Emails are a time-tested way to get your message across, and segmenting your list can make it even more effective.

As a business owner, you always want to deliver your message to your ideal audience, and one proven way to do so is by segmenting your email list into smaller groups. Consider the following factors to get more bang for your marketing buck and improve the likelihood that your email recipients become raving fans.

Who: define your demographics

Determine which personas are best suited for what you provide. Age, gender, household size, income, and education are just some crucial characteristics to weigh.

What: understand their driving forces

Ask questions about what your customers like. What are their interests? What have they purchased before? What groups are they part of?

When: track their times

Look at metrics such as when they shop and do searches to pinpoint the best time to reach them and boost your chances of getting a positive response.

Where: put them in their places

Are you primarily focusing on a local, regional, or national market? Also, assess components such as where the recipients go to shop and which stage of the sales funnel they’re in (just learning or on the verge of buying).

Why: dig deep

On a basic level, determine their needs-versus-wants spending (i.e., If they bought your product, would it be discretionary?). Also, more than ever, consumers value the purpose behind their purchases, so understanding their “why” can be critical to your email marketing efforts.

How: their methods of choice

On which platforms do they spend the most time? How do they prefer to make purchases—in person or online? Do they typically pay via cash, credit, or digital wallet? Perhaps most importantly, how can they best find out more about you?

Once you’ve established your segmentation criteria, document it and create content accordingly. Then test your emails’ click rates and open rates to ensure that your breakdowns are achieving first-rate results.

TAKE ACTION:
Determine which email-segmentation criteria best suits your
business needs so you can create cost-effective campaigns.