4 Ways to Segment Your Email List

What does your email list look like? No, not how many emails you have. How is it organized? Is it organized? Too many companies overlook list segmentation, when it’s one of the most important features of email marketing. By breaking out your list, you can send targeted emails to the people most likely to act. That’s powerful.

Azure Collier from Constant Contact has 4 tips on how to segment your list:

1. Ask for their preference.

One way to segment or group your contacts is by using email lists and asking your subscribers to choose the lists they’re interested in.

Fashion retailer No Rest for Bridget created lists for their communications and subscribers have the opportunity to choose what lists they’re interested in — emails that contain in-store sales and promotions, information about new products, online sales, or all news and sales.

Their subscribers receive information that’s relevant to them and won’t find unnecessary emails in their inbox.

2. Know their location.

You can learn a lot about what your subscribers are interested in based on their location. Robert Paul Properties — a real estate firm in Massachusetts — asks subscribers about the locations they’re interested in right in their email sign-up form.

They can easily target emails about new listings in certain towns and areas of the state to the subscribers who have expressed interest in those locations.

3. Pay attention to purchasing behavior.

Audience behavior is another great way to segment. Find out what your audience is interested in by using your email reports to see what they’re opening and clicking on. You can save those people to an existing list or create a new one.

You can also create lists for customers who purchased a particular product or service and send them emails about those items.

The Festival City Theatres Trust in Edinburg, Scotland, has 20 different email lists for the different types of performances they host and communications they send.

Subscribers choose from the lists when they sign up. And when someone purchases a ticket, they’re added to a list for that type of show as well.

4. Focus on your relationship.

Some businesses and organizations have very distinct audiences that they communicate with. That’s why organizing their lists by the relationship or customer status helps them get the right information in front of the right people.

Fairy Dogparents, a nonprofit organization in Massachusetts, divides lists by events attendees, board members, general information, people interested in specific initiatives, and volunteers.

That way their donors can stay updated on how their contribution is making an impact and volunteers will be notified when their services are needed.

* * *

Are Your Emails Generating Leads?

Are your emails performing how they should? Sign up today for a FREE trial of Constant Contact. Then take your marketing strategy to the next level with our Buzz Builders online marketing programs.