Why Should You Segment Your Email List?

Imagine your email list is like a buffet. You wouldn't serve everyone the same dish, would you? Some prefer spicy, others sweet. Email segmentation is like that. It lets you serve up the perfect content for each person on your list.

Email marketing is not all about writing and sending emails. It is so complex that even the biggest brands outsource the task to experts.?

Recent stats show email marketing generates an average return of $36 for every dollar spent. Plus, global email marketing revenue is projected to reach $12.33 billion in 2024.

In email marketing, results are certain, whether good or bad. However, sky-level results are guaranteed when you deliver the right message to the right people, at the right time.?

This is where email segmentation comes in.

Segmentation makes it possible to reach the right people with the right message. It allows for a personalized and tailored conversation between you and your audience.

Recent stats reveal email list segmentation resulted in more than 75% of email ROI.

What is Email Segmentation?

Email segmentation refers to splitting your subscribers into smaller groups based on set criteria. Think of it as dividing your email list into groups of subscribers with similar interests, behaviors, or demographics for effective marketing.

But Why Segment your Email List?

Like other digital marketing channels, you should understand your subscribers aren't the same. Plus, because you target different personas with different goals, you have to segment your list – otherwise, you'll mix up the offers and wonder why you're not getting results.

Email segmentation is too important to be ignored. Whether you run a small-sized email list of 50 people or 500 - 2,000 email subscribers. You stand a higher chance of reaping higher results by segmenting your list.

Here are a few Benefits of Email Segmentation

• Happy Customers: When people get emails that matter to them, they're more likely to open, click, and even buy.?
• Better Results: Targeted emails mean better open rates, click-through rates, and sales. And you know what these metrics mean to your business.
• Smarter Marketing: Segmentation can somehow make you look like a mind reader for your audience. You can learn what your customers like and dislike, and tailor your emails to their tastes.?
• Less Spam: People love relevant emails. When you segment your list, you're less likely to annoy people with irrelevant stuff. It's like being a good friend who only texts you when it's important.

How To Segment Your Email List

Here are 5 solid ways to segment your email list as a newbie marketer or business owner (no matter your industry).

Demographics (Who They Are)

Segmenting email lists by demographic allows you to sort subscribers based on age, location, or gender.

Demographic data are basic information that differentiates your customer from one another. It depends on your specific business and the areas that you operate within.

For some businesses, gathering data such as age, gender, and location is okay. Others would need to drill down to ask subscribers to add nationality, country, company size, occupation, and so on.?

In the end, the goal is to categorize your email list subscribers based on “who they are”.

Let's imagine you own a fashion business for a minute.?

You can split your email list based on your subscribers’ gender. Then send out women's fashion offers to women and Men's fashion offers to men.

Or Example 2:

You know that some fashion styles sell better for people of different ages. You could sort your list based on subscribers' ages and send them offers that match their age grade.

Segmenting email list by demographic is one of the easiest ways to segment your email list because most of the data needed are captured in the lead-in forms.?

Based on Behavioral Changes (The Actions They Take)

As the name implies, behavioral segmentation refers to grouping your email subscribers based on their behavioral traits (actions). Unlike demographic segmentation which sorts subscribers based on who they are, behavioral segmentation is separating email subscribers according to their actions.

This could mean segmenting your email list based on email engagements (clicks and opens), purchase frequency, or inactivity.

For instance, you sent an email about a new product or service to your subscribers. Did they click on the attached link? Put those who clicked on the link in one group (and give them a name). Then send targeted emails because they showed interest in your new offer.

Or, has that loyal customer who buys from you every quarter stopped buying of late? Or is there a drop in email engagements?

You may need to send them a custom email to uncover what's up. Perhaps, they need assistance (who knows?). But segmentation has allowed you to find out, show you care, and make them feel special -- another fantastic way to keep customer retention high.?

Next up is segmenting by sales funnel position.

Based on Sales Funnel Position

You must have come across the upside-down pyramid or funnel-like diagram. It shows a customer's journey from the awareness stage (Top of the funnel) to the conversion stage (Bottom of the funnel).?

Chances are you've seen different versions of it, but they’re basically the same.

Your email list, like most email lists, should have subscribers that fit into some (if not all) stages of the sales funnel.?

You wouldn’t want to send an introductory email to a subscriber at the bottom of the funnel who’s ready to buy from you. Same way, you won't send a promotional offer to someone at the top of the funnel who recently joined your email list because you offered free information.?

By segmenting your email list based on customers' position in your sales funnel, you're certain every subscriber receives the tailored email content that they need.

A study by MailChimp sampled 11,000 segmented emails of roughly 2,000 Mailchimp users, and then compared the results against non-segmented emails. And this was their result;

• “14.31% more opens
• 10.64% more unique opens
• 100.95% more clicks
• 4.65% fewer bounces
• 3.9% fewer abuse reports
• 9.73% fewer unsubscribes”.

As a beginner, you can start by adopting a suitable segmentation type to give you the desired results. Segmentation is even easier now with the presence of email marketing services such as Mailchimp, Hubspot, ConvertKit, Drip, and many others.

Was this insightful? Let me know in the comment section.