Specific Goal/Challenge
Experts Exchange (EE) had a sleeping giant on their hands: a historic list of 500,000+ email list of IT professionals who had never received anything beyond basic platform prompts. They needed to:
- Transform a dormant subscriber base into an engaged audience
- Create compelling content for highly technical readers
- Develop a distinctive voice that resonates with IT pros from entry-level to senior
- Build a scalable content system that could maintain quality while growing
- Convert platform users into newsletter enthusiasts
The Thesis
Instead of treating the newsletter as just another marketing channel, EE worked with storyarb to make ByteSize a standalone product that IT professionals would actively want in their inbox. The key? A perfect blend of technical depth and conversational tone that would make complex topics both accessible and engaging.
Think less "enterprise solutions leverage synergy" and more "hey, remember when Pogs were a thing?"
The Process
① Content Strategy Development
- Created "News Roundup" for curated industry updates with technical depth
- Launched "Tool Time" for vetted tech recommendations
- Monetized in Q2 working with tech partners that the ICP both recommends and can benefit from.
- Established "Job Opportunities" section for career advancement
- Implemented "Industry Moves" to track key personnel changes and industry shakeups
- Added "Chip’s Bit" to loop readers back to the EE platform (a branded mascot specifically for the newsletter)
② Voice & Tone Crafting
- Developed technical-but-approachable writing style
- Incorporated cultural references that resonate with IT pros
- Meeting the audience where they are to bring the typical “tech-stuff” up a notch (yes, StarTrek does come up)
- Balanced expert perspective with practical application
- Created content that spoke to both technical and career interests
③ Implementation & Testing
- Started with 246,088 subscribers in October 2024
- Imported in 100,000s of historic user emails
- Added an API that automatically subscribes new EE platform users to ByteSize
- Set-up re-engagement flow to both:
- Remove emails that were harming deliverability due to consistent un-opens
- Allow users to opt-out the newsletter and strengthen the active subscriber base in the process
- Quickly pivoted from bi-weekly to weekly based on engagement
- Added humor and cultural references based on click data
- Integrated beehiiv ad network for monetization as well as leveraging LinkedIn to drive internal sales pipeline
- Built multi-channel distribution across email and LinkedIn
The Results since Q4 2024 Launch
Growth: Q2 2025 → 189,603 engaged subscribers
Engagement:
- Q1 2025 (90 days post-launch) 39% average open rate
- Q2 2025 is seeing 53.45% average open rate
That's over half of recipient saying 'tell me more'. BTW, this blows past the industry "good open rates" range of 15-25%*.
Quality:
- Q2 2025 is seeing 1.62% average click rate
By really really knowing you’re audience, you’re able to harness qualified leads with purchasing authority—paving the way to monetization.
Retention: All time → 0.45% unsubscribe rate
Many industries have average unsubscribe rates as high as 1 or 2%.
Format: Successfully established weekly cadence with three monetizing sections
Key Learnings
① Know Your Niche
IT professionals don't just want technical content - they want it delivered in a voice that shows you understand their world, including the culture and humor that comes with it.
② Test and Adapt Quickly
The pivot from bi-weekly to weekly publication, driven by audience response, showed the importance of being responsive to engagement signals.Weekly A/B testing of subject lines keeps a pulse on what readers are responding to in their inboxes.
③ Community Matters
One of our most telling metrics wasn't a number - it was feedback like this:
"BTW - I'm about two issues into Byte-Size and really like it! I haven't done anything with EE in quite some time, so was pretty reluctant when this showed up on my radar screen, but I appreciate the topics, and then entire newsletter being presented in a format that I can read in just a few minutes."
ByteSize has ever so slightly refined in format and content based on direct feedback from the most engaged subscribers (both solicited and unsolicited).
Continued Growth
New Brand + Rev Opps
Experts Exchange has successfully spun ByteSize into its own standalone brand beast, complete with dedicated sponsorship opportunities that tech companies. Through this newsletter, EE has unlocked an entirely new revenue ecosystem separate from their core platform – with companies paying premium rates to reach ByteSize's highly engaged audience of IT professionals.
Referral Program + Merchandise Launch
EE launched ByteSize's referral program to transform reader advocacy into coveted merchandise, simultaneously expanding the newsletter's reach while turning subscribers into brand ambassadors who proudly showcase their connection to the community.
Conclusion
The transformation of ByteSize shows that with the right mix of technical credibility and engaging content, you can turn a dormant email list into a thriving brand asset. But perhaps more importantly, it proves that sometimes the boldest bet is the smartest.
