A Complete Guide to Email Segmentation in Sitecore Send

Email marketing is a powerful way for businesses to connect with their customers and drive growth. However, the days of one-size-fits-all email campaigns are long gone. To truly engage your audience and drive results, you need to segment your email list and send targeted messages that resonate with each group's unique needs and interests. By doing so, you can increase the effectiveness of your emails and achieve better open rates, click-through rates, and conversions. Moreover, segmentation allows you to optimize your resources and focus on the most valuable opportunities for your business.

What Does Segmenting an Email Marketing List mean?

Segmenting an email marketing list means dividing the list of subscribers into smaller groups based on specific criteria, such as demographics, behaviour, interests, or preferences. This allows you to create targeted email campaigns that are more relevant and engaging to each segment rather than sending the same generic message to your entire list. By segmenting your email list, you can improve the effectiveness of your email campaigns, increase engagement and conversions, and build stronger relationships with your subscribers.

For example:

• Geographic Segmentation: A retailer might segment its email list based on the geographic location of subscribers. For example, subscribers in colder regions might receive emails promoting winter clothing, while subscribers in warmer regions might receive emails promoting summer wear.
• Behavioural Segmentation: An online course provider might segment its email list based on subscriber behaviour. For instance, subscribers who have completed a particular course might receive emails about advanced courses or certificate programs, while subscribers who have not yet enrolled in any course might receive emails promoting introductory courses or free trials.
• Segmenting by Engagement: You can segment your list based on the level of engagement of your subscribers. For example, you might create a segment of highly engaged subscribers who have opened or clicked on your emails in the past 30 days, and then send them a special offer or exclusive content to reward their loyalty. Meanwhile, you might create another segment of less engaged subscribers who haven't interacted with your emails in a while, and send them a re-engagement campaign to try and win them back.

Benefits of Segmenting Your Email Marketing Lists 

It's no secret that customers want personalized content. The more relevant content is to your reader, the more likely they will read it. And if they do read it, they'll feel like you understand them and their needs better than anyone else. That feeling of connection makes them more likely to act on whatever call-to-action you've included in your email (or at least think about it). When done well, segmentation increases the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns by making them more personal and relevant to specific audiences.

Segmenting your email marketing lists can significantly improve the effectiveness of your campaigns by delivering more relevant and personalized content to your subscribers, resulting in:

• Improved relevance
• Increased open and click-through rates
• Higher conversion rates
• Better deliverability
• Greater efficiency

What is Sitecore Send?

Sitecore Send (Sitecore acquired Moosend in 2021) is an all-in-one marketing automation platform offering email marketing, marketing automation, and other marketing tools. Sitecore Send's primary focus is email marketing, but it also offers additional features such as landing pages, subscription forms, and lead generation tools.

Walk-through: How to Segment an Email List in Sitecore Send 

Follow these step-by-step instructions to learn how to segment your email lists in Sitecore Send.

How to Segment an Email List Using a Segment Template in Sitecore Send

1. Log into your account and select Segments from underneath the Audience tab in the top navigation bar.

   

2. Hover over the New button at the top-right and select Segment.

   

3. Choose the email list you want to segment from the dropdown list and click Start.

   

4. Select one of the predefined segment templates from the list or click the Create custom segment button at the top-right. At the time of writing, the predefined segment template options include the following:

   • Double opt-in verified members
   • Campaigns clicked is x / Link URL clicked is x
   • Other list is not x
   • Member email ends with x
   • Purchased a product x times in the last 30 days
   • Purchase product x / order total is more than x
   • Total spent if more than x in the last 30 days
   • Number of campaigns opened is more than x in the last 7 days
   • Not opened any campaign in the last 30 days

How to Create a Custom Segment in Sitecore Send

Follow the first 3 steps from above to get to the segment page. From there, you can create a custom segment.

1. Click the Create custom segment button at the top right to create your own custom segment.
   

2. Name your segment.
   

3. Adjust how many subscribers will be included in your under the Fetch heading.

   In the first drop-down list:

   • All - selects all matching subscribers
   • Max number - selects a maximum number of your subscribers

   • Max % - selects a maximum percentage of subscribers

     In the second drop-down list, click one of the following options:

   • All - fetches subscribers that match all the segmentation criteria you set

   • Any - fetches subscribers that match at least one of the segmentation criteria you set

4. Set rules and conditions for your segment under the Rules heading. You can create as many rules as you’d like by clicking Add rule.

   

   • In the first drop-down list, select a criterion. There are over 20 options, including:
     • Date Added
     • Date Updated
     • Other Mailing List
     • Verified for Double Opt-In
     • Subscription Method
   • Next, select a comparer. This will differ based on the criteria you selected from the first drop-down list. For example, options include is or is not if I select Specific Campaign Sent as my criteria.
   • The third drop-down list will include actual values to process. Like the comparison options in the second drop-down, these choices will vary depending on your selected criteria.

Once you have defined your segment, click Save Segment.

Email Segmentation Tips for Sitecore Send

If you're looking to improve your email marketing segmentation skills, keep these tips in mind:

• Collect relevant data: Before segmenting your email list, you must collect relevant data from your subscribers. This can include information such as age, gender, location, interests, past purchase history, and website behaviour. Use sign-up forms, surveys, and tracking tools to gather this information.
• Define your segments: Once you have collected the data, define your segments based on specific criteria that make sense for your business. For example, you might segment your list by location, purchase history, or engagement level.
• Use automation: Use automation tools to automatically segment your list based on your defined criteria. This can save you time and ensure that your emails are always sent to the right audience.
• Personalize your emails: Use your collected data to personalize your emails for each segment. This can include using the subscriber's name, sending targeted content based on their interests, and tailoring your offers based on their past behaviour.
• Test and refine: Regularly test your emails and segments to see what works best for your audience. Refine your segments based on the results of your tests to optimize your email campaigns.

Conclusion

Segmenting email lists is essential for businesses to target their customers more effectively. By using segmentation, companies can create more effective campaigns, track and analyze customer behaviour, and provide a more personalized experience for customers.

Want some input on your business' email marketing health? Let us know.