4 Ways I Love Using Segmentation to Make More Sales from Email Marketing
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If you sign up via my link, I’ll receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Did you know that according to the Digital Marketing Association “segmented and targeted emails generate 58% of all revenue [from email marketing] (DMA 2015)”.
“Segmentation” sound so techy, but the truth is, what I’m talking about here is more like labelling the tupperwares in your fridge so you know what’s in them / when that food was made. It’s a simple, straightforward process, and setting it up within ConvertKit will only take an extra 5 minutes of your time. (Click through here for a guide to how)
What exactly do I mean by “segmentation”?
Tags based on your subscriber’s behaviour. I like to tag people based on:
The freebie they opted in for (e.g. “[Freebie] Sales Page Framework”)
Whether or not they’ve clicked to a sales or landing page (e.g. “[Action] Clicked to Sales Page Power Hour LP”)
Whether or not they’ve been through a funnel (e.g. “[History] Sales Page Framework Welcome Seq DONE”)
Any links they’ve clicked within an explicitly segmentation focused email (e.g. “Click the link below to tell me which sounds most like you:”)
I’ll leave it to ConvertKit to explain exactly how tagging works.
For the purposes of this post, I’m going to talk about cool ways you can use the tags you’ve applied to your subscribers to help you send more targeted emails that lead to more sales.
Tailor newsletters and launch emails to the individual subscriber with conditional formatting
Say you’re sending a newsletter to your whole list, but the content is particularly relevant / complementary to one of the lead magnets a segment of your audience signed up for.
If those people are tagged, e.g. “[Freebie] NAME OF FREEBIE”, you can use conditional formatting to add an extra paragraph and/or CTA that only the people who have that tag will see.
Using the following code, for example, you can include one message for people who have the tag, and one message for people who don’t:
{% if subscriber.tags contains "Purchased course" %}This will show if the subscriber has the "Purchased course" tag.{% else %}This will show if the subscriber does not have the "Purchased course" tag.{% endif %}I love using conditional formatting to send a different P.S. to different segments, based on their relationship to the content I’ve shared above.
Remind people “This is what you came for” based on tags applied
As business owners – and humans – we have a lot on our plates, and a lot of different brands competing for our attention at any given time.
Tagging your subscribers based on why they joined your list, as in the example above, also gives you the opportunity to make specific reference to WHY someone ended up on your list.
This strategy can come in handy during launches because it allows you to make use of one of Cialdini’s Persuasion Principles: Consistency.
Now, I know, Cialdini and his Persuasion Principles have been linked to marketing bros—but here’s how this technique serves both your prospects and your biz:
When people sign up for your email list with a specific goal in mind, you’re making a claim to be able to help them achieve that goal.
When, at a later date, you remind people of the goal they set out to achieve, you’re able to leverage our human desire for consistency – that is, our desire to act in line with what we’ve said we want – to encourage people to take action again.
This might look something like:
“Hey {{ subscriber.first_name }},Back in the summer, you signed up for my freebie, The “What Hurts?” Sales Page Framework, so I know you care about writing effective, empathetic copy that converts.
That’s why I wanted to make extra sure you got this invite:
This Wednesday, I’m hosting a brand new training all about writing a high-converting sales page. I’ll be sharing…”Reward VIPs with special access, bonus content and more
People who take action are people who take action.
When you know who your action-takers are, you can give them even more opportunities to take action.
Just last week, I wrote 2 pre-sales emails for a client to send to her waitlist on the eve of her official launch.
By giving waitlist registrants (tagged as “[Offer name] Waitlist”) the ability to buy before the cart officially opened at a special waitlist price, not only did she get a nice little bump in confidence before hosting her masterclass the next day, those sales also served to validate a new offer and create a sense of momentum for the rest of the launch.
In the example above, the “bonus content” was paid, but you could use the same approach to give VIPs early access to free training content or exclusive access to a content upgrade that leads to an upsell.
Customize the number of launch emails different segments of your audience receive
It seems to be truer today than ever before: People freaking love to wait till the very last minute to buy!
That’s why conversion copywriters like me will always recommend you send MINIMUM 3 emails on the day of your cart close.
I also recommend you send at least 1 email a day during your cart open period (assuming it’s less than 10 days) to cover lots of different angles and keep your offer top of mind.
Is it effective? Yes.
Can it be a lot? Also yes.
That’s why we ALWAYS give people the option to opt out of launch content if they want to, simply by clicking a link:
Subscribers who click the link above are tagged with something like “[OFFER NAME] Promo Opt Out” and excluded from receiving any other emails during that promo period. This ultimately helps you know who’s not interested, cuts down on unsubscribes AND lets your audience members control what/how much they see.
On the other hand, even your warmest leads might be waiting till the last minute to buy.
That’s why I like to send a couple of extra emails on cart close day specifically to audience members who’ve shown signs they want to buy.
This could look like clicking to the sales page, clicking to the launch event replay, clicking to the checkout page or through any other link you’ve given them to get more info on your thing. By sending these emails only to subscribers tagged for the abovementioned behaviours, I can use technique #2 and refer back to the actions they’re tagged for within those extra emails.
This might look like:
Hey {{ subscriber.first_name }},
I noticed you checking out OFFER NAME, but I haven’t seen your name pop up on my list just yet—
Are there any other questions I can answer for you?
Ultimately, by tagging your subscribers and sending them targeted emails and/or more personalized emails, your goal is to give your audience members the most personalized, relevant experience possible.
This benefits you during your launches, by making your marketing messages become more compelling and when you’re not launching, by helping ensure your audience doesn’t start automatically deleting your emails without opening because they’ve stopped caring what you have to say.
Yes, these strategies can be implemented in other email marketing platforms than ConvertKit (ActiveCampaign is my #2 choice) but if you’re choosing to go with anyone else, it’s important to look into what actions you’re able to take based on tags (I’m looking at you, Mailchimp!).
So, “Segmentation” isn’t scary, techy or hard—but it does have big advantages when it comes to making more sales from your email list.
If sending your weekly email feels more like a chore than a money-making privilege, check out this comprehensive email marketing strategy & planning workshop:
Inside Activate your Email List, you’ll learn:
How to create months' worth of content ideas in one sitting (not just for your emails, but social media & blog posts too)
Which messages to send & when (whether you're prepping for a live launch or booking clients all the time) <— THIS is the piece that 99% of list-building courses leave out!
Expert tips, copy tricks & subject line best practices that will help you write the kind of emails that move your people to ACT
“Katie’s workshop was just what I needed to give me a framework to bring my subscribers closer to me and get better at CTAs and sales.”
- Jilliane Yawney, www.jillianeyawney.com