6 ways to segment your email list

I’m always telling entrepreneurs how a big list of targeted subscribers is crucial for successful email marketing campaigns.

But the truth is, even with hundreds or thousands of eager subscribers, most marketers don’t have a clue how to make the most of their email marketing strategies.

Why? Because they don’t segment their lists.

According to a study by Jupiter Research, marketers who segment their lists (by things like what customers buy or where people click on their website) can improve conversion rates by up to 355% - and increase revenues by an amazing 781%!

So why did the same study find only 11% of marketers actually segment their lists using this kind of data?!

It’s outrageous!

But it does mean if YOU start segmenting your list, you’ll get a definite edge on your competitors.

How can you do this?

1. Target "subscribers" and "customers" differently.

This one’s simple! You should target subscribers (people who’ve opted in to your list) and customers (people who’ve actually bought something from you) in different ways.

You can use email to build trust and credibility with your subscribers - and then convince them to buy from you. With customers, you’ve already overcome that hurdle - so you can use email marketing to make follow-up offers and turn them into repeat buyers.

2. Target your best customers (the ones who’ve made the most purchases from you) with a special "Thank-You" promotion.

Since 80% of your sales will come from 20% of your customers, your repeat buyers deserve special care. Make sure they know you appreciate their loyalty by offering them some really great discounts, bonuses, or gifts.

3. Target customers who haven’t made a purchase in a long time with an offer to win back their business.

This is sometimes called a "We want you back" promotion. A simple bonus discount or gift can be a great way to win back people who may not have bought for a while. If they liked your offer enough to buy once, they may just need a little extra motivation to buy again.

4. Target subscribers who have been on your list a long time with a chance to "upgrade their subscription" to a paid product.

If they’ve been reading your information regularly for a long time, your subscribers likely value your content and enjoy the information you provide. Position your product as an upgrade with even more value, and some of them will be sure to snap it up.

5. Target customers or subscribers who share a specific interest.

If you sell wetsuits for example, you probably have some people on your list who are interested in surfing, and some who are interested in kayaking. If you send the surfers an email telling them how great your wetsuits are for kayaking, you won’t make many sales.

Target each group based on their interests and you’ll see much better results!

6. Target customers in different locations with localized offers.

Running an online business means you’ll likely have customers in many different cities and countries. If you can target them with offers specific to their location (such as national holidays, seasonal events, etc.) you’ll see a much better response rate.

Some of these strategies require that you know a bit more about the people on your opt-in list than just whether they are customers or subscribers. In most cases, it’s information you should be keeping track of anyway - like what products they’ve bought or how long it’s been since they made a purchase.

By collecting more specific information from the people who are visiting your site, you’ll be able to target your email marketing efforts in some very sophisticated ways.

And that’ll mean better response rates - and higher sales!