{"id":51977,"date":"2026-06-15T06:00:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T13:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/?p=51977"},"modified":"2026-06-14T14:12:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T21:12:41","slug":"it-is-not-about-collecting-numbers-with-your-email-newsletter-list-it-is-about-engagement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/2026\/06\/it-is-not-about-collecting-numbers-with-your-email-newsletter-list-it-is-about-engagement\/","title":{"rendered":"It Is NOT About Collecting Numbers with Your Email Newsletter List, It Is About ENGAGEMENT"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"It Is NOT About Collecting Numbers with Your Email Newsletter List, It Is About ENGAGEMENT\" width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/29Kp4roBCYU?feature=oembed\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"style-scope ytd-watch-metadata\">A 10,000-person mailing list sounds impressive until you realize the average click-through rate is often 1\u20133%.<\/h1>\n<p>Episode 677: Blasko recently wrote a great piece on LinkedIn that we discuss\u2026<\/p>\n<p>You are a collector, not an owner.<\/p>\n<p>A 10,000-person mailing list sounds impressive until you realize the average click-through rate is often 1\u20133%.<\/p>\n<p>A 10K mailing list with a 1% CTR is the digital equivalent of throwing a huge party where 9,900 people eat your food, drink your booze, and leave before helping you take out the trash and wash the dishes.<\/p>\n<p>Attention does not equal action.<br \/>\nSubscription does not equal loyalty.<br \/>\nReach does not equal influence.<\/p>\n<p>And \u201cowned audience\u201d has become one of the most romanticized ideas in modern marketing because the raw subscriber number creates the illusion of power.<\/p>\n<p>But the metric that matters is not: \u201cHow many people are subscribed?\u201d<br \/>\nIt\u2019s:<br \/>\n\u201cHow many people change their behavior when asked to do so?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the real audience.<\/p>\n<p>The problem is that newsletters are built like announcements rather than as an emotional connection.<\/p>\n<p>They function like:<br \/>\n\u201cHey guys, here\u2019s the thing.\u201d<br \/>\nInstead of:<br \/>\n\u201cThis matters to YOU because\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Stop treating the audience like a database.<br \/>\nGive the audience identity, not information.<\/p>\n<p>Information gets ignored.<br \/>\nIdentity gets defended.<\/p>\n<p>People click through when the action reinforces that identity.<\/p>\n<p>The real asset is not the list.<br \/>\nThe real asset is your influence.<\/p>\n<p>Because if your \u201cowned audience\u201d disappears the second you ask them to do something, then you never owned their attention in the first place.<\/p>\n<p>You just have a collection of spectators.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"ytAttributedStringLinkInheritColor\" dir=\"auto\">The Music Biz Weekly has moved\u2026 to a NEW YouTube Channel !! Click the link below and hit that SUBSCRIBE button on our NEW YOUTUBE CHANNEL!! Subscribe: <\/span><span class=\"ytAttributedStringLinkInheritColor\" dir=\"auto\"><span class=\"ytAttributedStringHighlightTextDecorator\" dir=\"auto\"><a class=\"ytAttributedStringLink ytAttributedStringLinkCallToActionColor\" tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCuEhf9ySEL6a_49_7SPeHng\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"YouTube Channel Link: @TheMusicBizWeeklyPodcast\">\u00a0\u00a0<span class=\"ytAttributedStringInlineBlockMod\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ytCoreImageHost ytAttributedStringImageElement ytAttributedStringImageAlignmentVerticalCenter ytCoreImageContentModeScaleToFill ytCoreImageLoaded\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gstatic.com\/youtube\/img\/watch\/yt_favicon_ringo2.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/span>\u00a0\/\u00a0@themusicbizweeklypodcast\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Our Sponsors:<br \/>\n\u2022 Music Biz Weekly podcast listeners can go to <a href=\"https:\/\/bandzoogle.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bandzoogle.com<\/a> to try it free for 30 days, and use the promo code \u201cmusicbizweekly\u201d to get 15% off the first year of any subscription.<br \/>\n\u2022 Get free shipping on CD orders of 100+ from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.discmakers.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">DiscMakers.com<\/a> with code FREEBIZ (up to a $150 value!).<br \/>\n\u2022 Visit Hypebot for music business news and insights. www.Hypebot.com<br \/>\n\u2022 Visit Bandsintown to manage your tour dates and communicate with your fans. www.Bandsintown.com<\/p>\n<p>If you are interested in speaking with Michael about what he can do to assist with marketing needs\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/contact-michael-brandvold-marketing\/\">message him with the contact form.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>If you like the podcast I ask that you visit iTunes and please Rate &amp; Review The Music Biz Weekly podcast. h<a href=\"http:\/\/smarturl.it\/musicbiz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ttp:\/\/smarturl.it\/musicbiz<\/a><\/p>\n<p>For all discussions, training, tips and tricks related to music marketing don&#8217;t miss any episode of The Music Biz Weekly Podcast.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"Download The Music Biz Weekly from iTunes\" href=\"http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/michael-brandvold-music-marketing\/id400401604\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Download The Music Biz Weekly Podcast from iTunes.<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.spreaker.com\/show\/the-music-biz-weekly_1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Listen to The Music Biz Weekly Podcast on Spreaker.<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/michaelbrandvoldmarketing\/sets\/the-music-biz-weekly\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Listen to The Music Biz Weekly Podcast on SoundCloud.