The Onion starts with a plain-text welcome and a newsletter on day 0, then sends newsletters on day 2 through day 7. Each newsletter uses a headline-like subject and a “MORE |” preview followed by additional editorial text.
In the order they arrived, from the first email after signup.
Updated Oct 3, 2026
The Onion sends its welcome first on day 0, titled “Welcome To The Knowledge Zone”. The email explains what subscribers should expect and provides options to manage subscription preferences. A newsletter follows on the same day, so the first experience combines orientation with immediate editorial content.
After that opening, newsletters arrive on day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5, day 6, and day 7. The mix is therefore much more editorial than onboarding, with newsletters making up 88% of the emails in this set. If you are planning a welcome flow, this example pairs an explanation of what to expect with immediate editorial content.
The newsletter subjects are standalone satirical headlines, such as “Kash Patel Phished By Scammer Posing As Kash Patel” and “What’s Rustling In That Leaf Pile?”. Across their content, the newsletters cover politics, news, sports, entertainment, and local stories while keeping the publication’s comic voice visible in the subject line. Their median subject-line length is 46 characters.
Every newsletter preview starts with “MORE |” and then includes additional text, such as “MORE | 10 Players To Watch This NFL Season” or “MORE | Artist Profile: Madonna”. This gives the previews a consistent format while varying the editorial item mentioned after the label.
The newsletters are recurring editorial roundups, and their content includes links to The Onion’s membership, merchandise, store offerings, related newsletters, or affiliated properties. These promotional elements appear alongside satirical headlines and articles in the newsletter content.
The welcome email is the only email identified as plain text. The newsletters on day 5, day 6, and day 7 are marked green. For your own sequence, you could use the welcome to explain expectations and subscription controls, then include membership or product links alongside recurring editorial content.
How often, when and how The Onion emails its subscribers, measured from every email we received.
Every email The Onion sent in its first month, grouped by the day it arrived.
Day 0
Signup day
Day 2
2 days later
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Every subject line and preview text, in the order they arrived.
