Newsletter Sponsorship Break-Even

Work out the rates you need to charge newsletter sponsors by tying production effort to CPM, CPC, and CPA break-even points.

Active subscribers who receive each send.
Average unique opens divided by subscribers.
Research, writing, design, and editing time.
Opportunity cost or contractor rate per hour.
Optional. Defaults to 4 issues per month.
Optional. Defaults to 2.5% of opens clicking the sponsor link.
Optional. Defaults to 1%. Share of sponsor clicks that convert to paying customers.
Optional. Defaults to $100. Commission or flat fee per sponsor conversion.

Always confirm performance commitments with sponsors—blend this model with historical campaign data before finalising contracts.

Examples

  • 18,000 subscribers, 48% opens, 12 h production at $35/h, 4 issues, CTR 2.5%, conversion 1.8%, payout $120 ⇒ Monthly cost to cover: $2,520.00 • Break-even CPM: $29.17 • Break-even CPC: $28.00 • Per-issue sponsor fee: $630.00 • Break-even CPA: $155.56 • Conversions cover 83.33% of costs.
  • 25,000 subscribers, 42% opens, 10 h per issue at $45/h, 8 issues, CTR 3%, conversion 2%, payout $150 ⇒ Monthly cost to cover: $3,600.00 • Break-even CPM: $21.43 • Break-even CPC: $15.24 • Per-issue sponsor fee: $450.00 • Break-even CPA: $76.19 • Conversions cover 105.00% of costs.

FAQ

Should I include design or contractor invoices?

Yes—add their hours and rates to the production inputs or fold external costs into the hourly value so the calculator covers the full budget.

What if I have multiple sponsors per issue?

Divide the per-issue sponsor fee by the number of placements, or keep the rate and use the surplus to fund list growth.

How do I account for churn or list growth?

Update the subscriber count and open rate quarterly. Using rolling 90-day averages keeps projections aligned with recent engagement.

How do I reflect multi-touch attribution or lifetime value?

Increase the value-per-conversion input to match the revenue you expect over a sponsor's customer lifetime, or reduce it if you only recognise the first invoice when modelling break-even rates.

Additional Information

  • Per-issue sponsor fee assumes one sponsor slot per send. Add additional slots by dividing the figure across placements.
  • Break-even CPM compares your monthly time cost against the impressions generated by unique opens.
  • Break-even CPA shows the payout needed per conversion to cover production when paid on performance instead of a flat fee.
  • Result units: USD per thousand impressions, USD per click, USD per conversion, and USD per issue

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