Build a lifecycle email cadence across onboarding, activation, retention, expansion, and win-back

advancedClaude OpusMarketingLifecyclemarketinglifecycleemailretentionexpansion

Use case

Use this prompt when standing up or rebuilding lifecycle email for a SaaS or subscription product. Most lifecycle programs are stitched together email-by-email. This prompt designs the program as a whole: which stages connect to which, what behavior moves a user from one stage to the next, and what metric proves each email earns its keep.

The prompt

You are a senior lifecycle marketer at a B2B or B2C SaaS company. Build a complete lifecycle email program for the product below.

Product and audience:
- Product: {{product}}
- Pricing model: {{pricing}}
- Primary persona: {{persona}}
- Core "aha" action (what activated users always do): {{aha_action}}
- Typical reasons users churn: {{churn_reasons}}
- Expansion levers available (seats, tiers, add-ons): {{expansion_levers}}

Output the full program in 5 sections:

1. Onboarding (Days 0-14)
2. Activation (until the user hits {{aha_action}})
3. Retention (post-activation through month 6)
4. Expansion (in-product traction triggers expansion-eligible)
5. Win-back (cancelled or dormant 30+ days)

For each section, give me:
- Goal of the section in one sentence (what behavior does success look like)
- 3-5 emails per section
- For each email: trigger (time-based or behavior-based), subject line, 60-100 word body, primary CTA, success metric (which one number tells you it worked)
- Stage-exit criteria (what behavior promotes the user to the next section, or to a different track entirely)

Then provide a Program Map: a one-screen ASCII or text diagram showing how users flow between sections, including the loops (e.g., expansion -> retention, win-back -> onboarding-lite).

Constraints:
- Behavior-based triggers always beat time-based triggers. Default to behavior; use time only when no behavior signal exists.
- Do not write generic "Hi, how's it going" check-in emails. Every email earns its send by either advancing the user toward the aha action or surfacing a real signal.
- No emojis unless brand voice explicitly calls for them. Assume not.

Variables

{{{{product}}}}Replace with your {{product}}
{{{{pricing}}}}Replace with your {{pricing}}
{{{{persona}}}}Replace with your {{persona}}
{{{{aha_action}}}}Replace with your {{aha action}}
{{{{churn_reasons}}}}Replace with your {{churn reasons}}
{{{{expansion_levers}}}}Replace with your {{expansion levers}}

Example

Input

product: Foundry, a no-code internal tools builder for ops teams
pricing: $20/seat/mo, free trial 14 days, expansion tier at $50/seat/mo with admin and SSO
persona: ops manager at a 50-500 person company, technical-adjacent but not an engineer
aha_action: published their first internal tool and shared it with at least 2 teammates
churn_reasons: never got past the blank canvas, only one user from the team adopted, integrations they needed weren't available
expansion_levers: more seats, admin tier, premium integrations marketplace

Output

Onboarding (Days 0-14)
Goal: get the user from sign-up to first tool published.

Email 1 (Trigger: sign-up complete)
Subject: Three templates Foundry users start with
Body: 80 words pointing to three pre-built templates that map to ops-team workflows...
CTA: Open a template
Success metric: first template opened within 48 hours.

(Emails 2-4 follow with behavior-based triggers like "opened template but did not publish after 3 days")
Stage-exit: user publishes a tool AND shares with 1+ teammate -> graduates to Activation completion track.

Activation, Retention, Expansion, Win-back follow with the same shape.

Program Map:
Sign-up -> Onboarding -> Activation -> Retention -> Expansion -> (loops to Retention)
                            \-> stalls -> Win-back -> if returns, Onboarding-lite (skip steps 1-2)

Tips for best results

1Define your aha action precisely before running this prompt. A vague aha produces a vague program.
2Always have your data team confirm the behavioral triggers are instrumentable before handing off to lifecycle build-out.
3Win-back is where most programs over-invest. If a user churned for a structural reason (integration missing), no email saves them. Be honest in the inputs.
4Run the program through legal review if you operate in regions with strict opt-in rules (EU, Canada, parts of LATAM).
5Re-run this prompt after every pricing or packaging change. Expansion and win-back are the most price-sensitive sections.

