9 Ways To Segment Your Audience Better

Is your email list feeling more like a huge, unwieldy crowd than a group of engaged individuals? You are not alone. Many marketers struggle to send emails that truly resonate with their audience. The trick? It lies in how well you segment your audience. Think of it like having a room full of people. You would not speak to all of them at once. You would break them into smaller groups. So you can speak to them in ways that mean more to them. This approach will help you to make your email marketing work much better. It moves away from a one-size-fits-all method and gets into tailored messages that win clicks and build real bonds with your users. Ready to make your emails more personal and powerful? This piece shows you nine ways to divide your list and get far better email results.

What is Audience Segmentation, and Why Does It Matter?

Before we jump into tactics, let’s get clear on what segment your audience means. It is simply the process of dividing your email list into smaller, more specific groups based on shared traits. These traits can be almost anything you can think of. This could include how they act, who they are, what they buy, or what they like. The point is, you aim for groups that have something in common that you can use to send better emails.

Why go to all that work, though? Well, imagine getting a message that seems like it was made just for you. It speaks to your needs and wants. How would that make you feel compared to getting an email that’s clearly a mass send? Most people like a personal touch. Here’s what effective segmentation brings to the table:

• Better Open and Click-Through Rates: When messages speak right to a segment’s interest, you’re more likely to see them open your emails and click the links.
• More Conversions: If you send the right message to the right group, they will be more likely to buy, sign up, or do whatever it is that you want them to do.
• Less Unsubscribes: Sending emails that are relevant to your people means fewer people will choose to leave your list.
• A Stronger Sender Reputation: If more people open and act on your emails, inbox providers will view you in a good way. Your emails won’t be marked as spam.
• Higher ROI: All these good things lead to better results for your time and money spent on email marketing.

In short, if you’re still sending a single, very general email to everyone on your list, you’re missing chances to build connections. You are also losing out on more money. Good segmentation will change how you do email marketing. It’s not about sending more emails, but sending the right ones.

9 Ways to Segment Your Audience Better

Now you know why you must segment your list, it’s time to see how to do it. Below are nine ways to break down your list. They each offer unique chances to make your emails more specific.

1. Segment by Demographics

Demographic data is the basic stuff of your list. This includes stuff such as:

• Age: Young folks may want to see different stuff than those who are older.
• Gender: This is a very big one, especially in fields where there are clear differences in products or how people see them.
• Location: People near you may want to get invites to local events. While those further away might like to see different content.
• Income: Some people have more money to spend than others, and so you might need to think about different products or special deals.
• Job Title: Those with high jobs will often look for different kinds of products compared to those with entry-level jobs.
• Education: The more educated might like to see content that is more technical, compared to content for those who have just started out in a field.

How to Use It: Say you are selling clothes. You can send male clothes to guys, and female clothes to ladies. You could show warmer clothes to those who live in colder places. You could also give deals to those who are known to have lower incomes.

Example: A travel agency could send ads about family trips to those who have young kids. It could also send out ads about couples getaways to older folks who don’t have young kids.

Tip: You can collect this data via signup forms or by adding this data to your list later. Make sure that you’re up front with your users about what info you are getting. Never collect more data than you must.

2. Segment by Purchase History

What a user has bought in the past is a very strong sign of what they will want in the future. Segment by:

• What They Bought: If they bought product X, they may also want to get product Y. Or perhaps a deal on a new version of product X.
• How Often They Buy: Frequent buyers might like to get into a loyalty plan, while new or rare buyers may want deals.
• How Much They Spend: Those who buy often and spend more should get special treatment.

How to Use It: Use what you know to make emails that offer real value. If someone bought a book, you could show them more books by that author, or books in a similar topic.

Example: A book seller could send emails with new books. These could be from the authors people have bought in the past, or books that are similar to what they have read.

Tip: Your email platform must be linked up with your sales platform so that you can keep track of this data. Also, think about the lifetime value of the users who buy from you.

3. Segment by Email Engagement

How people act with your emails is a clear sign of how interested they are. You can segment people based on:

• Open Rate: Those who open your emails often can be called engaged, while those who rarely do will want a new plan of action.
• Click-Through Rate: If they are clicking links, they like what they see. If not, you must fix what is not working.
• Time Since Last Open: Did they used to act on your emails but have stopped? You may want to take steps to get them back.

How to Use It: Send people who act on your emails more often exclusive stuff. Perhaps it could be early access to a sale, or a sneak peek at a new product. Take a new approach to those who are not very engaged, or think about removing them from your list.

Example: A news site could send its best articles to users who always open their emails, and ask less active users what kind of stories they like best.

Tip: Use your email platform’s stats to keep tabs on this data, and make sure your links all work.

4. Segment by Website Behavior

What a user does on your website is like a trail of digital clues. Track things like:

• Pages Visited: Did they only look at the sales page for one product, or did they view several pages?
• Time Spent: Did they take long to look around, or did they come and go?
• Items in Cart: Did they put something in the cart and then leave?
• Searches: What things did they search for?
• Downloads: What did they choose to download?

How to Use It: You can use this data to send emails that show they you know what they are looking for. Send someone who viewed a product sales page an email with that product or with related products. Send someone who did not check out a reminder of the items in their cart.

Example: A place that sells tools can send an email to those who viewed the sales pages of a new tool or other tools like that.

Tip: Use tools such as Google Analytics to get this data. Then, make sure to link that data to your email platform.

