You may have run into the term when you set up your email marketing tools or even on this blog while trying to figure out how to use your email list. It’s pretty simple: Email segmentation means sorting your subscriber list into different groups, aka segments. Then you can tailor your marketing messages to each segment, so your customers are more likely to act on the offers they get from you.
For example, if you run an online sporting goods store, you want your customers who play soccer to get emails about your soccer gear deals, while customers who hike get emails about trekking poles, boots and packs.
One problem with blasting your whole list with every email you create is that people get turned off by irrelevant messages, to the point where they may just unsubscribe and take a pass on all your offers.
Another problem is that email marketing is about more than alerting people whenever you want them to buy something. It’s also about nurturing long-term relationships with those customers, based on offering them what they need and want. And you can’t do that with one-size-fits-none email campaigns.
There are so many options for segmenting your email list!
Dutch email marketing wizard Jordie Van Rijn put together this handy chart that outlines some of the most common ways to sort a list.