How Funke Digital Built Up a List of 90,000 Newsletter Subscribers for Leckerschmecker in One Year – All Without a Marketing Budget

• A German email marketing tool with GDPR-compliant data processing is essential for the media group.
• CleverReach is easy to use. The intuitive drag-and-drop editor enables editorial teams to design their own newsletters without facing technical obstacles.
• The Multi-Account solution allows a team of FUNKE experts to centrally manage various brands across 17 sub-accounts. If required, editors are trained in-house. This allows them to create professional campaigns directly where the content is created.
• Close cooperation and personal exchange with the CleverReach support team ensure that solutions are developed together and that the technical foundation remains stable.

The list of people getting the Leckerschmecker newsletter has grown a lot in a short time, and that happened without spending any more money on marketing. Rather than spending a ton of money on expensive campaigns or paid acquisition, the team has chosen to focus on a consistently user-centered, editorial approach that works. The newsletter starts where users need it most — in the middle of the recipe and inspiration process.

The articles on the website have topic-specific signup forms embedded in the text, depending on the category and recipe type. Anyone who reads a recipe for a hot air fryer will receive an invitation to subscribe to the special Airfryer newsletter. Additionally, time-limited pop-ups are used and controlled according to department and usage context. This level of precision ensures steady growth in the number of recipients, as well as active recipients who are genuinely interested in the content.

The result? The number of recipients for the Airfryer newsletter increased from 0 to 19,500 within six months.

To maintain high-quality lists in the long term, FUNKE Digital employs automated list hygiene. Recipients who have not opened or clicked on an email for 90 days are automatically removed. This process used to be laborious and time-consuming, but CleverReach automation now takes care of it completely in the background.

This saves the team valuable time while improving deliverability. Mailbox providers view the high level of recipient engagement positively. Only with this well-maintained database can open rates above 50 percent be maintained. This strategy allows Leckerschmecker to reach people who have a genuine connection to the brand and are interested in the content.