Clicks are easy to measure. Attention is harder and far more valuable.

In an environment where audiences are overwhelmed with content, success isn’t defined by how many people open a link. It’s defined by whether they stay, understand and return.

Designing for attention requires a shift in mindset — from performance marketing to editorial experience.

Attention Is Earned Before the Click

Most decisions about attention happen before a reader ever clicks.

Subject lines, preview text, timing and trust all signal whether opening a newsletter is worth the moment it requires. Over time, audiences learn which newsletters respect their time — and which don’t.

Across my work, attention-first design meant:

• Clear, honest subject lines that set expectations
• Consistent cadence so newsletters became part of routine
• Editorial framing that prioritized relevance over urgency

I learned early in my career while working at the Bay Area News Group that this was especially critical for breaking news newsletters. Readers needed confidence that opening the email would help them understand what was happening — not add noise.

Structure Shapes Engagement

Once opened, design determines whether attention is sustained.

Effective newsletters:

• Lead with what matters most
• Break content into digestible sections
• Use visuals to support, not distract
• Make it easy to scan or dive deeper

At KRON4 and ABC 10News, refining layout and hierarchy helped audiences navigate content more intuitively. Metrics confirmed what editorial instinct suggested: when readers aren’t overwhelmed, they engage more deeply.

Metrics as Signals, Not Scores

Designing for attention also changes how metrics are used.

Instead of chasing open rates or click-throughs in isolation, I focused on patterns:

• What content readers consistently returned for
• Where drop-off occurred
• Which sections built habit over time

Metrics became a feedback loop, not a scoreboard—informing adjustments to structure, timing, and emphasis without overriding editorial judgment.

Attention Builds Relationships

At SDSU, designing newsletters for attention meant thinking beyond immediate engagement.

By expanding content types, collaborating across departments, and creating clearer pathways to campus resources, newsletters helped readers feel connected to the university as a whole, not just informed.

That broader sense of connection is difficult to quantify, but easy to recognize when it’s working: readers open consistently, share willingly and stay subscribed.

The Long Game

Designing for attention is slower than chasing clicks. It requires restraint, iteration and trust in editorial values.

But over time, it pays dividends.

Newsletters that respect attention don’t just perform better — they become part of how audiences understand, navigate and relate to an organization.

That’s not marketing.
That’s editorial leadership.