Audience Bridge [Insights]

Chris Miquel

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MARKETING

Audience Bridge Insights is a podcast for newsletter operators, marketers, and media founders who want to scale smarter. Each episode dives into real-world strategies, tools, and conversations with industry experts on email deliverability, list growth, monetization, and the evolving tech behind the inbox.

4D AGO

Ryan Deiss on Why Email Still Wins

In this episode of Audience Bridge Insights, Chris Miquel sits down with Ryan Deiss, founder of DigitalMarketer and Traffic & Conversion Summit, to break down why email remains the most valuable channel in digital marketing — even as social platforms, SEO, and paid ads continue to change. Ryan shares hard-earned lessons from two decades in digital marketing, including what happens when algorithms change overnight, why owning your audience matters more than ever, and how modern email strategy has evolved beyond long automations and generic broadcasts. This conversation goes deep into email deliverability, list hygiene, segmentation, AI’s impact on education businesses, and why most brands are still measuring the wrong metrics. If you run a newsletter, media company, or any business that depends on audience growth and monetization, this episode will change how you think about email. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: Why email was the first social network (and why it still wins)How algorithm changes wiped out businesses overnightThe biggest mistakes marketers make with email todayWhy long email sequences no longer workHow segmentation and list hygiene protect deliverabilityThe 3–6% rule of engagementHow AI is reshaping education, courses, and contentWhy owning your audience is the ultimate leverageIf you run a newsletter or scale revenue through email, this episode will help you protect deliverability, grow smarter, and avoid the hidden mistakes that quietly destroy inbox reach. 🔗 Connect with Ryan Deiss: LinkedIn → ryandeiss X → ryandeiss Youtube → RyanDeissOfficial 🔗 Learn more about Audience Bridge: Website → https://www.audiencebridge.io Newsletter → https://www.audiencebridge.io/subscribe

1h 9m
NOV 19

Holiday Deliverability Survival Guide: Expert Insights from Matt Vernhout

In this episode of Audience Bridge Insights, Chris Miquel sits down with one of the most respected deliverability experts in the world — Matt Vernhout, Principal Consultant at Email Industries, founder of EmailKarma, co-chair of the BIMI Working Group, and a 20-year veteran in email policy, authentication, and sender reputation. We dive deep into what’s really happening inside Gmail, Yahoo, and Microsoft right now, how authentication is changing, and the new rules every sender needs to follow heading into Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the 2025 holiday season. Matt breaks down: 🔹 Why more emails are landing in Gmail Promotions (and why that’s not bad) 🔹 The #1 misconception newsletter operators have about deliverability 🔹 How authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) really affects inboxing 🔹 What DKIM2 and DMARC 2.0 (“DMARCbis”) mean for the future 🔹 How AI is changing filtering, classification, and spam detection 🔹 Why warmup services are failing — and when they might still help 🔹 How subdomains and sender domain strategy impact your reputation 🔹 How to prevent cross-contamination across teams, tools, and ESPs 🔹 The right way to run reactivation + winback campaigns 🔹 What every sender MUST do in the next 2 weeks before Black Friday 🔹 Why data hygiene, validation, and new-user segments matter more than ever 🔹 How to avoid destroying your domain reputation in Q4 🔹 What’s coming next in email protocols and global platform policy If you run a newsletter, send marketing campaigns, or rely on email revenue — this episode is packed with strategic, tactical, and future-focused insights that will save you time, headaches, deliverability failures, and lost inbox reach. 🔗 Connect with Matt Vernhout: LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/vernhout/X → https://x.com/EmailKarma🔗 Learn more about Audience Bridge: Website → https://www.audiencebridge.ioNewsletter → https://www.audiencebridge.io/subscribe

48 min
NOV 11

The 8 Hidden Infrastructure Issues Tanking Your Deliverability Right Now - with LB

In this episode, Chris Miquel sits down with LoriBeth “LB” Blair, a full-stack email solutions architect and one of the most respected deliverability experts in the industry. LB has helped top newsletter operators, e-commerce brands, and major ESPs fix the toughest inboxing and deliverability challenges — saving clients millions in the process. Together, we break down the real reasons your emails aren’t inboxing and what you can do today to fix them. 🔥 Topics Covered: Why your content is getting filtered (and it’s not “spam words”)Image compression, code bloat & secure linksDMARC, SPF, DKIM, and BIMI explained in plain EnglishHow hackers use “list bombing” & how to protect your formsDedicated vs Shared IPs — which one’s right for youWhen your deliverability crashes overnight (what to check first)Google’s One-Click Unsubscribe enforcementHow LB saves brands millions on email infrastructureWhat to audit before selling your media or newsletter businessWhere to find LB & final thoughts💡 Key Takeaways: Bloated HTML and uncompressed images are killing your inbox placement.DMARC is no longer optional. Start at p=none, collect data, then move to reject.Shared IPs are fine for low senders, but serious senders need dedicated infrastructure.Google now enforces one-click unsubscribes. Non-compliance = lower reputation.Your deliverability = your revenue. Stop guessing, start measuring.🔗 Connect with LB Blair: LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/lbblairSend Edge Consulting → https://www.sendedge.com 🔗 Learn more about Audience Bridge: Website → https://www.audiencebridge.ioNewsletter → https://www.audiencebridge.io/subscribe 🔗 Inside this Episode: Image Compression → https://tinypng.com/Spamhaus Reputation → https://www.spamhaus.org/domain-reputation/Gmail Enforcement → https://support.google.com/a/answer/14229414

