Possibilities FAQ

So who reads the newsletter, anyway? Here are the results of our latest survey, gathered from February 2025 to March 2025.

As of May 2025, the newsletter reaches 513 people a week.

Of those, 94 are paid subscribers. The rest are free.

It has a 67 percent open rate. The industry average for indie writers like myself is about 42 percent.

My click-through rate (CTR) averages nearly 5 percent. The industry average is only about 1 percent.

Here are the survey’s big findings, per the 48 responses:

  • AGE: The majority (47 percent) are ages 25 to 34. The next largest group (21 percent) is 35 to 44.

  • GENDER: Cis women make up the vast majority of my readers (72 percent). Cis men make up 15 percent with non-binary and gender non-conforming folks making up 6 percent.

  • RACE: Most readers (60 percent) are white. Some 17 percent are Latine, and 15 percent are multiracial.

  • MARGINALIZED IDENTITIES: Nearly 28 percent identify as 2SLGBTQ+. About 10 percent are immigrants.

  • LOCATION: Nearly 30 percent of my readers are in New York. The second-largest population is in California: 19 percent. My audience is also global: Some folks are based in London, Greece, and Czechia.

  • INCOME: Nearly half of readers are split into two income brackets: $50K-$70K and $70K-$90K a year.

  • INDUSTRY/WORK: A striking majority of folks (over 80 percent) identify as activists. Nearly 28 percent work in media. About 70 percent work on climate issues. Most (nearly 26 percent) are in communications. Some 17 percent are in academia/education. Nearly 15 percent work on advocacy.

  • SPENDING HABITS: Most respondents prefer to spend their money on books, restaurants/food, travel, workshops/classes, and magazines/newspapers.

  • INFLUENCE: My newsletter has influenced them to subscribe to at least one news organization, buy a book related to a newsletter topic, and spend more time outside.

  • TRUST/SATISFACTION: When asked, "How likely are you to recommend Possibilities" on a scale of 1 to 5, about 92 percent answered 4 or 5. Approximately 94 percent of respondents rated their level of trust in me as 4 or 5 on a scale of 1 to 5. About 95 percent said 4 to 5 when asked about their satisfaction with the newsletter.

For the visual learners, here are some charts:

The latest available information is available to interested advertisers upon request.
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