How to Segment an Email List? Best Tips, Ideas and Strategies {2023}

Are you trying to know how to segment an email list effectively? You may wonder how best to manage and classify customers or which data points are most helpful in targeting the right people with the right message.

It can be difficult to navigate all possible ways to use segmentation as part of your email marketing campaign — particularly when there’s so much potential for success. In today’s blog post, we’ll explore some of the top strategies to help you build effective segments within your emails and deploy campaigns more accurately.

What is Email Segmentation?

Email segmentation is a valuable marketing technique that lets marketers tailor messages directed towards the interests and preferences of their audience.

By dividing subscribers into smaller groups, based on measures such as age, location or purchase history, organizations can build more personalized content for each group, leading to greater customer engagement.

Benefits of Email Segmentation

Here are some of the major benefits of email segmentation;

Boosts open rates: Using email subject lines best practices, you can design more attention-grabbing and relevant subject lines, raise the chances of your emails getting noticed and bypass mindlessly archiving them without thinking twice.

Increases click-through rates: As soon as that email hits the receivers’ inbox, you can expect some activities from your eager readers. Moreover, don’t forget to add enticing calls to action. They’ll be clicking through to find the exciting new sale or delving deeper into your latest and greatest offering. 

Enhances conversion rates: Did you know that the more you close in on a goal, the more motivated you become? This is called the gradient goal effect, and it can work in your favor when converting website visitors into customers. 

Now that they’re on your site, your target audience is just a few clicks away from signing up for that amazing webinar you’re offering or purchasing your amazing products.

Decreases unsubscribers: You like to expand your subscriber base, not shrink it. Sending unrelated emails could facilitate people to give up on your offerings to reduce noise in their inboxes. 

Avoids spam filters: Even if someone doesn’t personally unsubscribe after one too many irrelevant emails, their inbox may mark your attempts as spam. Segmented lists enhance email deliverability. 

Now that you have understood what email segmentation is, and its benefits. It is time to learn how to segment an email list. Let’s move ahead.

How to Segment an Email List?

Crafting the perfect email list segmentation approach requires deeply understanding your target audience. Your strategy will vary depending on your business, whether you’re selling a product or service; remember; every customer seeks a solution to their needs. 

You can win their trust, loyalty, and buying power by tailoring your messaging and targeting their unique needs.  You might choose to segment by:

• Geography: Online businesses must find their customers’ whereabouts and buying preferences. Have you ever wondered where your faithful customers are located? Perhaps they have a preference for a specific currency. 
  
  Understanding these details can give you a sense of better serving and engaging with your audience. Ensure you don’t miss out on the opportunity to connect with your customers more personally.

• Gender: Captivate your audience by tailoring your message for men and women! From fashion to tech, how you interact could make all the difference.
  
  
• Language: Don’t miss opportunities to engage with your multilingual audience. Don’t assume someone’s preferred language based on their location. 
  
  You need to segment your email lists effectively and deliver personalized content in your audience’s preferred language. Get success by paying attention to the language on the pages where your contacts are converting.

• Business type: Use custom fields in your forms to delve deep into your contacts’ business and industry. With a thorough understanding of their needs and wishes, craft personalized messages directly communicating their most pain points and relevant products or services. 
  
  It is time to upgrade your approach and transform your outreach with this innovative approach to creating meaningful relationships.

• Engagement level: Take your email marketing game to the next level by sorting your contacts into highly-engaged groups based on what they click on, how frequently they open your emails, and more.
  
  You can even launch “re-engagement” campaigns for those who need extra encouragement to get back into the fold. Create stronger relationships and boost your engagement levels with these targeted segments.

• Website activity: By analyzing visitors’ behavior on your site, you’ll acquire valuable insights that can be used to build personalized and engaging nurturing emails. 
  
  For instance, if someone has shown interest in your mouth-watering cupcake recipes and subscribed to your Ultimate Cupcake Tower Inspiration blog post, you can be sure they’re a big fan of all things sweet. 
  
