We Tracked 564,000 Clicks From 730,000 Tech Professionals. Here Is Where Attention Goes.

A daily tech newsletter is a bet on attention: 730,000 professionals open it, skim it, and click the two or three things that actually matter to them. We looked at what they click. Across 118 recent editions of six newsletters, we logged 564,000 link clicks and mapped every one. Setting aside clicks on our own content, the pattern is clear and slightly humbling for anyone who sells software: people click to stay informed, not to shop. News beats tools roughly three to one.

The dataset

This report covers 564,000 link clicks across 118 editions of six newsletters (Techpresso, Cyberpresso, MarketingShot, Finpresso, Devshot, and AIpresso), reaching roughly 730,000 subscribers, over recent months. Every clicked link was reduced to its domain and classified. We exclude all links back to our own content (our sites, archives, and products) so the analysis is about the outside world, not our own funnels. This is first-party engagement data, released under CC BY 4.0.

A click is a measure of attention, what a reader chose to open. It is not a measure of purchase, adoption, or endorsement. We are careful about that distinction below.

Where the clicks go

Once you set aside links to our own content, external clicks fall into a few clear buckets.

Nearly half of external attention goes to news: launches, analysis, market moves, the daily churn of what happened. That is what a news brief is for, so it should not surprise anyone, but the scale is worth sitting with. For every click a reader gives a software tool, they give news roughly three. A newsletter audience is an audience of people staying current, and product discovery rides along on top of that, it does not replace it.

The tools people click

Among the clicks that do land on software, these lead. We have removed our own products and the links tagged as paid placements, and normalized the rest.

Two honest caveats. First, this list mixes editorial mentions with tool-of-the-day spotlights, so a high position reflects placement and attention, not a reader vote for the best product. Second, the numbers are small next to the news totals, which is the real story: even the most-clicked tool is a rounding error against total news clicks. Treat this as a snapshot of what caught the eye, and pair it with a real buying signal before drawing conclusions.

Clicking is not researching

The most useful thing in this data is the contrast with what people research. When we look at which tools people actually study on Toolradar, the leaders are practical and privacy-first: Nextcloud, Obsidian, Joplin, Proton Mail, Notion. When we look at what the same kind of audience clicks in a newsletter, the leaders are news and familiar platform names.

These are two different moments. A reader clicking in a newsletter is skimming and staying current. A buyer researching on a comparison site has decided to choose something and is doing the work. If you are trying to reach buyers, the second signal is the one that matters. If you are trying to hold attention, the first one is. Confusing them is how good products end up marketing to people who are not buying and how newsletters end up over-indexing on product plugs their readers scroll past.

Methodology

Source: 564,000 link clicks across 118 editions of six Dupple newsletters (roughly 730,000 subscribers) over recent months, from the Beehiiv reporting API. Each clicked link was reduced to its domain; links to our own properties were excluded, links tagged as paid placements were separated out, and remaining domains were matched against a catalog of software tools. Bucket percentages are of external (non-owned) clicks. Clicks measure attention, not adoption. Released under CC BY 4.0. Reuse it with a link back to this page.

Frequently asked questions

Do newsletter clicks tell you which software is best?

No. Clicks measure attention, what a reader opened, not quality or adoption. The tool list here also mixes editorial mentions with tool-of-the-day spotlights, so position reflects placement and interest rather than a verdict. For quality, use review-backed rankings; for what people actively choose, use research demand.

Why does news get so many more clicks than tools?

Because that is what readers come for. A daily tech brief is primarily a way to stay current, and product discovery is secondary. Nearly half of external clicks go to news and analysis, about one in seven to software tools. The ratio reflects reader intent, not a lack of good products.

How is this different from what people research?

Newsletter clicks capture skimming attention and favor news and familiar names. Research demand, measured by which tools people study on a comparison site, favors practical and privacy-first software. The two behaviors barely overlap, which is the central point: attention and buying intent are not the same signal.

Why exclude your own links?

Because clicks back to our own sites, archives, and products say nothing about the outside software market and would only inflate our own numbers. Removing them keeps the analysis honest and about the world beyond our funnels.