What exactly is segmentation of emails? (+ 5 ways to make it work) |
What exactly is email segmentation? Segmenting email lists can aid in increasing the open rate, keep customers engaged, and reach more inboxes. This is how you can do it.
What's going on?
If you're sending every email to your entire list this could be the reason. Your audience is made up of individuals, and they want you -- and each business with which they deal to treat them like that.
The good news is you don't have to write a painstakingly personalized email for every single user.
Instead, use email segmentation. When you segment your emails, you can give recipients the information they desire, which means greater email engagement, less unsubscribes, and happier customers.
Let's first make sure we're on same page about the definition of email segmentation.
What is the definition of email segmentation?
Segmentation involves breaking your list of email subscribers into smaller groups -and a.k.a. segments, based on set guidelines.
Instead instead of sending the same emails to their entire list marketers can deliver targeted emails to the subscribers in accordance with segments' demographics, preferences, purchase history, and many more.
Why is email segmentation a vital part of an email marketing plan? Continue reading to discover.
Why should you use the email segmentation feature?
Marketing through email is one of the most cost-effective and efficient advertising tools available:
59% of marketers use email as the top source of return on investment.
Email drives 174 per cent more conversions than social media.
Marketing via email has a return on investment of around $40 per dollar spent .
...but only if you do it right.
Now more than ever people expect to have a customized experience whenever they interact with a brand, and email is no different.
74% of marketers say personalization increases engagement.
72% of users only engage with marketing messages that target their needs.
Relevant emails generate 18 times more money than broadcasts that are generalized.
60% of users are highly annoyed by companies that use generic messaging.
51 percent of marketers who use email claim email list segmentation is the most efficient way to personalize their messages.
The segmentation is where it plays a role.
Segmentation lets you deliver different emails to different users based on their interest or past behaviour, the place they are in the sales process, and so much more.
As an example, you might not need to send an welcome email to a long-time loyal customer, or announce an event in your area to someone from across the world.
Beyond annoying that just one subscriber, you may also end up hurting your email deliverability.
The term "deliverability" refers to the number of your emails make it to subscribers' inboxes .
Email service providers (ESPs) and Inbox service providers (ISPs) seek to be sure that unwanted emails don't get into the inboxes of users, therefore they track a bunch of engagement metrics related to email for each sender. These include:
It's Open
Clicks
Unsubscribes
Bounces
Spam Reports
To put it more simply: If your subscribers open and click through the hyperlinks in your emails, this is good for the quality of your delivery. If they delete your emails and don't read them, or flag them as spam, it can hurt your deliverability.
If you have numerous spam complaints ISPs may block your email altogether.
"Think of engagement in emails as a type of trust gauge. If your emails are characterized by significant levels of engagement, mailbox providers view them as trustworthy senders and reward you with improved deliverability," explains email compliance analyst Robert Colomberti .
What do these issues have to have to do with segmentation?
If you separate your list of email subscribers, you can send emails that are tailored to your subscriber's preferences. When you are sending relevant specific emails, you'll be able to get around the number one reason people report emails as spam.
In terms of the ability to deliver, it's about the quality of your email, not its volume. Segmentation lets you focus more on engaged subscribers and less on users who are not engaged who are unlikely to become customers.
"Sending emails to your contacts who are active means more positive email engagement as well as more favorable email engagement means improved deliverability," Robert shares.
Okay, now that you understand whyemail segmentation is essential, let's dive into the how.
How to segment your email list (5 expert email segmentation strategies)
The more information you gather regarding your contacts, the more straightforward it will be to separate your email lists.
It's not a reason to develop endless email segments for the sake of it.
Yes, it's possible to overdo it and add a segment for any demographic, geographic, psychographic, and behavioral criteria out there .
But the larger the segments you make, the more work you'll be able to handle particularly if you wish to distribute different email advertising campaigns to each group of recipients.
Instead, concentrate on what makes each segment unique:
What are the factors that influence their purchasing decision-making?
What distinguishes them in comparison to their counterparts?
What hurdles do they have to run into while trying to reach their goals?
What topics are they attracted to learning more about?
