So, you have an email list. Now what?
You need to reach out. You need to provide your subscribers with something they’ll find RELEVANT—an email that informs, inspires, or intrigues. But before all that, let’s take it back to the basics, to relationships 101: personalization. In email marketing, it’s called segmentation.
Okay, here we go:
You’re at a music festival with college friends, laughing about the good old days as you sing out loud, attempt the running-man in the grass, and eat and drink until your heart’s content. On your way to the bathroom, you bump into your boss. What are the chances, you think? You don’t know them very well, as you only started last month, and the amount of one-on-one time has been limited, almost obsolete. You know walking past with your face tilted away is not an option. Instead, you stop and engage, all the while your brain is recalibrating. You realize it is no longer appropriate to belt out the words to your favorite song, and the cold beer in your hand turns tepid as you hold it down at your side. And in place of your outrageous remember when’s, you talk about the weather, the bands you’ve seen and how they compare to the bands of previous years. You even bring up the staff meeting next week though regret it immediately.
Two songs later (because that’s how you gauge time at a music festival), you have unhooked from your boss and are now the sobering anchor of a very long line to a strip of portapotties. The person in front of you glances back, and your eyes lock. You know those yellow and green gemstones anywhere–the ones lined with those so-not-fair lashes. They are the irises of your ex, and the last time you saw those eyes they were enraged. Needless to say, your relationship did not end well, and the tension is still there, hanging between you both like a cloud that won’t drift. And being in a line and all, you’re basically stuck.
What are the chances? You think. But this is definitely happening. And with your brain shifting gears, you steel yourself as a rugburn of a conversation starts to unfold.
This time, however, you decide it’s best to show remorse, vulnerability, and empathy. You do this rather well, much to your relief and your ex’s eventual forgiveness (eventual meaning seven people have graduated from the bathroom line).
Now, first in line and with your ex in a portapotty, you feel glad to have finally made amends. It doesn’t even matter that your buzz is officially gone and your beer is as warm as the sun. You end up dumping it in the grass on your way to the next vacancy.
Finally, eight songs later, you return to your friends. They exclaim your name as they hand you another ice-cold beer. Once again you are laughing, dancing, joking, and still reminiscing about the days of old (boxed wine, boy bands, and the determined girls who wore backless shirts in a Midwest January).
What is my point in all of this? It’s that we instinctively know how to shift gears when communicating with others. We tailor our mannerisms, our degree of politeness, and the level of intimacy in the details we share. This, my friends, is a very long and tad-bit dramatic example of segmentation; and it’s vital to the success of your marketing efforts.
When sending emails to your customer list, you must segment, segment, segment! Why? Because not everyone feels informed, intrigued, or inspired from the same message delivery. Some people react most to nostalgia, some to risk, and some people just want to know they are getting a good deal. What people regard as relevant information varies, and it’s our job to crack this code. To successfully get inside the minds of our potential consumers. To know what makes them tick.
Segmentation.
And if you can do this well, your business and brand have a much better chance of living happily ever after.
The End