The Data & Insights Vault: How to Use Reader Data to Strengthen Your Newsletter
How to track what matters on Substack, refine your strategy and make informed creative choices
📌 The Data & Insights Vault: How to Use Reader Data to Strengthen Your Newsletter
Understanding your readers isn’t just about tracking numbers — it’s about interpreting data in ways that help you create a newsletter that resonates, engages and evolves with purpose.
But data can be overwhelming, especially when it’s buried in dashboards or presented as surface-level stats that don’t tell the full story. That’s why this vault is designed to cut through the noise and help you use data in a way that actually supports your creative instincts — not replaces them.
With the right approach, reader data can help you:
✔ Understand what makes readers subscribe, engage or unsubscribe
✔ Refine your content strategy based on real audience behavior — not just assumptions
✔ Use data to optimize paywalls, pricing strategies and promotions
✔ Recognize when to trust the numbers — and when to trust your gut
📂 Quarterly Newsletter Data Check-Ins (for Paid Members)
Bring Your Data, Get Expert Guidance
Every quarter, we hold a structured Data Check-In during Pivot Hour—a live session where you:
Review your audience trends, engagement data, and subscriber insights
Identify patterns that drive growth and retention
Get hands-on support in translating numbers into strategic action
📌 Each quarter, I’ll also provide new data filters to help you analyze specific aspects of your newsletter’s health, such as:
Which posts drive the most upgrades from free to paid
How engaged subscribers interact with your archive content
Spotting early churn signals before paid subscribers leave
💡 You don’t need to track everything. These sessions are about helping you focus on what actually matters — so you can make informed, creative decisions with confidence.
Using Reader Data With Intention: Core Resources
📂 The Substack Reader Survey: What Readers Really Want
One of the cornerstones of this vault is the Substack Reader Survey, an independent project I launched to better understand how readers engage with newsletters, what drives them to upgrade and why they sometimes leave.
📌 The Substack Reader Survey Archive – A deep dive into responses from 400+ Substack readers, offering first-of-its-kind insights into:
What makes newsletters feel worth paying for (and what doesn’t)
Common reasons readers upgrade — or decide not to
The psychological factors influencing paywall decisions
📌 Inside the Mind of a Paid Subscriber – What actually makes someone hit “subscribe” on your paywall? Explore the psychology behind reader decisions and how you can adjust your offers accordingly.
📌 Why Paid Readers Unsubscribe – Survey-backed insights into why readers leave paid newsletters — and what you can do to improve retention. Read it here.
📂 How to Approach Data Without Losing Your Creative Spark
📌 9 Things Survey Data Should and Shouldn’t Do – A guide to using data as a starting point for better questions — not as a rigid rulebook. Read here.
📌 Set Your Subscriber Dashboard to These Key Metrics – A framework to simplify your analytics and focus on the numbers that actually matter. Explore here.
📌 Beyond Substack: Insights Into Reader Habits – A look at how broader digital behavior affects newsletter engagement and growth. Read more here.
📂 Workshops & Hands-On Audits
📌 Audit Your Substack Data Like a Strategist Workshop – A walkthrough of the 5x5 editorial data audit and newsletter pricing gut check — download below the paywall.
📌 The Data Insights Archive – A collection of essays, guides and frameworks on how to use data strategically without feeling overwhelmed. Explore the archive.
What To Do Next
💬 Want to discuss data insights with other newsletter writers? Join the Newsletter Check-In inside the member hub.