Case Study

Metro UK boosts reader engagement with personalized newsletters powered by Sailthru

Metro UK is the country’s highest circulating weekday newspaper, reaching over 20 million readers each month across print, digital, social, email, and WhatsApp. Metro has long been a commuter favorite, but as search and social traffic become less reliable, the team needed a better way to connect directly with readers.

The challenge: Build direct relationships in a post-platform world

Metro UK’s audience is young, diverse, and increasingly fragmented across channels. While the brand already had massive reach, much of that reach depended on third-party platforms. Email newsletters became a central strategy to build direct relationships, form reader habits, and drive repeat site visits.

"Direct traffic is absolutely the phrase of 2025 so far. It's all about building relationships in places we can control like email."
—Sophie Laughton, Newsletter Editor, Metro UK

The solution: Personalized newsletters that scale

Using Sailthru, Metro UK launched a new generation of personalized newsletters built around zero- and first-party data. Sailthru’s Lifecycle Optimizer, a journey orchestration tool that automates messaging based on user behavior and profile data, works together with its personalization engine to automate onboarding, tailor content to individual interests, and re-engage lapsed readers.

The result: repeat visits, list growth, long-term engagement, and minimal editorial lift.

Key tactics:

  • Sailthru’s Lifecycle Optimizer triggers a welcome journey upon each new signup, asking users to select preferences, like favorite football teams or TV shows
  • Personalized content in each newsletter based on selected preferences and predictive interests
  • Automated re-engagement through smart reminders that increase preference form completion to encourage personalized newsletter adoption

 

Zero-lift personalization: The Horoscopes newsletter

Metro’s daily Horoscope email quickly became one of its most impactful launches. When users sign up, they’re prompted to enter their birth date. Sailthru uses that to assign a star sign, store it to the customer profile, and dynamically populate each daily horoscope newsletter with personalized content automatically.

“Our horoscope newsletter stands out because we’ve really thought about the reader experience. It’s personalized, habit-forming, and delivered exactly when people want it.” —Sophie Laughton, Newsletter Editor, Metro UK

Results:

  • 45% open rate
  • 25% click-through rate
  • 28% of readers opted in to additional newsletters

Expanding success: Football and TV personalization

Metro applied the same approach to its Football and TV newsletters. Preference data from onboarding is saved to each user’s profile, then used to personalize newsletters with relevant headlines and calls to action. Automated flows also remind readers to complete preference forms, increasing personalization over time..

Current performance:

  • Football Daily: 50% open rate, 34% click-through rate
  • TV Daily: 59% open rate, 24% click-through rate

“When users see their favorite team or show featured, it feels like the newsletter was made for them.” —Emily Shackleton, Product Lead, Metro UK

For the full story, watch our webinar with The Rebooting featuring Metro UK’s newsletter team.

Why Marigold

With Sailthru by Marigold, Metro UK is growing and scaling personalized engagements. Automated flows, data-driven personalization, and a user-friendly platform create flexibility to grow fast and smart.

Looking ahead, Metro is expanding into new verticals like puzzles and testing one-tap onboarding to make personalization even easier.

Ready to take the next step?

Let’s explore how we can help you build stronger customer experiences and connections.

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