The Washington Post Tests Personalized “Pop-Up” Newsletters to Promote Its Big Stories

One of the most effective ways to get people to click and read stories is also the simplest: personalize content for them based on what they’re already reading.

To promote some of its biggest stories, The Washington Post has experimented with “pop-up” newsletters. Sent to the Post’s existing email subscribers (who don’t opt in), the newsletters are personalized based on readers’ interests and behavior. To promote its recent story about a Naval Academy teacher accused of sexual assault, for example, the Post emailed users who have read similar stories in the past. The Post has used the pop-up newsletters to promote eight stories since January.

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