Themes of this article
- Introduction
- Before you start
- Step-by-step
- Frequently Asked Questions
Segments are vital to send relevant content in your email marketing. E-goi offers various ways to segment your database easily.
What is segmentation?
Effective email marketing is all about segmenting your contacts to target them with relevant mailings! That's why we pulled out all stops to offer you a smattering of ways to slice and dice your database in E-goi (basically, if you can imagine it, it can be done.
Before you start
Requirements
- Make sure your contact list has already been imported into E-goi. If not, import it using an Excel or CSV file, including as much information as possible for future segmentation.
- Familiarize yourself with the interface and location of menus in E-goi. You will mainly work with the "Contacts" menu.
Costs
Standard and advanced multi-criteria segmentation is available on any E-goi account.
AI-powered segmentation is available for Pro and Corporate plans.
Step-by-step
Basic segmentation
1) If you haven't done so already, import your contact database into E-goi (you can't obviously segment an empty list ;). Make sure your Excel or CSV file includes as much information as possible on your contacts, sorted into different columns (email, name, mobile, city, etc.). This will make segmenting much easier later.
2) Once the import is finished, go to the "Contacts" menu, head to the mailing list you want to segment and click on the "Contacts" button.
3) A page listing all contacts in that list will come up. Segments in E-goi are basically stored searches - you just search for something, get the matching results and save them as a segment. So, for example, to set aside all your contacts using Hotmail, just go to "What do you want to search for?", click where it says «All fields», select «E-mail» (to narrow the filter down to email addresses), type in "@hotmail" and hit «Apply». After a few seconds, the contact listing will display only those with Hotmail addresses (glancing at the lower right corner of the listing will tell you how many they are). Now simply click "Save as" (upper right corner), enter a name for this segment and save it. Done! To go back to the full contact listing again, just click "Reset search".
4) Your segment is now saved. How can you put it to use? Simple, when you're about to send out your mailing, just make sure to change the "Segment" option in the deployment page from "No segment" to the one you created. The subscriber counter at the top of the page will reflect this change and your mailing will go out to the segment you selected instead of the whole list.
5) Segments in E-goi are dynamic, so any new sign-ups or imported/updated contacts matching the segment you created will automatically become part of the segment.
Segment contacts by city
1) If the database you imported into E-goi has a "city" field and you mapped it to an E-goi field with the same name, just go to the segmentation window, click on "All fields", head down to "Extra fields" and select "City". Then simply type in your desired city name, click "Apply" and save your segment.
2) You can do this for every city you want to create a segment for. Great for deal-of-the-day sites, which are often based on the subscribers' location!
3) This segmentation method also works for any other field you create in your E-goi list.
Reward your biggest fans
In addition to fields, E-goi allows you to segment by stats as well! This is a terrific way to reward people who click through and share your mailings.
1) Just go to "What do you want to search for?", click on "All fields", head down to "Statistics", select "Clickthroughs", choose "greater or equal than", type in "1" and keep "all campaigns" selected. Then hit "Apply".
2) This will have E-goi fetch all contacts who clicked through any of your mailings once or more. Want to add those who shared them on Facebook as well? No problem, just hit "Add another condition" right next to the criteria you set for referrals and a second criteria line will come up. Click "All fields", head down to "Statistics", select "Social shares", choose "greater or equal than", type in "1", select "Facebook" and leave "all campaigns" selected. Make sure you change "And" to "Or" and then hit "Apply".
3) E-goi will now go and get those contacts who either clicked through or shared your mailings. Simply save that segment and use it later on to send these people a special gift celebrating their awesomeness!
Segment contacs who didn't open any email
The more unresponsive people you have in your mailing list, the more your deliverability is hampered, so it's always a good idea to section these contacts off after you mail them a few times.
1) Just go to "What do you want to search for?", click on "All fields", head down to "Statistics", select "Email opens", choose "equal", type in "0" and keep "all campaigns" selected. Then hit "Apply".
2) E-goi will pull up all contacts who didn't open any of your emails. Save this segment and use it to send these people a win-back campaign! Those who still remain unresponsive can then be removed from your list to keep it squeaky-clean.
Send an SMS to contacts who didn't open your email
If the database you imported into E-goi includes the contacts' mobile numbers in addition to their email addresses, you can have E-goi send an SMS just to those people who don't open your email.
1) Send your email campaign and wait 24 hours. Then go to "What do you want to search for?", click on "All fields", head down to "Statistics", select "Email opens", choose "equal", type in "0" and pick the campaign you sent. Then hit "Apply".
2) E-goi will display all contacts who didn't open that specific email. Save this segment and use it to text them a 160-character version of your email. They'll be much more likely to read it and you'll save on your SMS costs (no need to text your whole list)!
Encourage buys from contacts who left products in their cart
1) If you've got an online shop, E-goi's Track & Engage can pinpoint who left their cart with unpurchased items so you can win these people back with, say, a discount offer. You may even single out abandoned carts over a specific amount only!
Tagging contacts
Tags are the easiest way to quickly slice and dice your contact list in E-goi. Need to single out a high-value customer? Just tag it with, say, "VIP"! Want to mail an exclusive deal to a handful of contacts in your list? Tag them with the promotion title and off you go! It's that simple. See our tagging how-to.
Viewing previous versions of a segment
It may sometimes come in handy to go back and take a look at the criteria a segment had on certain date, especially when dealing with complex multi-criteria segments.
1) Head over to the Contacts menu and click on Contacts for the list you created the segment in.
2) Click the segment you created. Once it loads, hit the Versions button.
3) You'll see the criteria for this segment (ie, how it's currently segmenting contacts). To see the criteria it had in the past, click on Versions and choose a date. The old criteria will be shown.
4) If you'd also like the current segment to revert back to the criteria it had on that date, click Go to this version.
Creating AI-powered segments
E-goi's AI can help you create highly targeted segments for your contact list. It'll look at your list and suggest relevant segments.
1) Head over to the Contacts menu and click on Contacts for the list you'll be creating segments in.
2) Under the segment area (left-hand panel), click Generate segment with Assistant.
3) A window will pop up. Type in a short description for your contact list (this will help AI create relevant segments) or simply hit the AI icon to have it generate a description based on the list's title.
4) You'll see in that same window the list's extra data fields. For each one, type in a brief description or just click the AI icon to do it for you.
If you'd like the AI to generate a description for all fields in one go, tick the checkmark at the top left of the window to select all fields and then click Generate selected.
5) When you're done, click Generate segments at the bottom of the window.
6) E-goi's AI will come up with 3 segments based on the list info you gave it. You'll see them under the segment area marked with an AI icon.
They'll behave just like a standard segment. Click on one of them to view any contacts matching it plus the segment's criteria. You can also edit it as you would any segment.
7) If you'd like to get more AI-based segments, click the Generate new button at the top of the segment area for a re-roll.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know the ID of a segment?
If you're using our API, you may need to get a segment ID. Just head over to the "Contacts" menu, hit "Options" of the list containing the segment and then click "Segments".
Can I apply multiple conditions when creating a segment?
Yes, you can add multiple conditions/filters when creating a segment to further refine your target audience.
Are segments automatically updated when new contacts are added?
Yes, any new contact that meets the segment's criteria will be automatically included in it.
Can I send campaigns specifically to tags?
Yes, when sending out a campaign, you can choose to send it to contacts with specific tags.
For AI segments, can I tell E-goi's AI what kind of segment I want so it goes and whips it up?
No. Currently our AI will auto-generate segments for you based on the nature of your contact list and its fields.