Why Email Marketing Segmentation Matters And Ways To Do It
- Jeff Knight
- May 19
- 3 min read
If you want to improve your open rates, start to consider email marketing segmentation. If you want to ensure you deliver more relevant messages, consider email marketing segmentation. If you want to see a better ROO, then email marketing segmentation is the answer. Therefore, in this article I shall explain why segmentation is important and some ideas on how to do this.

At A Glance
Email segmentation involves dividing your email subscribers into different groups.
With segmentation, you will have different messages (or at least different subject lines) for each group, rather than just batch and blasting.
This can be based on their engagement with your emails, their stage in the sales funnel, products bought and recency of subscribing, for example.
Email segmentation gives you better engagement, response, and results.
What Is Email Marketing Segmentation?
With email marketing segmentation, you will divide your audience into smaller, more targeted groups. There is no magic way of doing this, and you should do this in a way that suits your goals and is most achievable. There are examples below to spark some ideas. In short, you will be creating groups for whom different messages will be relevant for each group, rather than one message that is only relevant for some people.

What Are the Benefits of Email Segmentation?
Better engagement: Email marketing segmentation lets you target subscribers better and deliver more relevant content. This means they’re more likely to engage with you.
Better response rates: Targeting emails to specific groups leads to better open and click-through rates.
Increased brand trust: By sending emails that speak to your audience, it helps cement stronger relationships - a key element of trust.
Better ROO: Segmenting helps your emails work harder, meaning you get a better return on your goals.
5 Ways You Could Segment
Here are some ideas to help spark some thoughts that could work for you:
#1 Engagement Segmentation
Looking at your email engagement stats is possibly the easiest way to get going with email marketing segmentation. How engagement is assessed will depend on your system.
But you can look at those that engage with your emails – because they open and click a fair amount, compared to those that have no engagement at all.Each segment can have a more targeted message.
#2 Product Usage Segmentation Another way to implement email marketing segmentation strategy is to look at past “purchases”. For example, if you target mortgage brokers, you can segment based on the products that have used you for in the past. #3 Time Since Last Purchase You can segment based on the last time your audience provided business. Someone who did so over two years last, would receive a different message to those that have done so in last two months. Another way to look at this method is Regularity of Business. Look at your data, are there those that regularly supply business versus those that do so infrequently or just once a year? Again, this can be a way to look at segmenting your list.
#4 Funnel Segmentation Or you can also use email segmentation depending on where your audience is in the sales funnel.
Someone at the top of the funnel, who has little awareness of your brand, should receive different targeted emails than those at the bottom who are very knowledgeable of what you do.
#5 Content Preferences
There’s another way to segment emails, and that’s by using content preferences. Think about it. See if some of your audience prefer blogs, webinars, product news or more thought leadership.
Conclusion There is no real silver bullet and there are lots of ways you can do it, but one thing is clear: segment your email marketing audience. It will lead to better results.
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