Understanding contact segmentation

Segment your contacts into groups with similar demographics or interests to send more targeted emails and improve your open and click rates

Segmentation is the act of dividing your contacts into smaller groups, or segments, based on shared information or common characteristics. If you have multiple audiences to engage with, segmentation can help you deliver the right message to the right people at the right time.

• Improving email engagement with segmentation
• Segmenting existing contacts using lists and tags
• Creating custom segments with the Segments Builder
• Using click segmentation in an email
• Choosing a segment while scheduling an email
• Segmenting contacts through contact sign-up forms
• Pairing segmentation with the Automation Path Builder

Improving email engagement with segmentation

When you send an email, you want your contacts to open it, read it, and answer your call-to-action. If your contacts find your content relevant, they're more likely to open and engage with your next email, improving your open and click rates. Segmentation helps you break your audience down into smaller groups, allowing you to send more targeted messages to the contacts who will find them the most interesting.

When your contacts are segmented, you can send:

• Shorter emails - You don't have to write a lengthy newsletter with something for everyone. Give each email a clear purpose.
• Targeted email content - Pick a specific audience that you're writing for and customize the email content just for them.
• More frequent emails - When your emails are shorter and more targeted, you end up sending more emails overall, but you have the freedom to change your messaging, call-to-action, and incentives based on each segment you send to.

Be a better marketer: Learn more about the power of segmentation.

Segmenting existing contacts using lists and tags

Lists are the most basic way to segment your contacts and are very flexible! If you're sending emails, you've already got at least one contact list that you're actively adding your contacts to, but did you know that you can create up to 1000 unique lists in your account? Once you've got your lists mapped out, it's easy to get your contacts onto them:

• Existing contacts - Move only the relevant contacts onto each list. It's fine if a single contact ends up on multiple lists!
• New contacts - Create a sign-up form and select the specific list to which you want to add new contacts. When new contacts join your list, they end up right where you want them.

List segmentation isn't fancy, but it's highly effective, and adding tags takes your list segmentation to the next level. Individual contacts can be labeled with a tag, allowing you to create a segment of contacts across multiple lists or divide one list into multiple segments. You can have up to 500 unique tags, and they're easy to create and manage.

• Learn more about list management
• Learn more about tag management

When sending an email, choose the list, combination of lists, or combination of lists and tags to reach the right audience with your message. (See below.) For example, the contact in the image below is on the Monthly Specials list and tagged as a dessert eater. If the restaurant wants to promote desserts, it can choose to send an email only to contacts on the Monthly Specials list who also have the "dessert eater" tag, putting that tasty treat in front of diners who are most likely to be interested in eating it.

Did you know? Your list size can help determine the optimal combination of lists, tags, and custom segments for you. Learn more.

Creating custom segments with the Segments Builder

Our Segments Builder is a powerful tool that helps you find the relevant contacts when you need them. You have lots of control over how targeted you want to be. When you create a segment, you can filter out contacts using any combination of:

• Contact profiles
• Email activities
• Engagement
• List membership
• Shopping activity
• SMS activity
• Sources and providers
• Tags
• Web tracking
  
  

Once your segment is created, you can then send emails to it. The segment refreshes so that only the most current group of contacts that meet all of your chosen criteria is included on the email. Over time, some contacts may fall out of the segment while other contacts are added, preventing you from sending email to contacts who won't find it relevant.

Using click segmentation in an email

If you have text links, buttons, or clickable images in your emails, click segmentation is a straightforward way to start segmenting your contacts. Anytime someone clicks on a link, they're added to a contact list of your choosing so that you can follow up with related content later.

When you insert the link into your email, just check the box to "Enable click segmentation and choose your list. You can even create a new list if you need one. Want to take things a step further? Set up an automated email that triggers when a contact is added to a list so you can reach your contacts when they're highly engaged.

Choosing a segment while scheduling an email

If you've taken the time to segment your contacts, it pays off when you're ready to send them emails. From the Schedule Page, you can send to:

• A single list or combination of lists. If a single contact appears on multiple lists, they only receive your email once.
  
  
  
  
• Contacts with a specific tag across a single list or multiple lists. You can also choose to exclude contacts with a tag from receiving your email.
  
  
  
  
• A custom segment. Only the most current contacts who meet your segment criteria receive your email, as the segment is automatically refreshed just before sending.
  
  
  
  

Segmenting contacts through contact sign-up forms

Your sign-up form is your most important list growth tool, and can be used to segment your contacts from the start. Using the right sign-up form at the right time helps you get your contacts onto the right list, and ultimately makes it easier for you to send the most relevant content.

• Give options - Our Inline, Pop-Up, Banner, and Flyout Sign Up Forms let you add multiple list options for sign-ups through your website. When your contacts view your form, they can select which of your lists they would like to sign up for.
• Create multiple versions - Our Sign-up Landing Page and Facebook and Instagram Lead Ads allow for a single list option, but you can create multiple versions of the form to share with different audiences.

Pairing segmentation with the Automation Path Builder

Automated emails can be triggered whenever a contact is added to a list, making them a natural pairing if you're segmenting your contacts through sign-up forms or click segmentation. The Automation Path Builder is a time-saving tool that gives you lots of control over the email and SMS content your contacts are seeing, and lets you set the timing for when they see it.

• Welcome automation path - Perfect for sign-up forms, a welcome automation is triggered whenever a contact joins a list through one of our sign-up tools. You set the timing for when the email is sent and control the timing of the content of any emails that follow. All email plans come with a single welcome automation, but upgrading your plan allows you to create multiple automations with customized content for each list.
• Template-based automation path - We have lots of pre-built automation templates that are based on things like list membership, email and SMS engagement, ecommerce activity, and more! Using a template gets you started quickly and also allows you to make customizations, too!
• Custom automation path - Perfect for emails enabled with click segmentation, you can create a single email or a series of timed emails to follow up with more information when your contact clicks a link in your email and is added to a specific list.

Want to learn more about segmenting your contacts? Watch our webinar:

Learn more about marketing and Constant Contact through our free, live webinars.

Questions?