Real-world examples of top content marketing examples for retention

Why start with real examples of top content marketing examples for retention

Most teams say they “do content,” but very few can point to content that measurably keeps customers from leaving. That’s why it helps to begin with concrete, real examples instead of abstract frameworks.

When we talk about examples of top content marketing examples for retention, we’re really talking about three things:

• Content that makes customers more successful with your product
• Content that builds habit and keeps your brand top of mind
• Content that deepens emotional connection and trust over time

The best examples aren’t random blog posts. They are structured programs with clear goals like: shorten time-to-value, reduce support tickets, increase renewal rate, or grow expansion revenue. Keep that lens in mind as you go through the examples below.

Example of onboarding content that cuts churn: Notion’s guided education

If you want a clean example of content marketing for retention, look at Notion’s onboarding ecosystem.

New users are funneled into a mix of:

• Short how-to videos embedded directly in the product
• Use case templates for roles like product managers, marketers, and students
• A public help center and academy-style content hub

This is not just about feature tours. Notion’s content is designed around jobs to be done: project tracking, personal knowledge management, team wikis. By mapping content to real outcomes, they reduce the early-stage confusion that typically drives users to abandon a tool.

From a retention standpoint, this kind of onboarding content:

• Increases activation rates (more users reach an “aha” moment)
• Reduces early churn in the first 30–60 days
• Creates a library of evergreen assets sales and support can reuse

If you’re looking for examples of top content marketing examples for retention in SaaS, this is a strong model: build an onboarding content journey, not just a welcome email.

Best examples of education-as-retention: HubSpot’s academy play

HubSpot’s content machine is famous, but the underrated part is how much it drives retention.

HubSpot Academy offers free certifications in inbound marketing, sales, and customer service. On the surface, it looks like pure top-of-funnel content. Underneath, it’s a retention engine:

• Users who invest time in certifications are more likely to stick with the platform
• Certified users often become internal champions who influence renewals
• Training content reduces support burden by teaching best practices at scale

This is one of the best examples of content marketing where the “product” and the “education” are tightly aligned. The more people learn, the more value they can extract from HubSpot’s tools, and the harder it is to rip the software out.

If you’re a B2B company, an example of this strategy in your world could be:

• Role-based learning paths for admins vs. end users
• Certification badges customers can showcase on LinkedIn
• Regularly updated courses tied to product releases

Research from Harvard Business School has shown that firms investing in customer learning and skill development can see higher loyalty and switching costs over time, especially in B2B settings (Harvard.edu). That’s exactly the dynamic HubSpot leans into.

Examples include community content that turns users into insiders

Some of the best examples of top content marketing examples for retention come from brands that build real communities instead of one-way broadcasts.

Figma’s community and event content

Figma has built an ecosystem of:

• Community-created templates and files
• Live events and online meetups for designers
• In-depth case studies showing how teams design at scale

This content is not just for discovery. It gives existing users:

• A constant stream of new ways to use the product
• A sense of identity as part of the “Figma community”
• Direct access to the product team’s thinking and roadmap

That emotional and professional investment makes it harder to switch tools. The content is the connective tissue.

Peloton’s instructor-led content and member stories

On the consumer side, Peloton is a textbook example of using content for retention. The hardware is a one-time purchase; the recurring revenue is the subscription. Retention is everything.

Peloton keeps members engaged with:

• Daily live and on-demand classes with charismatic instructors
• Themed series (e.g., artist spotlights, challenges, seasonal programs)
• Member stories and success features that keep people motivated

This is content as habit formation. Once customers build their routine around Peloton’s content, canceling feels like a lifestyle change, not just a financial decision.

Health behavior research from the National Institutes of Health shows that consistent cues and social reinforcement significantly increase adherence to exercise routines (NIH.gov). Peloton’s content strategy applies that science directly to retention.

Data-driven personalization: Netflix and Spotify as retention masters

If you want examples of top content marketing examples for retention at massive scale, look at how Netflix and Spotify use personalized content and communication.

Netflix: recommendations as retention content

Netflix’s recommendation engine is legendary, but think about it as content marketing to existing subscribers. Every email, push notification, and in-app row is a curated content pitch:

• “Because you watched X” rows
• Personalized top picks
• Emails about new seasons of shows you’ve already watched

The goal is simple: reduce the time between login and “I found something I want to watch.” The faster that happens, the more likely subscribers are to keep seeing value and less likely they are to churn.

Spotify: playlists as ongoing engagement

Spotify uses content personalization to create a constant stream of reasons to come back:

• Discover Weekly and Release Radar tailored to each listener
• Yearly Wrapped campaigns that recap your listening behavior
• Auto-generated playlists for moods, genres, and activities

The Wrapped campaign is one of the best examples of retention-focused content that also drives massive organic reach. People share their listening stats everywhere, but behind the virality is a retention effect: it reminds users how integrated Spotify is in their lives.

If you’re not a streaming giant, your examples include:

• Personalized product recommendations based on past purchases
• Lifecycle emails triggered by usage patterns
• Targeted content hubs for different customer segments

The principle is the same: use data to surface the right content at the right time to keep customers moving.

Owned media as retention: The New York Times and value stacking

Subscription media companies live and die by retention, so their content strategy is a goldmine of examples.

The New York Times has intentionally expanded beyond news into:

• Cooking (recipes, guides, meal plans)
• Games (Crossword, Spelling Bee, Connections)
• Wirecutter (product reviews and buying guides)

From a retention perspective, this is value stacking. The more parts of your life the subscription touches—news, entertainment, food, shopping—the harder it becomes to cancel.