If you're thinking about these questions In this article, we'll provide five methods to segment your list of email addresses beyond geographical area.
1. Offer lead magnets to learn about their needs and interests.
When you've created several lead magnets, you can begin sorting your subscribers according to which lead magnets they have downloaded.
Take Ryan of Signature Edits as an example. Signature Edits has templates, presets, and training for their target group of photographers.
Ryan knows that different photographers have different pain points, so Ryan has two lead magnets: a sample of his candid-posing tips as well as the free pack of photo editing presets .
When someone downloads one of the lead magnets, Ryan will send them follow-up email informing them of how his products and brand can help them succeed.
In the case of a person who opts to sign up for one of the presets for photo editing, Ryan knows that editing is a point of interest -- or perhaps a source of pain- for that person. If he has that information, Ryan can confidently promote the editing tools to that person.
Ryan is hosting his lead magnets on Twitter the website, which makes it simple to create segments based on downloads of lead magnets.
Here's how it works:
In your dashboard, navigate over to the Email tab. Click "Create" and then select "New Broadcast".
Give your email a subject line. Choose the subscribers who will receive your email.
When you host a digital product or membership on -- whether available for purchase or free, you are able to select the users who bought or downloaded the product as the recipients.
Customers who (1) have subscribed to your email list or (2) have bought or downloaded that item will receive your email. This is as simple as that.
Try it out for yourself with a free account.
If you're lacking the time to create several lead magnets, don't be concerned. There are plenty of other methods to divide your lead which includes our following suggestion.
2. Personalize messaging according to their understanding stage
Another method to separate your list of email subscribers is to determine where subscribers fall in the sales or marketing funnel.
The marketing funnel depicts a prospective customer's journey from their first interaction with your business until they make a purchase.
What stage a lead is placed at the end of the funnel will depend on how familiar they are with your product or brand and how close to making a purchasing decision.
Different marketers break their marketing funnels into different phases, which includes those who have five stages of awareness :
Really unaware:They don't know they are suffering from a.
Problem-aware:They are aware that they've an issue but do not know how to fix it.
Solutions-aware:They know there are solutions, but don't know what they are.
product-awareThey have heard about the products, but they don't know whether it's the right solution for them.
The most well-known:They know about your product and may be considering purchasing the item, but require more information.
If you are aware of an individual subscriber's stage of awareness and stage, you could mail them customized emails according to the information. (Personalized emails result in high conversion rates up to six times more than those sent without personalization and are definitely worth it.)
A solution-oriented lead knows that they can solve their issues, however they still need to learn about your service. Utilize your email's copy to build this subscriber's confidence in your abilities to assist achieve their goalsas in this template for email:
"Hi" [first name],
Are you a person who has struggled over [problem]?
You know, in an approach that causes you to feel emotion.
If yes, you're not alone.
Here's the fix:
[Step 1]
[Step 2]
[Step 3]
Yes, there's more to it, but there's not all that much.
That's it - really.
Hallelujah for easy methods.
If you'd like to know more about this, head over to our link resources page.
Copy to clipboard[signature]
What happens after a client reaches the bottom of the funnel and becomes an actual customer? This is the right way to do it.
3. Take into account their history of purchases
Upselling encourages customers to buy the most upgraded version of your product, and cross-selling suggests a item or service that is compatible with what they already purchased.
One creator who makes the most out of opportunities to upsell includes Reuven Lerner .
Reuven is an engineer of software, who turned his training company that was based in the offline world into online classes for all degree, which includes an "Intro Python" beginner's course.
"If you have many different courses -- intro, intermediate, advanced -and you're able to create the opportunity for an upsell as if your customers really love your intro course, they will beg you to offer an advanced course... Then they'll say"What do you think? I'm definitely going to get every single one of them.'"
Reuven can target happy customers who've already completed his introduction course, and suggest enrolling in the more advanced courses. It's a staggering 75% of consumers tend to buy if they're given specific product suggestions.
Building that type of customer loyalty is an excellent for business:
52% buyers go over and above to shop at brands they're loyal to.
Repeat customers have 9 times higher likely convert over a new customer.
It could cost as much as seven times more to acquire an additional customer than it does to retain an existing one.