56 min
OCT 8

How Tyler Morin Built The Water Coolest — and Why Authentic Voice Still Wins in 2025

In this episode of Audience Bridge Insights, Chris Miquel sits down with Tyler Morin, founder of The Water Coolest and Leverage Letter, to unpack how he built, scaled, and reclaimed one of the most successful business newsletters in the game. Tyler shares the behind-the-scenes story of selling The Water Coolest to Barstool Sports, buying it back, and building a new media model centered around authenticity, voice, and sustainable growth. We dive into: ✅ The secret to creating a newsletter people actually look forward to ✅ How Barstool taught Tyler to scale with personality ✅ Paid vs. organic growth — what’s working in 2025 ✅ The power of voice, tone, and consistency in email ✅ How AI is changing content creation (and how to use it without losing your identity) ✅ Why engagement is the new deliverability metric ✅ What the next wave of newsletter media looks like If you’re building, running, or scaling a newsletter — this is a must-watch episode. 📩 Subscribe to Audience Bridge Insights for weekly deliverability tips: https://www.audiencebridge.io/subscribe Mentioned in this episode: 📨 The Water Coolest → https://thewatercoolest.com/ 📨 Leverage Letter → https://www.leverageletter.co/ 🎙️ Letterland Pod → https://www.youtube.com/@LetterLandPod 𝕏 Tyler Morin → https://x.com/JPMorinChase [in] Tyler Morin → https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylermorin/ 𝕏 Chris Miquel → https://x.com/miqchris [in] Chris Miquel → https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrismiquel/

56 min
SEP 9

The One Fix That Saves Your Inbox (and Revenue) — with Bryan Jenkins

In this episode of Audience Bridge Insights, I sit down with Bryan Jenkins, Director of Sales at Email Oversight, to dig into the unsexy but critical side of email: data quality and validation. We cover why one bad email address can ruin a lot of good, how to validate at acquisition, when to re-clean your list, and what to do about bounces and complaints before they destroy your sender reputation. If you send email at scale, this conversation is a must-watch. What you’ll learn in this episode: ✅ Why validating emails at acquisition is the cheapest way to protect your list ✅ How list decay works — and why re-cleaning isn’t optional ✅ The role complainers and bounces play in inbox placement ✅ Why trimming your list isn’t losing muscle, it’s cutting fat ✅ Pro tips for managing Yahoo/Gmail bounce codes the smart way Listen now and learn how to keep your list clean, protect your reputation, and boost inbox placement. 📩 Subscribe to Audience Bridge Insights for weekly deliverability tips: https://www.audiencebridge.io/subscribe Mentioned in this episode: 📨 Email Oversight 𝕏 Chris Miquel Bryan Jenkins

42 min
AUG 26

Monetizing the Inbox: Jesse Watkins on Newsletter Sponsorships & Growth

In this episode of Audience Bridge Insights, I sat down with Jesse Watkins, founder of Who Sponsors Stuff and co-creator of The Newsletter Conference, to unpack the real mechanics of newsletter monetization. We cover: ✅ Why sponsorships aren’t plug-and-play revenue ✅ The importance of aligning sponsors with your brand’s voice ✅ Why flat-fee pricing often beats CPM models ✅ Direct sales vs. ad networks — and which wins long term ✅ How to scale once your ad inventory is full Whether you’re just starting to monetize your newsletter or you’re looking to optimize and scale sponsorship revenue, this conversation is packed with actionable insights. 📩 Subscribe to Audience Bridge Insights for weekly deliverability tips: https://www.audiencebridge.io/subscribe Mentioned in this episode: 📨 Who Sponsors Stuff 📨 The Newsletter Conference 𝕏 Chris Miquel Jesse Watkins

47 min
AUG 12

Email Deliverability Secrets with Kyle Renfrow (CEO of OptiPub)

