Here’s how email targeting is done. 

If you have a lot of nuanced customer data, or if you personally know your list thoroughly, you might be wondering how you can use this great info to segment your list for different messages. It’s easy. Tags. 

Tags are labeling categories you use, ideally automatically, to identify your prospects’ interests and needs.

Here are some examples of tags, with targeting: #lead-from-2022-chicago-jazz-festival If you’re an event producer: Follow-up after the festival, with share photos and stories, to build community. Email this group about another large jazz event near Chicago. Email this group before next year’s festival to build excitement.

#local If you’re a store owner: Email them about in-store events, like trunk shows.. Exclude your out-of-town online shoppers, so they don’t feel left out.

#VIPmember Members-only info, like new product previews, private events, and behind-the-scenes blogs. 

#attended-July-2022-resume-webinar Email these people to follow up. Tell them about other resume tips to keep in touch. Let them know about other job hunt webinars. You can also measure who in this group becomes #attended-Jan-2023-career-development-webinar to measure your customer retention.

#bought-my-cybersecurity-book Ask them to write an Amazon review if they enjoyed your book. Invite them to relevant events. Keep in touch by sending news about new relevant research. Share success stories from your readers. Announce your next related book.

In most Email Management Systems (EMS), like MailChimp or Constant Contact, there’s no limit to your tagging. Go tag crazy.  It’s fine if you don’t think of a way to use them all. It’s better to over-tag than under-tag. If your list has under a thousand subscribers, it might be too early to segment, but keep collecting that information while you build your list. 

Highly-customized emails also prevent unsubscribes, and by extension, improve customer retention.

Is segmentation worth the effort? 78% of respondents in a HubSpot survey said that subscriber segmentation is the most effective email marketing strategy. 

Email marketers are getting better at targeting, which is probably why 77% of marketers have seen an increase in email engagement over the last 12 months.

So it’s no surprise that 37% of brands are increasing their email budget, and just 1.3% are making cuts.

However you add people to your email marketing system, make sure you’re tagging as you go. Automate this if possible (and for almost all businesses, it is!) For example, if I build a signup form for a client’s lead magnet, aka “freebie”, I can make the email management system automatically tag those people as #lead-from-2022-personal-branding-workbook.

Let me know how it goes!