Analytics for paid newsletters: which sources pay
ProductLense shows a paid newsletter which referral sources, cross-promotions and ads bring paying subscribers, not just free signups. It reads subscriptions and payments from Stripe, Gumroad, Polar or Lemon Squeezy and attributes each to the visitor’s first touch.
The problem
Newsletter growth comes from many small sources: recommendations from other writers, social posts, podcast mentions, paid swaps. Free signups are easy to count; which of them convert to paid and stay is not.
Free signups to paid, by source
Record a signup goal when someone subscribes for free, call identify with their email, and ProductLense follows them to the payment. The Sources table shows signups, customers and revenue per referrer, so a cross-promotion that brings few but loyal readers stands out.
Paid swaps with profit
Enter what a paid recommendation or swap cost as ad spend for that source and campaign. ProductLense subtracts it from the net revenue of subscribers it brought and shows profit and payback, so you can decide whether to book it again.
Retention by source
Readers from some sources cancel after a month. Net revenue retention by channel on Growth shows that pattern per source over 12 months, which is the number that decides lifetime value for a subscription publication.
- Plan that fits
- Growth
- Billing providers
- Stripe, Gumroad, Polar, Lemon Squeezy
- Read next
- Custom events and identify · Connect Gumroad · Cohort analysis
Newsletter businesses: questions
- Does ProductLense work with Substack or Beehiiv?
- ProductLense needs its script on pages you control and access to payments. If your newsletter platform does not allow custom scripts or does not expose payments through Stripe or an API, ProductLense cannot see those subscribers. Newsletters on your own site with Stripe, Polar, Gumroad or Lemon Squeezy work fully.
- How do I track a free signup in ProductLense?
- Call window.productlense("event", "signup") when the subscribe form succeeds and window.productlense("identify", userId, { email }) with the reader’s id. Define a goal on the signup event in the dashboard, and the Sources table shows signups per channel next to customers and revenue.
- Can I measure a paid newsletter swap?
- Yes. Ask the partner to link with utm_source set to their newsletter and utm_medium=paid, then enter the swap fee as ad spend with the same source. ProductLense shows customers, net revenue, profit and payback for that source over the following months.
- Which ProductLense plan suits a newsletter?
- Starter at $19 a month covers 100k events, three sites, one billing connection, funnels and visitor journeys, which is enough to see revenue per source. Growth at $49 adds cohorts by channel, profit with ad spend, and connects every billing provider you use.
- Does ProductLense count email opens?
- No. ProductLense records visits to your site, custom events you send, and payments. Email opens and clicks inside the email client are measured by your sending platform. Link clicks that land on your site are counted as visits, with utm_medium=email classifying them as the email channel.
Free up to 10k events a month. No card.
Add the script, connect Stripe or any of 14 other billing providers, and see revenue by channel the same day.