  Make use of this information to deliver tailored content that suits your audience and keeps them returning for more.

• Lead magnet interaction: Make use of popular lead magnets such as ebooks and downloadables that convert your contacts into lifelong followers. Plus, learn insight into which pop-ups and opt-ins they can’t resist.
  
  Get ahead of your competitors and create a winning strategy that keeps your contacts returning.

• Stage in your marketing funnel: Effective email marketing is about customizing your message to your audience. Businesses can make their message go further by recognizing that the message that resonates with a fresh marketing lead differs from the one that will hook a sales-ready prospect. 
  
  Including this simple yet powerful technique in your email marketing strategy has never been easier, and it all begins with smart segmentation.

After learning how to segment an email list, let’s learn about the email segmentation strategies.

7 Email Segmentation Strategies

Here are a few email segmentation strategies you should consider while launching an email campaign

1. Get subscribers interested immediately

If you can engage subscribers when they subscribe to the email list, persuading them to open future emails is more convenient. Many people carefully consider joining an email list, so it’s important to start sending content that goes well with new subscribers promptly. 

Make sure you send a welcome email to recent subscribers highlighting how much the brand values them. 

Further, incorporate links to educational content they may discover interesting and can click on instantly. You can segment new subscribers, so they acquire emails they may benefit from and encourage them to remain subscribed. 

2. Allow users to select their preferences

Subscribers understand the content they like to interact with via email. During unsubscribing processes, consider letting subscribers select the type of emails they receive so they feel the brand respects them and send them valuable content. 

You can offer this once you’ve established a connection with the audience, and they’re more familiar with the content they get from your business. You can also let them receive emails on different topics, including regular updates, discounts, new products, blog posts, and important changes.

3. Group active buyers based on satisfaction

We all know that you can’t please everyone. Some customers feel happy with their brand experience, while other customers may not share a similar experience. Comprehending a customer’s satisfaction level with a business is essential for general customer service, but you can also segment your list based on the same criteria.

For instance, include satisfied customers in the list of more engaged users who often send updates on new products and discounts, as they may benefit from these offerings. For unsatisfied customers, include them in a list where you send blog updates so they acquaint themselves with the business first.

4. Leverage open rates

Prompt subscribers to read the emails. Moreover, don’t forget to reward those who open emails frequently.  Try creating a distinct list for those who engage with the content more often and giving them incentives, like exclusive access to new products before it becomes available to others.

5. Segment users based on buying history

Segment users based on their buying behaviors and send them more appropriate emails. 

For example, you may send emails sharing the benefits of a company’s kids’ sunscreen to individuals who have bought the brand’s kid’s lotion before or other related products. 

Further, you can segment by the average purchase amount and overall purchase history.

Email Segmentation Ideas You Should Consider

1. Engage new subscribers with onboarding emails

Take your email campaign to the next level by implementing email segmentation; You can start by targeting customers who have signed up within the last month collecting their email addresses with an email search tool and launching a drip campaign of onboarding emails

These emails will enable your new subscribers to explore different features and tutorials and engage them with CTA.

Moreover, don’t hesitate to get creative with your segments throughout this onboarding campaign. By recognizing users who are curious about tutorials, you can target them with more valuable content. 

And if you see a group of new users wanting to upgrade, why not form a segment just for them? The options are endless, and the more tailored your emails are, the more involved and interested your subscribers will be. 

2. Reward loyal customers by incentivizing them

Building a loyal customer base can be a game-changer, especially for eCommerce businesses. Imagine your company is reaching an important milestone, and you like to thank your year-one customers. 

Presenting them with an exclusive coupon code is a great way to show gratitude and keep their loyalty to your brand.

Don’t forget to recognize your most engaged and top-spending customers as well. Providing them with early access to new products or services will strengthen your relationship and incentivize them to return.

