We sent 23 issues in October. They carried 175 stories from 143 different publications, and no outlet supplied more than 6.
The biggest change was in how we count. Some company mail systems follow every link in an email as it arrives, and we had been counting those visits as reader clicks. On October 5 we started leaving them out, along with opens recorded within seconds of delivery. In October that removed 1,306 clicks on story links. We also recounted September the same way, so the comparisons on this page are fair. The click rate we reported for September was 2.6%, and the recount is 1.4%. Story clicks per issue went from 19.6 to 6.2. The numbers are smaller, and they are much closer to what you actually did.
In mid-October we also changed how we write headlines. We now ask who each one is for, so it speaks to formulators, marketers, buyers, founders and regulatory teams as well as finance. It’s too early for the data to show an effect.
The confirmed list stood at 458 on September 30 and 508 on October 31. That is 61 new readers against 11 who left, a net gain of 50, or 11% in a month.
The first week was the busiest, with 26 sign-ups, and the best single day was October 2, with 12. Another 25 joined in the last ten days of the month.
59 came through the landing page and 2 through a referral. We don’t pay for sign-ups.
55.1% of deliveries were opened, against 50.0% in September on the same count. The click rate was 1.6%, against 1.4%. Some of that rise may come from better records, because since October 5 we keep every open and click, so we are treating it as encouraging and no more than that.
The best issue was October 7, at 4.4%, led by a re-analysis finding no proven benefit from collagen supplements for ageing skin. October 27 and October 6 were next, at 2.7% and 2.5%.
The core is loyal. Of the 434 people who opened at least one issue, 173 opened twenty or more of the 23. 97 people clicked a story, 32 of them in two or more issues, and 7 in five or more.
Science & Ingredients led. It ran 21 times and drew 51 clicks from 39 different readers. Its index was 181, up from 133 in the September recount, and 241 within slots 2 to 4, so it was not just placement. The two most-clicked stories of the month were both science stories.
Deals & M&A came in at 124 and Beauty Tech at 120, up from 88. Regulation, September’s leader at 156, was 114, and 179 within slots 2 to 4. The Consumer was 99, the same as September.
Supply Side was 78, up from 58. Market Watch was 66, and Retail & Media was 50. Those last two ran 25 and 27 times, so we will look closely at how we write them.
The ten stories readers followed to the source
Slot 1 averaged 2.52 clicks a story and slot 2 averaged 1.87. Slot 5 was next at 1.57, ahead of slot 3 at 1.30 and slot 4 at 0.74. Slot 6 averaged 0.64, slot 7 averaged 0.95, and slot 8 averaged 1.00 on 17 stories. One month can’t tell us why slot 5 did so well, so we will watch it.
Every issue had at least five stories, and 17 of the 23 ran to eight.
Tier 1 stories averaged 1.58 clicks and Tier 2 averaged 0.99. Tier 3 averaged 2.0 on three stories, too few to read anything into. We keep the tier rules for accuracy.
Where the clicked stories came from
The APL Dispatch is a daily brief on the business of beauty.
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