In this article, Stefan Pollard shares 5 segmentation tips. Why should you care? That’s easy: the more relevant your messages are to your subscribers’ needs, wants, and expectations, the better the response and deliverability. Segmentation can help you with that.

The following list of ways to collect more information can be used to create segments and relevant messages:

1. Invite readers to fill out or update their profiles.
Don’t ask too many questions on the sign-up form but use the welcome email or a survey instead to invite subscribers to tell you a bit more about themselves. Stefan suggests to “add a small incentive, such as a discount coupon or extra download, to sweeten the deal”.  

2. Use the search engine optimization terms that drive the most traffic to your site.
Incorporate the search terms that are used into message content, subject lines, calls-to-action and other communications, such as the preference page invitation. Then, review the data manually. Tally key words and phrases used to find your brand. You’ll quickly see a pattern you can use.

3. Target messages based on subscribers’ past behavior.
Use behavior data to segment out inactive users (those who haven’t opened or clicked in a set time period) to capture those who clicked on product links in earlier e-mails but didn’t buy, or who bought from you once but never again.

4. Interview the people who talk directly with your customers.
These include your customer-service or call-center people who should be familiar enough with your Web site to offer feedback or pass along comments about the site’s usability or what customers are looking for when they call. Again, you can turn this information around to create useful segments that speak to customers’ needs or interests.

5. See where people click in your e-mail messages.
If I’m promoting men’s shoes but a large portion of my audience clicks the links for women’s shoes, I can use that data to promote woman’s shoes in the next offer.

This is just a short summary of the 5 tips Stefan offers in his article. Read more here.