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Use case

You are a senior lifecycle marketer at a B2B or B2C SaaS company. Build a complete lifecycle email program for the product below. Product and audience: - Product: {{product}} - Pricing model: {{pricing}} - Primary persona: {{persona}} - Core "aha" action (what activated users always do): {{aha_action}} - Typical reasons users churn: {{churn_reasons}} - Expansion levers available (seats, tiers, add-ons): {{expansion_levers}} Output the full program in 5 sections: 1. Onboarding (Days 0-14) 2. Activation (until the user hits {{aha_action}}) 3. Retention (post-activation through month 6) 4. Expansion (in-product traction triggers expansion-eligible) 5. Win-back (cancelled or dormant 30+ days) For each section, give me: - Goal of the section in one sentence (what behavior does success look like) - 3-5 emails per section - For each email: trigger (time-based or behavior-based), subject line, 60-100 word body, primary CTA, success metric (which one number tells you it worked) - Stage-exit criteria (what behavior promotes the user to the next section, or to a different track entirely) Then provide a Program Map: a one-screen ASCII or text diagram showing how users flow between sections, including the loops (e.g., expansion -> retention, win-back -> onboarding-lite). Constraints: - Behavior-based triggers always beat time-based triggers. Default to behavior; use time only when no behavior signal exists. - Do not write generic "Hi, how's it going" check-in emails. Every email earns its send by either advancing the user toward the aha action or surfacing a real signal. - No emojis unless brand voice explicitly calls for them. Assume not.

Variables

{{{{product}}}}Replace with your {{product}}

{{{{pricing}}}}Replace with your {{pricing}}

{{{{persona}}}}Replace with your {{persona}}

{{{{aha_action}}}}Replace with your {{aha action}}

{{{{churn_reasons}}}}Replace with your {{churn reasons}}

{{{{expansion_levers}}}}Replace with your {{expansion levers}}

Example

Input

product: Foundry, a no-code internal tools builder for ops teams
pricing: $20/seat/mo, free trial 14 days, expansion tier at $50/seat/mo with admin and SSO
persona: ops manager at a 50-500 person company, technical-adjacent but not an engineer
aha_action: published their first internal tool and shared it with at least 2 teammates
churn_reasons: never got past the blank canvas, only one user from the team adopted, integrations they needed weren't available
expansion_levers: more seats, admin tier, premium integrations marketplace

Output

Onboarding (Days 0-14)
Goal: get the user from sign-up to first tool published.

Email 1 (Trigger: sign-up complete)
Subject: Three templates Foundry users start with
Body: 80 words pointing to three pre-built templates that map to ops-team workflows...
CTA: Open a template
Success metric: first template opened within 48 hours.

(Emails 2-4 follow with behavior-based triggers like "opened template but did not publish after 3 days")
Stage-exit: user publishes a tool AND shares with 1+ teammate -> graduates to Activation completion track.

Activation, Retention, Expansion, Win-back follow with the same shape.

Program Map:
Sign-up -> Onboarding -> Activation -> Retention -> Expansion -> (loops to Retention)
                            \-> stalls -> Win-back -> if returns, Onboarding-lite (skip steps 1-2)

Tips for best results

1Define your aha action precisely before running this prompt. A vague aha produces a vague program.

2Always have your data team confirm the behavioral triggers are instrumentable before handing off to lifecycle build-out.

3Win-back is where most programs over-invest. If a user churned for a structural reason (integration missing), no email saves them. Be honest in the inputs.

4Run the program through legal review if you operate in regions with strict opt-in rules (EU, Canada, parts of LATAM).

5Re-run this prompt after every pricing or packaging change. Expansion and win-back are the most price-sensitive sections.