<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Please rate and review The Music Biz Weekly Podcast on iTunes.\" href=\"http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/michael-brandvold-music-marketing\/id400401604\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Visit iTunes and please Rate &amp; Review The Music Biz Weekly.<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Music Biz Weekly Podcast Facebook Page\" href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/musicbizweekly\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Visit The Music Biz Weekly Podcast on Facebook.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Follow Michael on Twitter:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/michaelsb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/michaelsb<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Michael Brandvold is a freelance music industry consultant based in Northern California. Having launched Michael Brandvold Marketing to leverage his years of experience to provide direction to large and small clients in the areas of online &amp; social marketing as well as e-commerce and customer acquisition and retention.<\/p>\n<p>Gene Simmons of KISS first tapped Michael&#8217;s skills as a pioneering online marketing strategist to launch and manage all aspects of Kissonline.com&#8217;s multi-million dollar enterprise, including their ground-breaking VIP ticket program.<\/p>\n<p>Michael has also managed the online efforts for KISS, ACCEPT, SOiL, Tantric, Killer Dwarfs, Dream Theater, Little Caesar, Narada Michael Walden, Motley Cr\u00fce, Rod Stewart, Madonna, Ozzy Osbourne, Madonna and Britney Spears to name only a few.<\/p>\n<p>If you are interested in speaking with Michael about what he can do to assist with your marketing needs contact him online at<\/p>\n<p>email: me (at) mikebrandvold.com<\/p>\n<p>website: www.MichaelBrandvold.com<\/p>\n<div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_655\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-51977-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/musicbizweekly\/www.michaelbrandvold.com\/audio\/musicbiz\/677-061526musicbizweekly.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/musicbizweekly\/www.michaelbrandvold.com\/audio\/musicbiz\/677-061526musicbizweekly.mp3\">https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/musicbizweekly\/www.michaelbrandvold.com\/audio\/musicbiz\/677-061526musicbizweekly.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/musicbizweekly\/www.michaelbrandvold.com\/audio\/musicbiz\/677-061526musicbizweekly.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/?powerpress_pinw=51977-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/musicbizweekly\/www.michaelbrandvold.com\/audio\/musicbiz\/677-061526musicbizweekly.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"677-061526musicbizweekly.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_subscribe_links\">Subscribe: <a href=\"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/feed\/podcast\/\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_rss\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe via RSS\" rel=\"nofollow\">RSS<\/a><\/p><!--powerpress_player-->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A 10,000-person mailing list sounds impressive until you realize the average click-through rate is often 1\u20133%. Episode 677: Blasko recently wrote a great piece on LinkedIn that we discuss\u2026 You are a collector, not an owner. A 10,000-person mailing list sounds impressive until you realize the average click-through rate is often 1\u20133%. A 10K mailing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1209,"featured_media":51978,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[371,28,769,12,277],"tags":[1320,3647,3864,2347,3192,3421,2628,2530,913,1881,712,2316,3847,2526,2013,3215,917,2130,3266,3183,3504,2692,855,201,1424,877,608,3341,2708,2261,636,470,2907,2391,2467,2733,3475,2396,2693,2694,2695,587,2505,768,686,52,25,2362,2724,2603,3763,202,2723,3977,346,3184,2002,3978,2401,3687,980,4002,3395,200,31,668],"class_list":["post-51977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-audio","category-marketing","category-music-biz-weekly-podcast","category-music-marketing-2","category-videos","tag-acquire-fans","tag-ad-platform","tag-ai-music","tag-album-release-strategy","tag-artist-relations","tag-band-management","tag-band-merchandise","tag-bandsintown","tag-bandzoogle","tag-blasko","tag-branding","tag-building-a-fan-base","tag-business-lessons","tag-connect-with-your-fans","tag-crowdfunding","tag-crowdfunding-platforms","tag-dave-cool","tag-defining-fan-value","tag-digital-asset","tag-digital-marketing","tag-discmakers","tag-diy-music-marketing","tag-e-commerce","tag-email-marketing","tag-fan-club","tag-fan-connection","tag-fan-engagement","tag-finances","tag-help-with-your-online-strategy","tag-how-to-monetize-your-content","tag-hypebot","tag-interviews","tag-linktree","tag-marketing-industry","tag-marketing-interest","tag-marketing-plan","tag-marketing-team","tag-marketing-your-music","tag-marketing-your-music-online","tag-marketing-your-music-video","tag-marketing-your-own-music","tag-michael-brandvold","tag-music-biz","tag-music-biz-weekly","tag-music-business","tag-music-industry","tag-music-marketing","tag-music-marketing-consultant","tag-music-marketing-strategy","tag-musician-profession","tag-musician-resources","tag-newsletter","tag-online-marketing-strategy","tag-owning-your-data","tag-podcast","tag-product-management","tag-radio-promotion","tag-rob-nicholson","tag-social-media-industry","tag-social-media-marketing-for-bands","tag-spotify","tag-stephen-parker","tag-streaming-promotions","tag-touring","tag-youtube","tag-youtube-marketing"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/677.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1209"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51977"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51977\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51979,"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51977\/revisions\/51979"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelbrandvold.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}