How The Hustle Got 43,876 More Clicks
by Curt del Principe
Last year, newsletter giant The Hustle ran a test that earned 43,876 additional clicks in their emails.
Not 44,000 total. 44,000 more.
If you’re like me, you’d do terrible things for that kind of engagement. So I banged on their editor-in-chief’s door and demanded to know his secrets.
Thankfully, the process is simple and repeatable — no terrible things required. So put down that crowbar, because I’m going to share a process that you can start today.
The How-To That They Do
Ben Berkley, the editor-in-chief of The Hustle, perpetually sports an impish grin. Which is fitting, because behind that grin is a deceptively simple method — with some twists coming up.
Here’s how it works:
Every weekday morning, Ben cooks up two separate subject lines for each newsletter. At 5:30 am ET, each subject line is sent to only 30% of The Hustle’s audience.
After an hour, the variant with the most engagement is automatically sent to the remaining 40% of recipients.
“That’s it?” you’re thinking. “It’s just a stinkin’ A/B test?!”
Not so fast. I promised you twists:
- The variations are sent to four predefined subscriber segments.
- The winner is based on the click-through rate (CTR) — not the open rate.
- Ben’s secret sauce: The WTF factor.
This article was originally published in August 2024.
