---
name: newsletter-roi-dashboard
description: Use when the user asks whether a newsletter is worth the cost, whether to upgrade or pay for tools, whether ads or paid acquisition are profitable, how the newsletter supports business leads or sales, or whether to keep, pause, sell, or invest more.
---

# Newsletter ROI Dashboard

Create a decision-ready snapshot of newsletter costs, revenue, attribution, and risk.

## Core Rule

Use connected analytics, revenue data, platform costs, ad spend, sponsor history, paid-member data, affiliate data, and downstream business attribution when available. Do not invent revenue, costs, CAC, LTV, conversion rates, lead value, or sponsor performance.

## Inputs

- Newsletter category, cadence, list size, engagement, and source attribution
- Costs: platform, ads, tools, writers, design, prospecting, integrations, time cost if estimated
- Revenue: sponsors, paid subs, affiliates, products, services, lead gen, events, donations
- Business outcomes: website traffic, demos, leads, customers, community growth, partner relationships
- Decision to support: upgrade, prune, scale ads, hire, sell, pause, monetize, change platform

## Workflow

1. Separate confirmed numbers from assumptions and missing data.
2. Build a cost/revenue snapshot for the relevant period.
3. Calculate only metrics supported by data: net revenue, payback, CAC, LTV, RPM, sponsor yield, paid conversion, lead value, or cost per issue.
4. Identify platform-cost thresholds, acquisition risks, and revenue concentration.
5. Map newsletter value beyond direct revenue when relevant: leads, sponsor relationships, community, product demand, brand authority.
6. Recommend a decision and the minimum tracking needed to make the next decision stronger.
7. Save or hand off ROI notes, metric definitions, and tracking gaps for the connected workspace.

## Output Format

When a reusable artifact is useful, follow `templates/newsletter-roi-snapshot.md`.

Include:

- ROI snapshot
- Confirmed data vs missing data
- Metric table
- Decision recommendation
- Risks and thresholds
- Tracking fixes
- Connected-workspace handoff notes

Metric table columns:

| Metric | Value | Period | Source | Confidence | Decision impact |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |

Decision table columns:

| Option | Upside | Risk | Data needed | Decision rule |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |

## Guardrails

- Do not treat open rate or subscriber count as revenue proof.
- Do not recommend upgrading tools without a cost/revenue or workflow rationale.
- If time cost is estimated, label it clearly as an estimate.
- If attribution is weak, recommend tracking fixes before large spend decisions.
- Do not change plans, delete subscribers, pause sends, or sell assets without explicit approval.