WELCOME
Hello👋, it’s Chris Fernandez, the CEO of Letter Operators.
Welcome to Smarter By Friday, where we unpack what’s actually happening in the newsletter world and what it means for your business.
This week, I wanted to talk about a hyperlocal newsletter that now reaches almost a million subscribers, and I haven't stopped thinking about the one decision that propels it forward.
I read about Patch this week and could not stop thinking about it.
Patch, a hyperlocal news company, now runs an AI system called PatchAM that builds a local newsletter for practically any zip code in the country. Type in your address, and it generates one for you, even if you are the only subscriber.
Since launching last spring with a goal of reaching 30,000 communities, it is now active in 14,000 towns and has picked up close to 1 million subscribers.
But this next part is counterintuitive for me, especially if you're a stickler for quality like I am.
Warren St. John, Patch's CEO, does not call this journalism. He calls it a utility. The newsletters lean on aggregation, event calendars, and Nextdoor posts. They ask readers to send in pet photos and throw in a riddle.
My first reaction was skepticism. My second was respect.
Most of us assume our newsletter has to sound authoritative to earn a read. Patch is betting on the opposite idea, that being useful beats being impressive.
It is not perfect. St. John admits the AI sometimes pulls news from the wrong town. Readers also complain about links to paywalled sites, which Patch keeps anyway, because sending people to real local reporting matters more than a tidy user experience.
As newsletter operators, this is the part we need to pay attention to.
A Reuters Institute study found that readers can tell when content is AI-generated, and they like it less when they notice. That is not a reason to avoid the tools. It is a reason to stay honest about what your newsletter actually is, and to keep a human hand on the parts that build trust.
You do not need 30,000 towns.
You need one audience with a real, unglamorous need you are willing to meet, week after week.
TACTICAL TAKEAWAYS
• I'd start by naming the one recurring, unglamorous need your subscribers actually have, then build your next few issues around meeting it instead of chasing a more polished tone.
• If AI helps draft your newsletter, say so plainly, since research shows readers can sense AI writing and trust erodes the moment they notice it on their own.
• Give readers an easy way to flag mistakes, the way Patch relies on readers to catch its wrong town errors, because a fast correction protects the trust you spent months building.
beehiiv Just Launched Podcasts, Community, and an AI Copilot
beehiiv's own recap of its Summer Release Event walks through six new features, including native podcast hosting with a 0% revenue share, a built in community space, and an AI assistant called Copilot that can draft campaigns and launch automations. The stated goal behind all of it is one login and one connected view of your audience instead of six separate tools.
Deliverability Is Not the Same Thing as Delivery
An email can be accepted by Gmail or Yahoo and still never reach the inbox, since placement depends on engagement patterns mailbox providers track over time, not any single send. A 2026 industry benchmark found that 87% of emails now reach the inbox, a reminder that deliverability is worth checking on rather than assuming.
Your Email Program Might Need Pruning, Not Polishing
Most companies never step back to ask whether their whole email program, every newsletter and automation combined, still matches what the business needs today. The fix is an annual portfolio review where you cut any campaign you would not choose to build again from scratch.
According to an analysis, more than half of all email clicks today are not from a human, and for B2B sends that figure climbs to roughly three-quarters.
Until Next Time
This newsletter is proudly written by AI, edited by humans. That's not just a feature, that's the point.
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— Chris & The Letter Operators Team