Email cohort analysis

Are newer subscribers as engaged as older ones? Cohort analysis reveals list-health trends.

Signals

• Declining engagement in new cohorts: acquisition quality dropping
• Older cohorts more engaged: you're retaining the right users
• All cohorts decaying the same: content problem

Action

Adjust acquisition sources or content based on cohort differences.

What to do with this

• Segment email cohorts by signup source, different sources produce vastly different retention and revenue profiles
• Re-weight list growth investment toward high-retention sources, acquisition cost alone misses the LTV picture
• Create signup-source-specific welcome sequences, referral subscribers need different onboarding than paid-ad leads
• Drop list-growth mechanisms that produce poor cohorts even if volume looks impressive
• Review cohort retention quarterly, source quality shifts over time and yesterday's best source may not be this year's