Why do replies matter more than opens?
Because a reader who writes back has stepped out of the audience and into a conversation. A reply is the clearest sign that someone values your letters, and the readers who reply are the ones most likely to become true fans.
Litopia Editorial, with Peter CoxUpdated
What does a reply tell you?
Three things that no count can:
- That the letter landed. Open counts are unreliable, and Google itself says it doesn’t track them. A reply means a person read your words and cared enough to answer.
- What readers want next. Their questions and stories are the best source of ideas you’ll ever have.
- Who your true fans are. The same names reply again and again, and they’re the readers to thank, to ask first, and to tell first.
How do you invite replies?
By asking for one, plainly, and making it easy to give.
- Ask one specific question that can be answered in a line: “What’s the last book you stayed up late to finish?”
- Mean it. Ask questions you actually want answered, and use the answers.
- Say that you read every reply, and then do.
- Send from an address that accepts replies. A “no-reply” sender tells readers the conversation runs one way.
- Suggest they add you to their contacts. Google notes that mail from an address in someone’s contacts is less likely to be marked as spam (source).
How should you answer?
Personally, especially in the early years. Your first few hundred subscribers are the readers most likely to stay with you for decades, and a two-line answer from the author is something they’ll remember.
- Keep it short: a line or two is a perfectly good reply.
- Ask before quoting: if a reply would make a good letter, ask permission before sharing it, and say whether to use their name.
- Keep a simple note of who replies. They’re the readers to invite first when you need early reviewers or advance readers.
What if there are too many to answer?
It’s a good problem, and there are kind ways to manage it. Set aside an hour a week, answer the best questions in your next letter, and say honestly that you read everything even when you can’t reply to everyone. Readers understand, as long as the letters still sound like you.
Do replies help your letters arrive?
They help show that your letters are wanted, which is what mail services look for. Google asks senders to mail only people who signed up, to check now and then that they still want to hear, and to keep spam reports below 0.1%, never reaching 0.3% (source). A list of readers who reply is a list that rarely reports you.
For more on what readers who reply go on to do, see What a true fan does, and for letters that invite replies, see Letters, not press releases.