Cohorts that actually convert
Five cohort recipes pulled from Stripe, Linear, and Notion's playbooks.
The hard part of growth isn't the email tool. It's picking the right people. Here are five cohorts that consistently outperform sending to your whole list.
1. Onboarding stalled
People who signed up, finished the welcome flow, and then didn't do "the thing" in seven days. For Sheepit, "the thing" is creating a flag. For your product, it's whatever moment turns a tourist into a user. Reach out before they forget you exist.
2. Power user expand
Free users sending >500 events per day. They're already getting value at scale; show them the paid tier before they bump into the limit and feel punished.
3. Reactivation
Users who were active 30+ days ago and haven't returned. One short, personal-feeling email with a single hook — what's new, what they're missing. The win rate is low but the people who come back stick.
4. Trial expiring
Trial users with five days left who haven't entered a credit card. The most predictable conversion campaign you'll ever run. Two emails, three days apart. Don't skip it.
5. Word-of-mouth
Users who created a flag and then invited a teammate. They're already evangelizing — send them a "thank you, here's how to invite the rest of your team" email with one click to expand.