The State of Sports Newsletters in 2025 (And How We’re Building Differently)
I am writing this from Atlanta right after a live Sport Stackers session with our community of writers, podcasters, and sports creatives. We spent the night breaking down a 2025 newsletter report and pulling out what actually matters for us on Substack.
There was a lot of data, but the message for sports creators is simple. Think like a sophisticated operator, even if you are just getting started.
Own the audience, do not rent it
One of the core ideas we discussed is that sophisticated creators diversify where they show up and collect email addresses, while newer creators stay stuck on free platforms where they do not truly own their audience.
When I say free platforms, I mean Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, and YouTube. Those platforms are powerful, and I have worked inside that world at NBC Sports, VidIQ, and now through Bleav in Fantasy Basketball and Sport Stackers. But if your entire audience lives on someone else’s app, you are always one algorithm change away from disappearing.
Substack is different because you actually own your list. That should change how you behave, even on day one.
Engagement is moving inside the email
We looked at data from tens of billions of emails sent last year and saw three things that stood out: extremely high delivery, strong open rates around the low forties, and modest but meaningful click through rates.
In many email marketing spaces, 30 percent is considered solid. Seeing averages above 40 percent shows how strong the newsletter ecosystem is right now. The next phase of this space will not just be about opens and clicks. It is about interaction inside the email.
That means using embedded polls, simple quizzes, and real time content so readers can engage without leaving their inbox. On Bleav in Fantasy Basketball, where we are well past 5,000 subscribers, simple surveys and polls have helped us understand what is valuable and what is not. If you have not tried this yet, start with one clear question in your next send.
Why pruning your list matters more than growing it
One of the most important ideas from the session was something most creators avoid. Pruning your list.
High performing email teams know that removing dead weight is essential to strong deliverability and accurate numbers. When people stop opening your emails for 90 to 120 days or never open anything at all, they become low quality subscribers.
Here is what pruning looks like in practice:
Identify subscribers who have not opened in at least 90 days or ever.
For smaller lists around 100 to 500 subscribers, send a simple check in email: “Hey, I noticed you have not opened in a while. Still want content on this topic.”
If they do not respond or re engage, remove them.
It feels brutal when you are chasing milestones like 100, 500, or 1,000 subscribers. If 50 out of 500 never open, I would rather have 450 engaged people than a vanity number that drags my open rate down to 15 percent.
Do not chase metrics. Chase quality.
Sports is a top tier newsletter niche
We also looked at which industries had the highest open rates. Podcasts were at the top of the list, followed by categories like history, parenting, music, healthcare, deals, psychology, entertainment, and space.
Sports landed in the top ten.
That means we are building in an industry where people actually open and read. The attention is already here. The opportunity is in how specific you are willing to get.
Go deeper on your niche, then remix
Another big theme was that the best content does not have to be mass market. There are niche audiences for almost everything, and more creators are doubling down on specific lanes instead of trying to serve everyone.
In sports, too many creators stop at “I cover basketball” or “I cover soccer.” Every sport has layers such as league, format, team, playing style, and geography.
Bleav in Fantasy Basketball is a good example of going deeper. The broad niche is basketball, then NBA, then fantasy basketball, then points leagues. I even started narrower with content around one specific fantasy platform and then moved up one level when I realized the audience was bigger around points leagues in general.
This is also where you can remix your experience into something no one else can copy. I combined my background as an NBA writer with my work as a creator coach and built a lane helping sports creators grow on Substack through Sport Stackers. That blend of sports media and social strategy is what makes the offer feel one of one.
Ask yourself where you can go at least two or three layers deep and what unique mix of skills you bring that others do not.
Simplicity as an advantage in the AI era
We also talked about how AI has made every lane noisier. You can feel the AI slop in your feeds. Everything is more saturated, more repetitive, and more automated.
That is exactly why I am betting on simplicity and human connection. When I wrote Social Media SYNC, I framed it around intentional human connection in the AI era, and that idea shapes how I show up here. I want our interactions to feel less like a polished broadcast and more like a FaceTime call with a friend who cares about your work.
I am even restructuring our offers to reflect that. We used to have an MVP resource library packed with ebooks, checklists, and prompt packs, plus a mini free bundle for new members. The data told the truth. Clicks were low, and people with jobs, families, and teams do not have time to read 25 PDFs.
So I am sunsetting the big resource library and the bundle. Instead, new community members get a free preview of my book, and MVP members are getting a full copy. That feels like a real, human way to help you, not just another folder of downloads.
Less clutter. More connection.
Trends driving newsletter growth in 2025
Here are the main trends we walked through and how they show up in our world.
Rise of creator led media
Creators with loyal social audiences are realizing the power of owning distribution through newsletters. If you already have momentum on another platform, invite those people to your list. If you do not, I would not recommend starting a new social account just to feed your newsletter. Use Substack to grow Substack.The power of community
Community building is a long slog. There is no secret sauce, no shortcut, and no hack that replaces consistency and care. Our own Triple Five Fridays ritual, where we post five Notes, restack five, and comment on five, has become a weekly anchor for Sport Stackers and one of the main reasons the community feels real.Podcasts gain new steam
More creators are waking up to the fact that newsletter content and podcast content can feed each other. This very session is a good example. One live recording turns into a podcast episode, a YouTube video, and a newsletter article, plus a handful of Notes. Same effort, multiple formats.Local newsletters are soaring
We are already leaning into this with the Your Knicks, Your Nuggets, Your Mavs, and Your Cavs projects under the Your Sports Media Network. Our Knicks channel passed 1,000 subscribers in about three months with multiple videos crossing thousands of views, all by focusing intensely on one fan base.
If you are stuck on what to build, going local or going specific is almost always a good move.
Use data to time your drops
A practical question that came up was “When is the best time to drop new episodes or articles.” General advice can get you started, but your best times are specific to your audience.
One thing that changed our growth curve was paying attention to when our readers and listeners actually showed up. Once we identified our golden hour for publishing, we saw significantly better performance. For me, that window is around mid afternoon, so I like to be active an hour on each side and drop major posts right in that sweet spot.
If you are serious about growing, take a week to experiment. Publish at different times, track opens and responses, then lock in your own golden hour.
What this means for you this week
If you are building a sports newsletter or podcast and wondering what to actually do with all of this, keep it simple and concrete.
Here is a quick action checklist:
Claim your lane. Go at least two levels deeper than “I cover sports” and pick a sub niche you are willing to own.
Prune your list. Remove subscribers who have not opened in 90 to 120 days after one human check in email if your list is small.
Add interaction. Include one poll, quiz, or simple question in your next send.
Repurpose once. Take your next live stream or article and convert it into at least one other format such as a podcast, YouTube video, or newsletter.
Protect your focus. If you are a one person operation, commit to Substack and maybe one other platform instead of trying to be everywhere.
Treat your current list, even if it is tiny, with the respect and intention most people reserve for 100,000 subscribers. That mindset shift is what separates sophisticated creators from everyone else.
Buy My New Book
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Robin Nathaniel
TEDx Speaker | Award Winning Author & Social Media Strategist | Gold Telly Award Winner | Davey Award Winner | Two-Time W3 Award Winner
Experience: NBC Sports - Rotoworld, Hashtag Basketball, vidIQ, Fantasy Sports Writers Association
Thank you Gameplan Creative, Xavier Dixon, Season Ticket Holder-NY, PhxRisingReport, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.
