’ve all written “Read more” and added then a link. But you can do better. The best CTAs tell you not just to click but also why you should care enough to take that action.

Your reader probably doesn’t have the time to read a story or browse through a landing page in hopes of discovering something useful inside. So be upfront with them — tell them what they’ll do once they click.

Here’s a good example from the New York Times’ The Wirecutter. They set up the link well by talking about something a reader’s probably seen on Instagram. Then they grab your attention by mentioning that reality (gasp!) might not be as perfect as Instagram.

And then there’s the CTA: “Considering a filtered showerhead? Ask yourself these 6 questions first —>”. You know exactly the outcome before you click — you’re going to be taken a piece that helps you understand whether this is something you should buy. They’ve bolded the link, used blue text to set the link apart, and even thrown in an arrow at the end to make clear that you’re about to be taken elsewhere.

There’s a lot to like here — and yet, there’s still more to test. They could always try…

👊 Level 4: Incorporating a button.

Now we’re really getting somewhere. Here’s what Nice News does with their ads — you’ll note a number of tactics from previous levels incorporated:

✅ Links in the headline and image.

✅ Using their featured color (orange) to set the links apart from other ad copy

✅ Giving readers a clear reason why clicking will be valuable (“Lock in the discounted price before midnight”).

But then they’re adding a nice additional element: The “Invest now” button. Nice News only uses buttons alongside ad copy, which helps their advertisers stand out within the newsletter, and they update each CTA based on the advertiser. If the ad is for an app, they’ll say “Download the app.” If the ad is for a travel partner, they’ll say “Book a travel package.” The copy is brief and direct, but that’s OK for a button — if you use too many characters, the button will stretch onto a second or a third line (and might not format correctly, particularly on mobile). But the button copy doesn’t need to be long if it’s clear what you’ll to do after you click.

🤯 Level 5: Adding A/B tests to the mix.

Best-in-class newsletters don’t just settle for what’s in the first four levels. They’re adding in one more element: A/B testing.

I’ve written more newsletters than I could count, and yet, on a weekly basis, I’m surprised to see what people click on in my newsletter. I can come up with a version of a CTA that I’m excited about — and then watch as it falls flat with my audience.

The only way to truly optimize your newsletter is to A/B test different versions to make sure you’ve got the CTA that will drive the most clicks. You can test out different reasons why someone should click (“Get your investing guide” vs. “See how much you could make”). You can test out different button colors or designs. You can test out different link styles. You can test out different lengths of copy — what happens if you share a little more or a little less before the CTA? You can test out different subject lines, each connected to the CTA inside.

Email is for driving action. The more you experiment, the better the chance you have to drive the action you want.

🤝

From Dan Barry: Dan can help you with 99.99% of all your email-based problems and goals. He hasn't paid me to say this, but he’s great. Check out Inbox Collective and reach out to Dan if you need newsletter-guidance.