Quick Summary
Cohort analysis in email marketing helps you see how groups of subscribers behave over time. It shows you which emails work best for new vs. old customers, helping you send better messages and grow your business. It’s like understanding your friends better to have great conversations!
Hey there, welcome to LTDWave!
Email marketing can feel like a big puzzle sometimes, right? You send emails, but it’s hard to know if they’re really connecting with people. You want to see your business grow, but where do you even start?
It’s totally normal to feel a bit lost. Many people find it tricky to figure out which messages are hitting the mark and which ones are just… floating away.
But what if I told you there’s a super simple way to understand your audience better? It’s like having a secret map to guide your email efforts.
Today, we’re going to explore something called “Cohort Analysis.” Don’t let the fancy name scare you! It’s actually a really cool and easy way to see how your subscribers are doing.
By the end of this, you’ll know exactly how to use this simple trick to make your email marketing much more effective and watch your business grow!
What Exactly is Cohort Analysis (in Plain English)?
Imagine you start a new club. You invite 10 people in January, and another 10 people in February. Cohort analysis is like looking at the January group and the February group separately.
You want to see how each group behaves over time. Do the January people still come to meetings? Do the February people invite their friends?
In email marketing, a “cohort” is simply a group of subscribers who joined your email list around the same time.
So, “cohort analysis” means looking at how these groups behave over weeks or months.
It helps you answer questions like:
Do subscribers who join this month engage differently than those who joined last month?
Are people who signed up for a specific offer sticking around longer?
When do people tend to stop opening our emails?
Why is This So Awesome for Email Marketing?
Think about it: not all your subscribers are the same. Some are brand new, some have been with you for ages, and some joined for a special reason.
Cohort analysis lets you see these differences. It helps you understand:
When people are most likely to buy: New subscribers might be super excited and ready to click!
Which emails are keeping people engaged: Are your welcome emails working well for new groups?
When people might leave: If a group stops opening emails after a month, you know you need to do something different.
This means you can send more relevant emails to the right people at the right time. And when your emails are relevant, people pay attention, click more, and buy more! That’s how you grow.
Let’s Break Down How to Use It: Your Step-by-Step Guide
Ready to dive in? It’s easier than you think! We’ll break it down into simple steps.
Step 1: Figure Out Your Cohorts
The first thing is to decide what groups you want to watch. The most common way is by signup date.
Monthly Cohorts: Group everyone who signed up in January, then everyone in February, and so on. This is great for seeing trends over longer periods.
Weekly Cohorts: Similar to monthly, but you group people by the week they signed up. This gives you a closer look.
Campaign-Specific Cohorts: You can even create a cohort for people who signed up after clicking a specific ad or downloading a particular freebie. This shows you how effective different offers are.
Example:
Let’s say you start tracking monthly cohorts.
Cohort A: All subscribers who joined between January 1st and January 31st.
Cohort B: All subscribers who joined between February 1st and February 28th.
Cohort C: All subscribers who joined between March 1st and March 31st.
Step 2: Choose What to Track
Now, decide what you want to measure for each cohort. What tells you if they’re happy and engaged?
Common things to track include:
Open Rate: How many people open your emails.
Click-Through Rate (CTR): How many people click a link in your emails.
Conversion Rate: How many people complete a desired action (like making a purchase or signing up for a webinar) after clicking.
Unsubscribe Rate: How many people opt-out of your emails.
Revenue Generated: How much money each cohort spends.
Step 3: Gather Your Data
This is where your email marketing tool comes in handy. Most tools can track opens, clicks, and unsubscribes. For conversions and revenue, you might need to connect your email platform to your website or e-commerce store.
Many email marketing services have built-in reporting that can help you with this. If yours doesn’t, you might need to export your data and use a spreadsheet.
Step 4: Visualize Your Data (The Fun Part!)
This is where you see the magic happen. You’ll typically create a table or a chart. A table is often the easiest to start with.
Here’s how a simple monthly cohort table might look:
| Cohort | Month 1 | Month 2 | Month 3 | Month 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2024 | 80% Open Rate | 75% Open Rate | 70% Open Rate | 65% Open Rate |
| February 2024 | 85% Open Rate | 80% Open Rate | 78% Open Rate | – |
| March 2024 | 78% Open Rate | 72% Open Rate | – | – |
In this table:
Each row is a cohort (people who joined in January, February, etc.).
Each column is a time period after they joined (Month 1, Month 2, etc.).
The data shows the average open rate for that cohort during that month.
Looking at this table, you can see:
The January cohort’s open rate slowly decreased over the months.
The February cohort started with a higher open rate and is also showing a slight decrease.
The March cohort is still early, so we have less data.
Step 5: Analyze and Act
Now, what does this data mean?
Are open rates dropping too fast? Maybe your content isn’t engaging enough after the first few emails.
Did a specific campaign bring in a cohort with super high engagement? That’s a clue! You should run similar campaigns.
Are newer cohorts performing better or worse than older ones? This can tell you if your signup process or initial emails are improving.
Based on your analysis, you can:
Improve your welcome series: Make sure those first few emails are amazing!
Segment your list: Send different emails to new subscribers vs. long-time ones.
Test new content ideas: See what resonates with different groups.
