Dear Rich,

I don’t want to send information to subscribers that they’re not interested in and risk having them unsubscribe. How can I do a better job delivering only the information they want to receive?

–Confused in Cornish

Dear Confused,

You ask a good question, and your solution probably lies in segmenting your list and delivering on subscribers’ expectations.

The signup process is an excellent time to have people self-select their interests. Most email service providers, (we use Constant Contact,) will let you create multiple lists that target the different interests of your readers. This is email segmentation.

For most small businesses I wouldn’t recommend having too many choices; first off too many choices can lead to the would-be subscriber feeling overwhelmed and choosing nothing at all, and also it puts an increased burden on you to create multiple email newsletters.

If you already have a list, you can still create segmented email lists.

Some email service providers (ESPs) allow you to create interest groups based on subscribers’ behavior. For example, if you run a pet store and a number of subscribers click on a link to see your baby snakes offer, you may create an interest group around reptiles and send out targeted messages to that group.

If you have had a list for a long time, you might consider sending out a survey to your subscribers and ask them what type of content they’re looking for. Depending on your industry and your audience, their needs may shift over time. Once created, you can invite people to sign up for these new segmented lists.

If you’d rather not run separate lists, you might consider just putting a table of contents at the top of each newsletter, and let people click down to the article they’re interested in. This may prove to be easier to manage, and has the added benefit of some cross promotion. People who would have subscribed only to your gardening tips lists might be intrigued by your articles on patio repair and maintenance.

The other part of the equation is to deliver on expectations: if people are expecting information-rich articles and you start delivering Sunday flyers, they’ll unsubscribe in the time it takes to hit a button.

Do YOU have any techniques on segmenting email lists?

Rich Brooks
Email Marketing for Small Business