Similar to lead magnets, this makes it easy for authors such as Reuven to segment customers based on purchases. When you go to create an email blast just select the title of the product in "Recipients".
As before, clients who (1) have subscribed to your email list and (2) purchased the item will be sent the email.
In a nutshell If you are aware of the products your customers have purchased (and liked) and loved, you can send them emails with personalized recommendations and turn your subscribers into loyal customers.
4. Utilize interactive content
Interactive content refers to all types of content which requires participation from the user. This is fast becoming one the most popular and enjoyable forms of content marketing: 88% of marketers claim that engaging content can help them distinguish their business from others.
Additionally, interactive content has nearly double the amount of engagement of static media.
The creator Minessa Konecky of Direct to Success makes use of interactive games to attract and get to know new prospects.
Minessa created the lead generation quiz " What's Your Business Blocker? ", by using Interact Quiz Maker. Interactive Quiz Maker .
After someone takes her quiz, Minessa segments them into the following three groups:
Unsuspecting:Small business owners who have too much to handle and aren't certain how they can manage their time.
Professional midlifeEntrepreneurs who have learned what they should know but haven't figured out what to do to link actions to a strategy.
Perpetual Procrastinators:People who understand exactly what they have to accomplish yet aren't able to start on their own.
Based on the group the lead belongs to, Minessa moves them through the funnel, sharing one of three free courses that address their particular pain points.
When her leads are reach the end of the funnel, Minessa introduces the leads to her offerings and asks them to make purchases or join her membership, The Squad Academy .
By bringing in leads with engaging content Minessa gives customers a more personalized experience from the first mailers receive to the entire customer journey.
As we close out the session this segment, I've got one last segmentation technique to share with all of you. It's all thanks to my mom.
5. Ask them what they want
The most helpful advice I've received was "it always helps to ask." (Thanks Mama!)
This is a great piece of life advice -that can be applied to understanding the needs of your customers also. An online survey on segmentation helps you understand the kind of content that your subscribers want to receive.
"Even sending a one-question survey can help gauge an interest, want or desire from your subscribers," explains digital marketing professional Erik Harbison . "This is a great way to decide on a better way to approach your message, cadence of sending, and expectations."
The welcome email you receive is a great place to ask new subscribers what kind of content they want to receive. In the end, they're basically the MVPs of email marketing:
The welcome emails of your company can be sent out with an up to 91.43 percent open rate .
The most active leads will be interested within the first 48 hours after signing up.
Emails for welcome messages have an average of 4x the open rate and five times that click-through (CTR) of a typical campaign.
Use this welcome email sent by Sleeknote , for example .
The Sleeknote blog is focused on online marketing, however their readership is comprised of a range of business owners and marketers. When new customers are asked to sign up as a subscriber, the Sleeknote marketing team has the ability to divide down their subscribers into four groups:
Ecommerce
SaaS entrepreneurs
Agencies
Online marketing newbies
In return, customers receive content specific to their needs and preferences, allowing them to maximize their Sleeknote subscription.
If you're concerned about offending your customers by asking for their feedback, keep in mind the fact that the majority of shoppers tend to have a positive opinion of companies who give the opportunity for customers with feedback.
It's as simple as this: When in doubt you can ask your readers what they want. They'll likely be happy to tell you.
Take your email marketing to the next level with segmentation
In the end, segmenting your email list can be a great option to deliver the perfect message to the right subscribers at the right moment.
If you separate your list of email addresses to create an individual experience that transforms leads into customers and keeps customers coming back for more.
For a recap, here are five expert ways you can divide your subscriber base:
Develop lead magnets that cater to various needs. Then, segment based on which one your customers download.
Tailor your messaging to where a lead is within the funnel of marketing. Utilize 5 stages of awareness -as well as our templates to create emails that resonate with your audience.
Make use of your customer's purchase history to provide specific product suggestions.
Make interactive content, such as a quiz, that helps to better understand your leads and customers.
Ask your subscribers what types of content they want to receive. A simple survey can be a great help.
It may take some trial and error however once you've got you are comfortable, get ready to watch the engagement of your customers, sales as well as brand loyalty rise.