Dedicated email
A dedicated email, also called a dedicated send, is an email a newsletter sends to its whole list about one sponsor only, instead of an ad slot in its regular issue.
Which newsletters sell one?
6 of the 49 newsletters on Discover list a dedicated placement, each under its own name:
- CodePen: Dedicated Spark Email
- Open Source CEO by Bill Kerr: Dedicated Send (Deep Dive / Playbook); Dedicated Send (Interview / Guest Post)
- Refactoring: Dedicated Edition
- SitePoint: Dedicated Email
- Tech Buzz: Dedicated Email
- Techpresso: Techpresso - Dedicated Email
Others sell the same idea under another name: The Rundown AI sells a deep dive built around one brand.
How it works
Instead of a slot next to the newsletter’s own content, the whole email is about your product, sent to the full list. It costs more than a standard slot in the same newsletter.
Readers subscribed for the writer, not for you, which is why we rarely recommend a dedicated email as a first buy. It suits a launch or a big announcement.
How to use it when you buy
- Start with standard slots. Book a short run of primary placements in the newsletter first, and change the creative between sends.
- Save the dedicated email for a launch, in a newsletter you’ve already tested with standard slots.
- Compare it on cost per thousand opens, like any other quote, then decide on audience.
Questions advertisers ask
Is a dedicated send worth the extra cost?
Sometimes, for a launch or a big announcement, and in a newsletter you’ve already tested with standard slots. For most teams, a series of primary placements is a better starting point.
Do I get the subscriber list?
No. The publisher keeps the subscriber relationship. You reach readers through the send and capture their interest on your own site.
Who writes a dedicated email?
Ask the newsletter whether it will help shape the copy for its readers. If it offers, take it: the publisher knows its readers better than anyone.
Read next
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What actually moves the price of a developer or AI newsletter sponsorship, how I sanity-check a flat quote, and how I'd budget a first test without wasting it.
How to sponsor developer newsletters
What you get, how to choose the right newsletter, how pricing works, and how to measure results. A practical guide from BuySellAds' VP of Sales.
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