Latest / The Newsletter Podcast with Fexingo: Substack, Beehiiv, and Email Newsletter Business / How Newsletters Use Gamification to Boost Subscriber Engagement
Transcript
- Lucas: You open a newsletter and there it is — a little streak counter in the header. 'You've read 17 days in a row. Keep going to reach 30.' And suddenly you feel a small pull not to break the chain. Luna: Right — that tiny dopamine hit is surprisingly effective. I've seen newsletters where the streak feature alone lifted open rates by double digits. Lucas: That's exactly what we're diving into today. Gamification in newsletters — not just streaks, but leaderboards, badges, progress bars. It's becoming a standard tool on platforms like Substack and Beehiiv. Luna: Speaking of which — if these marketing conversations have sparked something you've actually used in your own newsletter, honestly, if today was worth a coffee to you, that's the link — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: Yeah, that little gesture is what keeps this show ad-free and focused on practical tactics. Appreciate anyone who chips in. Luna: Alright — so let's get into the mechanics. What's the most common gamification feature you're seeing right now? Luna: Twelve percent is big. And it's not just about opening — it's about habit formation. Once you hit day 7, you're way more likely to keep going. Lucas: Exactly. The psychology is called the endowment effect — once you've invested time in a streak, it feels like a loss to break it. That's why Snapchat's streak feature is so sticky, and newsletters are borrowing the same playbook. Luna: Substack actually built a native streak feature last year. Writers can toggle it on, and subscribers see a 'Days Read' counter at the top of each email. Lucas: And Beehiiv has something similar with their 'Engagement Score' — it's not a streak per se, but it tracks how actively a subscriber interacts. Writers can then segment based on that score. Luna: So streaks work for opens. But what about deeper engagement — like clicks and replies? Lucas: That's where leaderboards come in. Morning Brew famously used a referral leaderboard in their early days. They'd show the top 10 referrers each week, and people competed fiercely. At its peak, that leaderboard drove 40,000 new subscribers in a single quarter. Luna: Forty thousand — that's wild. And it's not just about the top spot. Even being in the top 50 gives you status. Lucas: Right. Leaderboards tap into social comparison. But the key is making them visible — not buried in a settings page. Morning Brew put theirs in a weekly email footer. Luna: I've also seen newsletters use badges. Like 'Reader since 2024' or 'Top Commenter'. One finance newsletter I follow gives a 'Verified Analyst' badge to subscribers who reply to three consecutive issues with a market insight. Lucas: That's smart — it turns passive readers into contributors. And badges are relatively easy to implement with something like BadgeOS or even a simple spreadsheet if you're on a smaller platform. Luna: Progress bars are another one — showing subscribers how close they are to a milestone. Like 'You've read 80 percent of this series. One more issue to go.' Lucas: I've seen that work especially well for onboarding sequences. A drip course with a progress bar can boost completion rates by 30 percent or more. It's the same principle as LinkedIn's profile strength meter. Luna: Let's talk about the psychology behind all this. Is it all positive, or are there downsides? Lucas: The big risk is over-gamification. If every email has a streak, a badge, a leaderboard, and a progress bar, it feels manipulative. Readers get fatigued. Luna: And there's the ethical question — are we exploiting dopamine loops to get people to read something they might not actually care about? Lucas: That's a real concern. But I think the line is crossed when the gamification is the only reason someone opens. If the content is genuinely valuable, gamification just reinforces a good habit. Luna: So what's the sweet spot? One or two mechanics per newsletter, not all four at once. Lucas: Exactly. And they should align with your goal. If you want more referrals, use a leaderboard. If you want daily opens, use a streak. If you want course completions, use a progress bar. Luna: I also think timing matters. Don't introduce a streak after someone has already been a subscriber for a year — it feels tacked on. Launch it from day one. Lucas: Good point. And test everything. What works for a B2C newsletter might not work for a B2B one. A streak might feel too 'gamey' for a serious finance newsletter. Luna: Have you seen any examples where gamification backfired? Lucas: Yeah — there was a wellness newsletter that introduced a 'streak' but made it reset if you didn't open within 24 hours. People felt punished for taking weekends off. Unsubscribes spiked. Luna: Oof — so flexibility matters. A 48-hour window or a weekly streak might be better. Lucas: Exactly. The goal is to encourage, not pressure. And always give readers an easy way to opt out of the gamification features without unsubscribing. Luna: Alright — so if someone listening wants to try one gamification tactic this week, what should they do? Lucas: Start with a simple streak counter in your welcome email or header. Something like 'You're on a 3-day reading streak — keep it going!' Most email platforms let you add dynamic content based on open history. Luna: And if that works, then layer on a referral leaderboard or a badge. But one at a time. Lucas: Right. And measure the impact on your core metric — whether that's open rate, click rate, or reply rate. If a feature doesn't move the needle after four weeks, drop it. Luna: I think the big takeaway is that gamification isn't a gimmick — it's a way to honor the reader's time and attention by making the experience more rewarding. Lucas: Well said. And as the platforms keep adding these features natively, it's going to become table stakes. The newsletters that do it thoughtfully will stand out. Luna: Next episode, we're looking at how newsletters use audio excerpts to deepen engagement — think Substack's audio posts and Beehiiv's new voice notes. Lucas: Looking forward to that. For now — keep reading, keep experimenting, and maybe start a streak.