Hitting the inbox is harder than ever. In this episode of the Audience Bridge Podcast, I sit down with Kyle Renfrow, CEO & CTO of ESP OptiPub, to talk about what really moves the needle for email deliverability in 2025. We cover: ✅ How Yahoo & Gmail’s latest changes are impacting inbox placement ✅ Dedicated vs Shared IPs – and the hybrid model most marketers overlook ✅ The deliverability data your ESP isn’t showing you (and why it matters) ✅ Scaling to high volumes without destroying your sender reputation ✅ Actionable steps to protect and improve your domain reputation If you’re sending newsletters, campaigns, or high-volume email, this conversation is packed with strategies you can implement immediately. 📩 Subscribe to Audience Bridge Insights for weekly deliverability tips: https://www.audiencebridge.io/subscribe Mentioned in this episode: 📨 Optipub → https://optipub.com/ 𝕏 Chris Miquel → https://x.com/miqchris Kyle Renfrow → https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-renfrow/

57 min
JUL 31

Crushing Local Email at Scale – How 6AM City Sends Millions of Emails Daily (ft. Ryan Heafy)

How do you deliver 25+ local newsletters a day, scale to millions of subscribers, and maintain rock-solid inboxing while doing it? In this episode, I sit down with Ryan Heafy, Co-founder and COO of 6AM City, to unpack the systems, strategy, and culture behind one of the largest local newsletter networks in the country. We cover: ✅ How 6AM City manages high-volume daily sending without tanking deliverability ✅ Their editorial + data engine that drives local engagement ✅ What happens when you acquire a network of AI-powered newsletters (like Good Daily) ✅ Real-time email performance insights and how they optimize across cities ✅ The importance of internal alignment between ops, tech, and editorial Whether you’re sending 1 newsletter or 100, this episode is packed with insights on scaling email the right way. 📩 Want more episodes like this? Subscribe to the Audience Bridge Insights newsletter for weekly deliverability strategy, list growth tactics, and expert interviews: 👉 https://www.audiencebridge.io/subscribe Mentioned in this episode: 📨 6AM City → https://6amcity.com 𝕏 Chris Miquel → https://x.com/miqchris 𝕏 Ryan Heafy → https://x.com/ryanheafy

57 min
JUL 31

How Tyler O’Shea Fixed His Deliverability and 2X’d His Open Rates

In this episode, I sit down with Tyler O’Shea, founder of The Underdog Newsletter, to break down how he turned around his declining open rates, overcame inbox placement issues, and built a smarter, more profitable email strategy using the Base Sending Segment method. Whether you're a newsletter operator, email marketer, or media buyer—this conversation is packed with insights you can apply immediately. 🧠 What We Cover: - The problem that nearly wrecked Tyler’s deliverability - How Beehiiv flagged his list—and how he fixed it - Why sending to your full list is a mistake (and what to do instead) - How to build your Base Sending Segment - Inbox recovery, smarter segmentation, and growth without risk 🎧 Listen, learn, and apply the exact tactics Tyler used to hit 55% open rates and scale without spammy tricks or cold blasts. 🔗 Subscribe for more episodes on email growth, deliverability, and newsletter strategy. Mentioned in this episode: 📨 The Underdog Newsletter → https://newsletter.jokermag.com/ 📥 AudienceBridge → https://www.audiencebridge.io/subscribe 𝕏 Chris Miquel → https://x.com/miqchris 𝕏 Tyler O'shea → https://x.com/OSheaSEO

28 min
JUL 31

How Matt Paulson Built an 8-Figure Media Empire with Email

What does it take to grow from a personal finance blog to 5.4 million+ email subscribers and a business generating 8 figures in revenue? In this premiere episode of Audience Bridge, we sit down with Matt Paulson, the founder of MarketBeat, who reveals how he scaled a newsletter-powered empire without relying on big tech, SEO gimmicks, or cookie-cutter tools. 🔥 What you’ll learn in this episode: How MarketBeat got its first 500,000 subscribers organically Why email is STILL their #1 revenue driver (even in 2025) The exact infrastructure Matt uses to send millions of emails daily How they spend $1M/month on ads — and track ROI down to the source Deliverability war stories: Yahoo blocks, Microsoft filters, and how to beat them Why SMS (just 5% of their list) drives 40% of revenue The ruthless list hygiene strategy that keeps their inbox rates sky-high 📬 Whether you're a media operator, newsletter founder, or marketer looking to build your own audience engine — this is the blueprint. 👉 Subscribe to the Audience Bridge podcast for more interviews with the minds behind the internet’s biggest and smartest audience machines. 🔗 Get the newsletter: https://www.audiencebrige.io/subscribe 📩 Follow Chris: https://x.com/miqchris | https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrismiquel/ 📩 Follow Matt: https://x.com/mattpaulsonSD | https://mattpaulson.com

41 min

10 Episodes

Audience Bridge Insights is a podcast for newsletter operators, marketers, and media founders who want to scale smarter. Each episode dives into real-world strategies, tools, and conversations with industry experts on email deliverability, list growth, monetization, and the evolving tech behind the inbox.

Creator

Chris Miquel
Years Active

2K
Episodes

10
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© 2025 Audience Bridge [Insights]
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Audience Bridge [Insights]