Identify your most valuable subscribers: Focus on keeping them happy.
Putting Cohort Analysis to Work: Real-Life Examples
Let’s imagine some scenarios to make this super clear.
Scenario 1: The Dropping Engagement
You create a monthly cohort table for open rates. You notice that for every cohort, the open rate drops significantly after the second month.
What this might mean: Your welcome emails are great, but the regular content that follows isn’t keeping subscribers hooked. They’re losing interest.
Your Action Plan:
- Brainstorm new content ideas for your regular newsletters.
- Ask your subscribers what they want to hear about.
- Try different email formats (e.g., videos, Q&As, case studies).
Scenario 2: The Superstar Campaign
You ran a webinar and promoted it with a special offer. You create a cohort just for people who signed up through that webinar promotion. You track their purchase behavior and notice they buy 3x more often than your average subscriber in their first month.
What this might mean: People who sign up with a clear interest (like attending a webinar) are highly motivated and valuable.
Your Action Plan:
- Create more webinars or similar events.
- Offer more targeted promotions based on specific interests.
- Make sure your follow-up emails for webinar attendees are top-notch.
Scenario 3: The Long-Term Value
You look at revenue generated by cohorts over six months. You see that the cohort from last summer is still spending money consistently, while newer cohorts drop off after three months.
What this might mean: Your summer campaign or offers resonated well, and those subscribers became loyal customers. Something changed in your strategy later that isn’t building the same loyalty.
Your Action Plan:
- Analyze the emails and offers from that successful summer period.
- Try to replicate the elements that created long-term loyalty.
- Focus on building relationships, not just making quick sales.
Tools to Help You Out
You don’t need to be a tech wizard to do this! Here are some tools that can make it easier:
| Tool | What Makes It Great for Cohorts | Good For Beginners? |
|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp | Offers built-in audience segmentation and some reporting features that can help you group subscribers. You can often see engagement over time for different segments. | Yes, very user-friendly. |
| HubSpot | Provides more advanced analytics and CRM features. You can track customer journeys and segment deeply based on signup dates and interactions. | Yes, especially their free CRM. |
| Google Analytics | If you connect your website and email signups, you can track user behavior over time. It has specific cohort analysis features, though they can be a bit more advanced. | Moderate, but worth exploring for website behavior. |
| Spreadsheets (Excel/Google Sheets) | You can export data from your email tool and manually build cohort tables. Great for understanding the process from scratch. | Yes, if you’re comfortable with basic formulas. |
Pro Tip: Start simple! Even a basic spreadsheet can give you powerful insights.
Common Questions About Cohort Analysis
Let’s clear up any lingering doubts.
How can I start email marketing with no money?
You absolutely can! Many email marketing services offer free plans for small lists. Mailchimp, MailerLite, and Sendinblue (now Brevo) all have great free options. Focus on creating valuable content and building your list organically through your website or social media.
How do I write subject lines people click?
Keep them clear, concise, and intriguing! Use emojis sparingly if they fit your brand. Personalize them with the subscriber’s name. Create a sense of curiosity or urgency. A/B test different subject lines to see what works best for your audience.
How often should I email my list?
There’s no single answer! It depends on your audience and your content. Some businesses email daily, others weekly, and some monthly. The key is consistency and providing value. Don’t email just to email; make sure each message has a purpose. Start with once a week and see how your audience responds.
How do I know if my email is working?
Look at your key metrics! Open rates tell you if your subject line is working. Click-through rates show if your content is interesting enough to make people take action. Conversion rates (like sales or signups) tell you if your emails are driving business results. Cohort analysis helps you see these trends over time for different groups.
How do I stop my emails from going to spam?
First, always get permission to email people! Never buy email lists. Keep your content valuable and relevant. Use a clean, professional email template. Avoid spammy words or excessive capitalization. Encourage subscribers to add you to their contacts. And importantly, make sure the unsubscribe link is easy to find – people who want to leave should be able to easily.
What’s a “good” open rate or click rate?
This varies a lot by industry! But as a general guide for beginners:
| Metric | Good Example | Great Example |
|---|---|---|
| Open Rate | 20-25% | 30%+ |
| Click-Through Rate (CTR) | 2-3% | 4-5%+ |
Remember, these are just starting points. Your goal is to improve your own rates over time!
Can I do cohort analysis without fancy software?
Yes! If your email marketing tool doesn’t have robust cohort reporting, you can export your subscriber data and engagement metrics (like opens and clicks per email) into a spreadsheet. Then, you can manually group subscribers by their signup date and calculate their engagement for each subsequent week or month.
You’ve Got This!
See? Cohort analysis isn’t some scary, complicated thing. It’s just a smart way to look at how different groups of people are responding to your emails over time.
By grouping your subscribers and watching how they behave, you gain incredible insights. You’ll know what’s working, what’s not, and where to focus your energy to make your emails even better.
This simple method can help you build stronger connections with your audience, improve your campaigns, and ultimately, grow your business.
So, take a deep breath, pick your first cohort (maybe everyone who signed up last month?), and start tracking. You might be surprised by what you learn!
Keep experimenting, keep learning, and most importantly, keep connecting with your subscribers. You’re doing great, and I’m excited to see you master email marketing!
Happy emailing!
Jack