7 Ways To Segment Your Email List

6 Jul 2023

As email marketers, one of the basic success formulas to know is that if you segment rather than send-to-all, your campaigns will be more effective. 

In fact, using segmentation to target marketing campaigns has been shown to deliver a 70% higher ROI, according to Salespanel

For the uninitiated, segmentation is the art of sending tailored messaging to suit the target market. It allows businesses to use the data they have about customers to speak to them as individuals, making the messaging feel more personalised. Segmentation not only drives leads and sales, but can reduce costs for businesses too. 

With an email marketing platform such as EcoSend by your side, segmentation is a piece of cake (or a tree, seen as we’ll plant them on your behalf as a business). 

But here are some other ways you can segment your list for email marketing success. 

Amount Spent

Whether a customer has spent a lot with your business or is yet to spend anything at all - you can still learn a lot about them to be able to tailor your email campaigns to suit. 

For instance, if a customer has purchased lots of products or services (depending on what your business does) you’ll have a sales history to base your campaigns on. Maybe you can suggest products that will complement their previous purchases. Or send them a customer engagement email to check in on their overall satisfaction. 

Likewise, if a customer keeps browsing your website but is yet to make a purchase, you can also send engagement campaigns to identify any hurdles in the sales journey. 

Demographics

Demographics and segmentation go hand in hand. After all, why treat every user the same when we’re all unique?

Maybe you want to segment your list based on the age of your customers even or their interests. In EcoSend alone you can segment your campaigns based on a wide range of factors.

As with all forms of segmentation, the reason why it’s so effective is that when you segment, you speak directly to that person. In contrast, sending a generic message hoping it lands the same for everyone is something that rarely works. 

Email Engagement

Any email platform worth its salt will tell you about your email engagement rates. The ability to see which users are actively engaging (or not) with your campaigns also allows you to segment your lists. 

A simple example is sending re-engagement campaigns to users who haven’t opened any of your messages in a while. Research suggests re-engagement emails can encourage 45% of users to open that email. If the user continues not to engage with your campaigns, you can remove the inactive contact to clean your email list.

Segmenting using engagement levels also allows you to concentrate your marketing budget in the most valuable way for your business. 

Geographic Area

Depending on where your users live, your campaigns could be more or less relevant to them.

For instance, if you want to email users about an event you're holding, it would make sense to email those who live close to that city, rather than those on the other side of the world. 

Even as an ecommerce business, you can segment based on the geographic area to advertise more relevant products based on the seasons or trends that apply. 

Past Purchases

When customers shop with you, this creates an invaluable digital trail of their wants, needs and overall preferences. 

As an email marketer, you can use practically any of the information given during the sales process to segment your list. 

This could include advertising when their most-ordered products are on sale. Or you could email them special promotions as valued customers. Depending on what your business happens to do, there are endless ways to provide relevance through segmentation for your loyal customers. 

Position In Sales Funnel

On any email list, there will be users who are just discovering your business right through to those who have done business with you for years.

So it makes sense to segment your list based on where someone is within the sales journey. Doing so ensures you deliver the right information with the most appropriate tone of voice. 

For customers yet to complete their purchase, considering their position in the sales funnel can also help get them over the line. This can be through incentives or simply tailored advertising. 

Survey Results

Survey results practically hand you sales on a plate. That is if you use the information your users have taken the time to give you to your advantage. 

It’s possible to ask any kind of question in a survey. Good questions include how users feel about your products or services, and if they’d recommend you to a friend. 

Also, you can use surveys to learn more about your customers as individuals. The information they give allows you to perform perfect segmentation that impresses in all the right ways. 

EcoSend - Discover Sustainable Email Marketing For Your Campaigns

Did you know that segmentation is better for the planet? 

Few businesses realise that emails have a carbon footprint. But with every email emitting up to 26g of carbon, and some 300 billion emails sent every day that soon adds up.

Alongside segmentation, EcoSend can make your email campaigns cleaner and greener.

Sign up for your free trial of EcoSend to get started. 

Or, if you have any questions about switching your email marketing over to EcoSend, please send our team a message (opens in a new tab). 


About the author

Rachael O'Flaherty

Content Writer

Grow your business sustainably

Get the EcoSend Weekly newsletter — inspiration, helpful tips, and a good giggle, every Friday.

Grow your business sustainably

Get the EcoSend Weekly newsletter — inspiration, helpful tips, and a good giggle, every Friday.

Grow your business sustainably

Get the EcoSend Weekly newsletter — inspiration, helpful tips, and a good giggle, every Friday.

The email marketing platform for better business

Win new customers, send better email, and make the planet better with every campaign.

  • Free Email Templates

  • Smart Segmentation

  • Lead Forms

  • Automated Campaigns

  • Automatic Offsetting

  • Team Sharing

  • HTML Email Editor

  • Multi-channel Campaigns

  • Drip Campaigns

  • MailChimp Import

  • Zapier Integration

  • Powerful API

The email marketing platform for better business

Win new customers, send better email, and make the planet better with every campaign.

  • Free Email Templates

  • Smart Segmentation

  • Lead Forms

  • Automated Campaigns

  • Automatic Offsetting

  • Team Sharing

  • HTML Email Editor

  • Multi-channel Campaigns

  • Drip Campaigns

  • MailChimp Import

  • Zapier Integration

  • Powerful API