Their content marketing for retention includes:

• Email digests tailored to interests (e.g., cooking, games)
• In-app prompts to try new sections
• Onboarding flows that nudge subscribers to sample multiple products

You can adapt this approach even if you’re not a media brand. Ask: What adjacent content can we create that gives customers more reasons to interact with us weekly, not just when they need support?

B2B product adoption examples: Notion, Canva, and ClickUp

Let’s pull together a few more B2B-focused examples of top content marketing examples for retention that center on product adoption.

Canva’s template-driven retention content

Canva’s growth isn’t just about acquisition; it’s about making sure users keep designing.

Their retention content includes:

• Fresh templates for holidays, seasons, and trending topics
• Educational content on design basics and branding
• In-product prompts that suggest new use cases (presentations, social posts, resumes)

By continually giving users new reasons to open the app, Canva turns occasional dabblers into habitual users.

ClickUp’s use case libraries and webinars

ClickUp leans heavily on content to show how different teams can adopt the platform:

• Use case libraries for marketing, engineering, operations, and more
• Deep-dive webinars on workflows and automation
• Migration guides from tools like Asana, Trello, and Jira

This content reduces friction for teams that might otherwise stall during rollout. Better rollout = better retention.

For your own strategy, think in terms of:

• Role-specific playbooks
• Vertical-specific case studies
• Live sessions that let customers ask questions and see advanced use cases

These are all practical examples of top content marketing examples for retention because they directly improve product stickiness.

Post-purchase and lifecycle content: Ecommerce and DTC examples

Retention content is not just for software and media. Direct-to-consumer brands are getting smarter about it too.

Chewy: empathetic, ongoing communication

Chewy’s content is a quiet masterclass in retention. Beyond their famously kind customer service, they invest in:

• Educational articles about pet health, behavior, and nutrition
• Reminder emails for autoship orders with helpful tips
• Personalized notes and even sympathy cards when a pet passes away

This is content that respects the emotional reality of pet ownership. It builds loyalty that shows up in repeat orders and word-of-mouth.

The focus on pet health and care echoes guidance from organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which stress the importance of responsible pet care and zoonotic disease awareness (CDC.gov). Chewy’s content makes that guidance practical.

Glossier: community-powered retention content

Glossier built its brand on community and feedback loops. Its retention content includes:

• “Get ready with me” tutorials featuring real customers
• Skincare routines built from their product line
• Social content that showcases customer photos and reviews

Customers don’t just consume content; they help create it. That sense of co-ownership makes it far more likely they’ll come back for refills and new launches.

If you sell physical products, your examples include:

• Care and maintenance guides that extend product life
• Styling or usage guides that show multiple ways to use a product
• Seasonal content that reminds customers when to restock or upgrade

How to build your own top content marketing examples for retention

Looking at examples of top content marketing examples for retention is helpful, but the point is to build your own system, not copy someone else’s playbook.

A practical way to start:

Map your customer lifecycle. Identify the key moments where content can make or break retention:

• First week after signup or purchase
• First time they hit a roadblock or need support
• Renewal or repurchase windows
• Milestones (90 days, 6 months, 1 year)

For each moment, define one content asset that would help. For example:

• A 7-day onboarding email series with short videos
• A searchable help center with bite-sized tutorials
• Quarterly webinars for power users
• Personalized “here’s what you’ve achieved” reports

Measure like you mean it. Tie each piece of content to a metric:

• Activation rate
• Product usage depth (features used, sessions per week)
• Renewal rate or subscription length
• Repeat purchase rate or average order value

This is how your own work becomes one of the best examples others talk about when they discuss content marketing for retention.

FAQ: examples of content marketing for retention

Q1: What are some simple examples of content marketing for retention I can launch quickly?
Start with a post-purchase or post-signup email sequence that:

• Welcomes the customer and sets expectations
• Shares a short “getting started” guide
• Links to your top 3–5 help articles or tutorials
• Checks in after 7–14 days to ask if they’re stuck

Even this basic sequence can reduce early churn and support tickets.

Q2: What is an example of retention content for a small ecommerce brand?
A small skincare brand, for instance, could send:

• A routine guide tailored to the products in a customer’s order
• Educational content on ingredients and how to layer products
• A reminder email 25–30 days later with tips on consistency and an optional reorder offer

That’s a practical, low-budget example of content marketing that encourages repeat purchases.

Q3: How often should I publish retention-focused content?
Frequency depends on your product. A fitness app or news subscription might justify daily content. A B2B software tool might focus on weekly product tips, monthly webinars, and quarterly deep dives. The key is consistency and relevance, not sheer volume.

Q4: How do I know if my retention content is working?
Track cohorts of customers exposed to specific content versus those who aren’t. Look at activation, product usage, renewal, and repeat purchase metrics. If customers who consume certain content behave differently (in a good way), you’re on the right track.

Q5: Where can I learn more about customer retention strategies beyond content?
For broader research on customer loyalty and behavior, you can explore resources from universities and public institutions such as:

• Marketing and management research from Harvard Business School (Harvard.edu)
• Consumer behavior and health-adjacent engagement research from the National Institutes of Health (NIH.gov)
• Public guidance on communication, trust, and long-term engagement from agencies like the CDC in health contexts (CDC.gov)

Use those insights to inform your own examples of top content marketing examples for retention, then adapt them to your audience and business model.