How I Track Every Click on My Newsletter Links (Open-Source Setup)

Every week I send a newsletter to ~2,000 subscribers. For months I had zero idea which links people actually clicked. Open rates? Sure, my ESP gives me that. But click-level data per link? That was a black box. I fixed it with a lightweight, open-source-friendly setup that takes about 15 minutes. Here's exactly how. The Problem With Newsletter Link Tracking Most email platforms (Substack, ConvertKit, Beehiiv) give you aggregate click counts. But they won't tell you: Which specific links get the most engagement Click velocity (how fast people click after open) Geographic breakdown per link Device/browser split per link Long-tail clicks days after sending If you're promoting products, writing sponsored posts, or just trying to figure out what your audience cares about — you need per-link analytics. The Stack Here's what I use: A link shortener with analytics — I use Dub.co (free tier is generous, API-first) A simple Node.js script to auto-generate tracked links before each send A JSON fi