Latest / The Newsletter Podcast with Fexingo: Substack, Beehiiv, and Email Newsletter Business / How Email Newsletters Use Interactive Content to Boost Engagement
Transcript
- Lucas: You know, I was looking at my inbox this morning — I subscribe to maybe forty newsletters — and I noticed something. Luna: What's that? Lucas: The ones that actually made me stop and click were the ones with something to do. Not just read — but interact. A poll, a quick quiz, even a slider to estimate something. Luna: Right — interactive content. It's not new in marketing generally, but it feels like newsletters are finally catching up. Lucas: Exactly. And the platforms are making it easier. Substack added polls last year. Beehiiv has native polls and surveys. So the technical barrier is lower than ever. But the question is: does it actually move the needle on engagement? Luna: And if it does, is it worth the risk — because interactive elements can sometimes trip up deliverability, right? Lucas: That's the trade-off we need to dig into. But first, let's look at some numbers. A finance newsletter I follow — let's call it 'Retire Ready' — added a simple retirement calculator embedded in their weekly email. Just a form where you enter your age and savings, and it gives you a projected monthly income. Luna: That's actually a great example. Did they see a bump? Lucas: They tracked it for three months. Open rate didn't change much — it was already around forty-five percent. But click-through rate nearly doubled, from about eight percent to fifteen percent. And time spent reading — measured by how long the email was open — went up by thirty percent. Luna: Wow. So interaction doesn't just drive clicks — it keeps people in the email longer. That's valuable for ad-based models or affiliate links. Lucas: Exactly. And it's not just calculators. Polls are huge for community-building. Another newsletter — a media analysis one — runs a weekly poll asking readers to predict the next big acquisition. The engagement on that email is consistently the highest of the week. Luna: I've seen that too. It creates a sense of participation. Readers feel like their voice matters. Plus, the writer can share the results the following week, which gives a natural hook for the next issue. Lucas: That's the flywheel effect. You poll, you share results, you poll again. It becomes a serialized interaction. And it works especially well for newsletters that have a strong point of view or a community angle. Luna: But there's a risk. If the interactive content is too complex or doesn't load properly — especially on mobile — it can frustrate readers and hurt the experience. Lucas: Yeah, that's a real concern. Some newsletters embed third-party tools that take too long to load. Others use JavaScript that email clients strip out. The safest route is native platform features or simple text-based interactions like 'reply with your answer'. Luna: And then there's the data privacy angle. If you're asking readers to enter personal info — like in that retirement calculator — you're collecting data. That requires a privacy policy and compliance with regulations like GDPR. Lucas: Absolutely. The newsletter I mentioned handled that by keeping the calculator anonymous — no email capture. Just age and savings range. They didn't store the data. That's a smart approach. Luna: So for a small newsletter writer, what's the simplest interactive element to start with? Lucas: I'd say a poll with two or three options. Substack makes it trivial — you just add a poll block. Beehiiv has a similar feature. It's low risk, high reward. You get immediate feedback and a reason to follow up. Luna: And you can even segment your list based on how people vote. If someone votes for option A, you can send them a different follow-up than someone who voted for option B. Lucas: Yes. That's a more advanced use case, but totally doable on Beehiiv with their tagging and automation. Speaking of which — one thing we haven't mentioned is the impact on deliverability. Some email clients, like Gmail, might treat interactive elements as suspicious and route the email to promotions or spam. Luna: Have you seen any data on that? Lucas: Anecdotally, yes. A marketing newsletter I know tested a quiz inside the email and saw their inbox placement drop from ninety-eight percent to ninety-two percent. That's not catastrophic, but it's a meaningful dip. They reverted to a simple text poll and the placement went back up. Luna: So the takeaway is: keep it simple. Native platform features over custom embeds. And always test on different clients before sending to your full list. Lucas: Right. And I'd add one more thing: don't overdo it. If every email has a poll or a quiz, readers might get fatigued. Use interactive content strategically — maybe once a month or for special editions. Luna: That's a good point. It should feel like a bonus, not a requirement. And honestly, that's a principle that applies to a lot of newsletter tactics. We talk about these strategies all the time on the show, and sometimes I wonder — are people actually implementing them? Because if they are, that's the real win. Lucas: It's funny you say that. If these conversations have sparked something you've actually tried — maybe a poll, a calculator, or just a better subject line — that's exactly why we do this. And it's also why listener support matters so much. This show is ad-free, and it stays that way because of people who find value in it and want to keep it going. Luna: Yeah. If you've ever learned something here that helped your newsletter grow, or even just saved you time, you can support us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a small way to say 'keep this going'. Lucas: And it genuinely makes a difference. Every contribution goes straight into making the show better — better guests, better research, fewer ads. Or, well, no ads. Luna: Exactly. Okay, back to interactive content. One more example I wanted to mention — a travel newsletter I read uses a 'destination match' quiz. Readers answer a few questions and get a personalized travel recommendation. The open rate on that email is sixty percent, way above their average of thirty-five percent. Lucas: That's a great example because it's high-value for the reader. The quiz isn't just a gimmick — it gives them something useful. That's the key to making interactive content work: it has to serve the reader, not just the writer's metrics. Luna: Agreed. And the data from the quiz can inform future content. If a lot of people say they want beach vacations, you know to write more about beaches. Lucas: Exactly. So interactive content is a tool for audience research as much as engagement. Now, what about the technical side? Let's talk about how to implement these without breaking deliverability. Luna: Good idea. What are the best practices? Lucas: First, use native features. Substack's polls are served from their own domain, so they're less likely to be flagged. Beehiiv's surveys are similar. Second, avoid iframes — many email clients block them. Third, use fallback text. If the interactive element doesn't render, the reader should see a plain-text version like 'Reply with your choice'. Luna: And test, test, test. Send a test email to yourself on Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, and a mobile client. See how it renders. Lucas: Yes. And if you're using a third-party tool like Typeform or Google Forms, link out to it rather than embedding. A simple 'Click here to take the quiz' button is safer and often gets higher click-through than a complex embed. Luna: That's a good point. Sometimes the simplest approach is best. A link to a landing page with the interactive content can be just as effective, and it avoids deliverability issues entirely. Lucas: Right. And landing pages give you more control over the design and data collection. So there's a trade-off between in-email convenience and out-of-email flexibility. Luna: Let's talk about metrics. How do you measure the success of interactive content? Lucas: Beyond open and click-through rates, you can look at conversion rate — how many people completed the interaction. For a poll, that's the number of votes divided by opens. For a quiz, it's completions divided by starts. Also, look at unsubscribe rate. If your interactive content is annoying, people will leave. Luna: And forward rate. If the interactive content is fun or insightful, readers are more likely to share it with friends. That's organic growth. Lucas: Exactly. So interactive content can be a growth engine if done right. But it requires thoughtful design and testing. Luna: I think we've covered a lot. Let's wrap up with a key takeaway for someone who's never tried interactive content in their newsletter. Lucas: Start with a simple poll on a topic your readers care about. Use the platform's native feature. Share the results next week. Measure the engagement compared to your typical email. And then decide if you want to go deeper with a quiz or calculator. Luna: And remember — if you find value in shows like this, consider supporting us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It keeps these conversations ad-free. Lucas: Alright, next episode we'll tackle something we've been getting a lot of questions about: how newsletters can use ai generated summaries to boost open rates. See you then.