Email Lists and Segments

Every email needs a recipient. 0:00 But just like social media, it's not necessarily about the number of people 0:03 you've reached with your message. 0:07 Building the right lists means finding people 0:09 who want to receive your content, 0:11 and it can mean the difference between your emails making an impact 0:13 or making it into the trash. 0:16 For many marketers, figuring out who to send your emails to 0:19 can be a real struggle. 0:23 If you're just starting out, you may not have many followers 0:25 or any email lists at all. 0:27 Reaching out through online channels like social media 0:30 and blogs can allow you to reach people interested in what you have to offer. 0:33 But don't forget offline strategies as well. 0:37 Meeting people in person allows you key moments 0:40 to share your vision for your company and products, 0:44 and events like conferences, workshops, and even local meetups 0:46 are a great way to network, create buzz, 0:50 and get some email addresses. 0:53 Now, laws prohibit businesses from blasting emails out to just anyone, 0:56 so gathering email addresses from websites 1:01 or other email systems without permission is not recommended. 1:03 If you want to build lists the right way, 1:08 you need to give users a reason to sign up. 1:10 Dropping a signup form on your website is good, 1:13 but it's merely step 1 for promoting a new email newsletter or other messaging. 1:16 Providing details on the content users will receive, 1:22 how often they'll get contacted, and access to previous newsletter issues 1:25 will help even more. 1:29 People want to receive information that benefits them, 1:31 so consider personalizing content as well. 1:34 It has great appeal because it's much more relevant to the user 1:37 than general marketing messages. 1:41 You may be tempted to send your messages to everyone you know, 1:44 but research has shown that segmenting your lists can have great success. 1:48 Segments allow you to better target audiences 1:53 by sorting users by demographics, interests, 1:56 their status as a customer, and some other variables. 1:59 This is especially helpful because not all of your messages 2:03 are going to be relevant to all of your list members, 2:06 and you don't want to run the risk of users unsubscribing 2:09 when you can easily omit them. 2:12 Grouping list members by location, for example, 2:14 can allow you to reach users in a part of the world 2:17 where you might be appearing at a regional event. 2:20 Therefore, it's important to gather as much information 2:23 about your users as you can when they sign up. 2:26 Of course, you don't want to be too intrusive 2:30 and risk scaring them off, so get what you can. 2:32 Simple demographics are helpful, but if there's a way to link email information 2:36 to the products or services the users are interested in, 2:40 it can greatly help your marketing efforts later on 2:44 when rolling out new items they might want to buy. 2:47 If your site has a social login through Facebook or Twitter, 2:50 this can give you even more insight. 2:53 But whatever tools you use, make an effort to continually grow your lists 2:56 and target them with segments, and your emails will be more relevant and effective. 3:00