With this idea, you can take your email marketing game to the next level and keep your customers engaged and loyal for years.

3. Lean into readers with high open rates

Engaging with your faithful customers through email marketing is essential. By identifying those who open at least 50% of your emails, you can keep them tied with exciting updates, exclusive offers, and fantastic content they’ll love. 

Plus, this group is the perfect prospect for market research surveys, so you can acquire valuable insights from those who are invested in your brand. 

By segmenting your emails based on content choices, you can ensure that each customer gets exactly what they like, making them feel valued and returning for more.

4. B2B vs B2C: keep them separated

Don’t make your audience feel alienated with generic emails. To make your email marketing succeed, segmentation is key. 

Try not to send your B2B customers the same content as your B2C customers – they have different requirements and wants! By separating your email lists, you can build targeted campaigns that speak directly to each audience. 

But don’t stop there – multiple segmented lists can exist simultaneously. So, start developing specific content for each group and watch your click-through rates soar.

5. Reel inactive customers back in

Don’t feel bad if your subscribers are ignoring your emails. Instead, build a special group for those not opening your messages. Maybe they’re overwhelmed with multiple emails or need a little nudge to get curious. 

Try tinkering with the frequency of your emails—more or less, relying on their preferences—until they start exhibiting some love. Just remember to track the data and not annoy them too much. After all, you don’t like to drive them away even more.

6. Show your regular buyers you value them

Do you have dedicated customers who always come back for more? Reward them with deluxe deals, invitations to exclusive events, and first dibs on new products. 

You can build personalized offers that show their unique purchase patterns by tapping into their purchasing pattern. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with your most loyal fans and take your marketing to the next level.

7. Gently remind those who didn’t purchase

Have you ever felt frustrated when somebody clicks on your website but doesn’t make a purchase? Don’t worry; there’s a smart way to bring these potential customers back. 

Utilize segmentation to send cart abandonment emails to those who have browsed products but haven’t purchased them. 

Try sending gentle reminders or discounts for those who clicked through an email but haven’t bought in the last five days. There are numerous reasons someone might not buy something – maybe they forgot, or the right option was out of stock. 

But by following up, you can stay top of mind and improve your chances of converting that click into a sale.

8. Inform prospects about restocks

If you are losing out on potential sales due to unavailable stock, stop relying on manual input to inform customers. Let automation do your work. 

Utilizing your site’s “Email me when back in stock” button, you can build a targeted email segment of interested customers eagerly waiting for the product to return. 

Moreover, you can encourage this segment with regular stock updates and even sweeten the deal with an apologetic discount code. Keeping your customers pleased has never been easier.

9. Nurture leads in the sales funnel

You should not just send the same tedious emails to everyone in your lead generation funnel. Depending on where people are in the funnel, they require targeted messages that speak directly to their requirements. 

For the warm leads, you should nurture them with all your product features and fun “getting to know us” campaigns and soft nudges to set up a scheduled call with the sales team. But your established customers?

They require a different approach altogether. Maybe they’re regular customers who need VIP treatment, or perhaps they’ve gone dormant and need a little reminder of how great you are. 

Whatever the case, you’ve got to personalize your messaging if you like to keep those leads flowing.

10. Adapt Behavioral Changes

Have you ever had a dedicated customer suddenly stop purchasing? You may wonder what went wrong. But don’t worry; there are many ways to re-engage those lost customers who haven’t bought in the past few months.

You could consider giving higher discounts or even ask them for their opinion through a survey. So don’t forget your lost customers; try some re-engagement techniques and notice if you can win them back for good.

Conclusion

Leverage segmentation to increase your email campaigns’ effectiveness by letting you target messages more accurately to your intended audience. 

You can build targeted contact lists tailored to your content and marketing goals with the right criteria. 

Don’t be shy to innovatively try new tactics within segmented groups – putting this approach into practice will help you stand out your company from your competitors.

We hope you find this blog on how to segment an email list helpful.

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