5. Segment by Lead Magnet Interactions

Lead magnets are like bait. They are free things you give away to get people to sign up for your email list. They include stuff such as:

• eBooks: Did someone download a guide to growing flowers?
• Webinars: Did they join a talk on how to improve a website?
• Checklists: Did they get a plan for social media content?
• Free Tools: Did they sign up to use a free tool for marketing?

How to Use It: This tells you their interests, and so you must send them more emails that cover that topic. You should also think about giving them a product that will work with their interest.

Example: If a business coach sees that someone got a guide to doing time management, they can show them more training videos on the topic.

Tip: Tag each lead magnet sign up on your email platform so that you can keep track of what people have gotten from you.

6. Segment by Stage in the Customer Journey

Not everyone on your list is ready to buy. Some users may only just be learning about you, while others are ready to buy right now. So, think about:

• Awareness: These people are just getting to know you. They need to learn more about what you do.
• Interest: These people know what you do, and they now want to know how you can help them.
• Decision: These people are ready to buy, and they may want to get discounts.
• Loyalty: These people have bought from you, and they want to feel like they are part of your group.

How to Use It: Send different kinds of emails based on where someone is. For those at the start of the journey, you could send educational articles. For those who are near the end, you might show product sales pages or deal offers.

Example: A yoga business could send videos and articles about the worth of yoga to those at the start, then talk about yoga classes to those who know that yoga is for them.

Tip: Put a tag on people based on what they do in your emails or on your site.

7. Segment by Preference Center Choices

A preference center is a place where users can change the kind of emails they get from you. Let them pick:

• Email Frequency: Let them say how often they want to get emails.
• Content Topics: Let them pick which kinds of emails they like best.
• Communication Style: Some people may want less selling, while others might want to only get sales deals.

How to Use It: Respect their choices and they will respect you more. Always honor the preferences they make. This shows them that you care about what they want.

Example: A cooking website could let people pick if they want to see articles about baking, healthy eating, or both.

Tip: Make sure your preference center is very easy to find in your emails, and easy to use.

8. Segment by Survey Responses

Surveys are a good way to know what users want. You can segment based on:

• Feedback on your products: What do users like or dislike about what you sell?
• Content preferences: What kind of content do they want to see?
• Pain Points: What problems do they want you to fix for them?

How to Use It: Use what they say to give better options. Those who like X should see more X. Those who have a problem with Y may need help with Y.

Example: A software company could send a group of users who asked for better mobile support emails about how they are making progress on that topic.

Tip: Keep your surveys short and to the point, and be ready to send out emails to fix the problems that your users are talking about.

9. Segment by Time Zones

If your audience is all over the world, you must think about time zones. Segment by:

• Time Zone: Users should get emails at a time that works best for them, not at a random time.

How to Use It: Make sure you send emails so they get to people during their work or at times when they are free.

Example: A news site could send out daily news emails to people based on where they live in the world.

Tip: Many email platforms will let you set up emails to go out at different times based on where the user is in the world.

Key Tools for Audience Segmentation

To segment well, you must use the correct tools. Here are some key tools to know:

• Email Marketing Platforms: Tools like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, and ConvertKit let you make segments based on many factors, track how your emails do, and automate email sends.
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems: CRMs like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zoho help you manage all your user data. They give you a full view of each customer, which is very helpful for good segmentation.
• Website Analytics: Google Analytics gives you data on how people act on your site, which will help you to make better segments.
• Marketing Automation Tools: Tools like Marketo, Pardot, and ActiveCampaign help you automate the way you segment and how you send out emails.
• Survey Platforms: Tools such as Typeform, SurveyMonkey, and Google Forms help you gather data from users via surveys, which helps you to get very useful data.

The goal is to use these tools to make segments. Then, use those segments to make emails that feel more personal to each of your users.

How to Plan Your Segmentation Strategy

Good segmentation does not just happen. It takes planning. Here’s how to plan your own segmentation strategy:

1. Set Your Goals: What do you want to reach with your emails? More sales? More clicks? More time on the site? Keep that goal in mind as you segment.
2. Gather Data: Use your tools to get all the data you can. This data should include details on who your users are, what they have done, and what they like.
3. Select Segments: Pick the segments that will make the most sense based on your goals and data. Do not just make a whole bunch of segments without a purpose.
4. Make Content: Make emails that are tailored for each segment you choose. Be sure to use the words and ideas that will speak right to each group.
5. Test and Improve: Test how well your emails work with each segment. Then, look for the weak areas and then make them stronger.

Think of segmentation as a thing that is always changing. As you learn more about what works for your users, you must be ready to change how you segment your list and how you send your emails.

Potential Downsides to Avoid

Although segmentation is key, there are some downsides to think about:

• Over Segmentation: You can divide too much. Do not make segments that are too small, or you may not have enough data to make them work well.
• Static Segmentation: Users’ needs and likes change, so make sure to change up your segments as well. If you do not change them up, you might be sending the wrong emails to people.
• Data Issues: If the data you use is not right, your segments will not be right either. Make sure the data you use is clean and up to date.
• Too Much Work: Segmentation can add to your workload, but good planning will make sure you are not wasting time.

If you are aware of these downsides and you take steps to fight them, you will make the best of your segmentation. You will also make your email marketing more powerful.

The Way Forward

In this piece, we looked at nine ways to segment your list. But that’s only the start of it. The more you get into the fine details of your users, the better you can tailor your message to them. This is not just about sending emails. It is about building real, personal connections with each user. So, stop thinking about your list as one big thing. Start thinking of it as a group of users who each deserve emails that are made just for them. You might be surprised how far those steps will take you.