"Batch and blast" is a thing of the past. These days, your prospects and customers are getting inundated with messages across a spectrum of media - from email marketing to social media, mobile marketing to TV, radio to print. Rapid-fire commercial communications have driven consumers to a higher level of sophistication in filtering information -- making it harder and harder for marketers to get their offers and messages heard.

Intelligent online marketers know that there is a powerful technique to reach the right people with the right message at the right time. The technique is segmentation.

Segmentation is the process of creating sub-sets of a target audience made up of people or organizations with one or more shared characteristics. Segmenting your email opt-in list can provide a treasure trove of information that can help you increase your response rates, convert more prospects to sales, and generate add-on, repeat or higher value sales.

Following are TEN powerful ways in which you can segment your email opt-in list to generate greater email marketing campaign results and ROI.

1. Vertical markets: Do you have a plethora of prospects in the publishing industry? The transportation industry? Each vertical market has its own specific needs and requirements. Reach out to them with targeted messages that speak directly to their needs and pain points.

2. Cart abandonment: Identify prospects who have loaded up their cart and abandoned it just before they hit “Submit”. Follow up with those prospects via an email message that offers them a discount on items that were in their shopping cart or free shipping for an online purchase within the next five days.

3. Products or product lines purchased: Did a segment of your list buy baby onesies, baby strollers and baby bottles? It might be good to target that segment of your email list with information or offers on the newest and safest car seats or the best reviewed educational toys.

4. Order value: Indentify the segment of your email list that has spent the most per sale or in their overall order history. This segment holds great potential for significant amount of additional sales, if targeted correctly.

5. Repeat purchases: Like the “order value” segment, this email segment is comprised of people who have bought, and who are likely to buy again and again. Show these customers special attention by offering them VIP treatment in the form of discounts, free shipping or other special offers that will attract another conversion. 6. Demographics: Age, gender, education levels, marital status and more provide insights into what messages and offers will drive conversions. 24-year-old males will be much more attracted to your offer to, “Buy one video game and get the second for 25% off” than 65-year-old women, for instance.

7. Interest-based preferences: Avid golfer? Loves dogs? Foodie? If you’ve conducted a survey of this information or have a preference center that enables people to specify their interests, you can target those segments with messaging that speaks to those interests. If you haven’t surveyed your base, start there. If you don’t have a preference center, setting one up can be relatively simple. Both can produce great results.

8. Location: Winter in Wichita, Kansas is very different than winter in Walnut Creek, California. Offering products or services that are specific to the needs of a geographic area can increase your email opens, clicks, and conversions.

9. Repeat email opens: This segment is engaged with your email messages - they’ve opened them repeated times and/or forwarded your messages intact to others. Engaged subscribers are ripe targets. Test new email marketing communications on them to determine what offers work best and optimize campaigns from there.

10. Big Brands or Fortune 500s: Large and influential clients are huge opportunities for business. They can and should be targeted with VIP messages that appeal to their needs and that acknowledge their influence and VIP status. Offer these prospects exclusive gifts or content with personalized, high-end messaging and you’ll see great returns.

Identifying email list segments and targeting those segments with the right messages and offers will increase email marketing relevance. And with increased relevance, list churn decreases resulting in improved email delivery rates, opens and clicks, and increased ROI and revenue. Put the power of segmentation to work today and see better results in no time.

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About the Author

Shannon Titus is the senior marketing programs manager at Lyris. She is responsible for creating compelling email marketing communications and programs to share with Lyris customers and prospects.

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