As the news around the coronavirus became overwhelming for readers and journalists alike, the Columbia Missourian — like many other newsrooms — rolled out a coronavirus newsletter in mid-March.
The newsletter was curated by staff and rounded up the local and national news of the day and sent at 7 p.m. The staff sent the first few versions to its daily headline email list and encouraged sign-ups to continue receiving the newsletters. They built a separate list and started sending to those that opted in.
The list continued to grow. Throughout the month of April, subscribers increased by 60%, and the open rates remained high — averaging 53% for the month. During the height of the news, the staff continued to send it on the weekend and saw strong open rates. As the news developments slowed, they settled on a Monday through Friday schedule.
The newsletter was started in crisis, and they had to figure out a strategy on the fly.
Learn more about how they moved forward and continued to adapt the newsletter.
