If you're running a community, you know that scattershot outreach is a waste of time. You need to talk to the right people, not just everyone. That's where custom segments in Common Room come in. This guide is for anyone—community managers, DevRel folks, support leads—who wants to stop guessing and start targeting outreach that actually lands.
We'll walk through how to create custom segments step by step, with honest advice on what’s worth your time and what to skip.
Why bother with custom segments?
Let’s get real: most communities are a mishmash of folks—power users, lurkers, folks just checking things out. If you treat them all the same, your messages will end up ignored (or worse, annoying). Segments let you group people based on meaningful stuff—activity, interests, company size, whatever matters to your goals—so you can send outreach that’s actually relevant.
When segments actually help: - Welcoming new members with a personal touch - Inviting high-engagement users to a beta or feedback session - Identifying folks who might churn or need support - Surfacing advocates for case studies or events
When segments are overkill: - Very small communities (<30 people) - One-off announcements for everyone - When you don’t have enough data yet (don’t overthink it)
Step 1: Get your data connected
Before you build segments, Common Room needs a way to actually “see” your community. This means connecting your sources—Slack, Discord, GitHub, email, wherever your people hang out.
How to do it: 1. Head to “Settings” > “Sources” in Common Room. 2. Connect the platforms you care about. Authorize permissions as needed. 3. Wait for data to sync. This can take a few minutes or longer for big communities.
Pro tip:
Don’t connect every possible source just because you can. Focus on the 1-2 channels where most of your real community action happens. More data isn’t always better—just more noise.
Step 2: Decide what matters for your outreach
Before you build a segment, get clear on your goal. Are you trying to re-engage inactive members? Find power users? Your segment should match the real people you want to reach.
Common ways to segment: - Activity level: Engaged daily, weekly, or inactive for X days - Role or title: “Engineer,” “Admin,” “Founder” - Company info: Company size, industry, paying vs. free users - Geography: Country, time zone (for events or region-specific launches) - Custom tags: Labels you or your team apply manually
Don’t get cute:
If you’re spending 30 minutes debating the perfect segment rules, you’re probably overcomplicating it. Start simple—you can always refine later.
Step 3: Build your custom segment
Now, let’s make the segment. Here’s how to do it without getting lost in the weeds.
- Go to the “Segments” section in Common Room’s sidebar.
- Click “Create Segment.” You’ll get a filter builder.
- Set your filters. You can filter by:
- Activity: e.g., “Last seen in Slack in the past 7 days”
- Role: e.g., “Job title contains ‘developer’”
- Tags: e.g., “Beta tester”
- Custom fields: e.g., “Customer since” date
- Give your segment a clear name. “Active API users – past 30 days” beats “Cool Folks Group 1.”
- Save the segment. It’ll show up in your segment list and stay updated as data changes.
Example: Invite active users to a feedback session - Activity: “Last seen in Discord in past 14 days” - No prior 1:1 outreach - Role: “Engineer” or “DevOps”
Reality check:
Don’t try to make a “perfect” segment on your first try. The filters aren’t magic—they work as well as your data does. If job titles are inconsistent, you’ll miss people. If you don’t have location data, you can’t filter by it.
Step 4: Review and sanity-check your segment
Before you hit people up, look at the actual list your segment spits out. Is it who you expect? Are there obvious errors—like bots, old accounts, or your own team?
- Scroll through the people list. Spot-check a few profiles.
- Adjust filters if needed. If your segment’s pulling in the wrong folks, tweak your criteria.
- Exclude internal team members. Most platforms let you filter these out.
Pro tip:
Don’t trust the segment blindly. There’s always some bad data, especially if your integrations are new. You want your outreach to feel personal, not like a mistake.
Step 5: Use your segment for targeted outreach
Now for the whole point: actually reaching out. Common Room lets you export segments, send emails, or kick off workflows (if your plan allows it).
Your options: - Export the list as CSV for use in your own email tool. - Send messages directly (if you’ve set up email or integrations). - Kick off automations (think: tagging, webhook to CRM, etc.).
Best practices: - Personalize your outreach. Use merge fields (like first name or company) if possible. - Don’t spam. One thoughtful message beats three generic ones. - Keep track of replies and engagement. Adjust your strategy if you’re getting ignored.
What doesn’t work: - Blasting the same message to a “segment” of 500+ people. That’s just email marketing in disguise. - Overly complex automation. If you can’t explain who’s in the segment and why, it’ll backfire.
Step 6: Iterate and improve
No segment is perfect forever. Community changes, people move roles, new folks join. Revisit your segments every few weeks.
- Check if the segment still fits your goals.
- Prune or tweak filters as data improves.
- Archive segments that aren’t useful anymore.
Watch for:
- Stale data (people who left the community)
- Overlapping segments (confusing for you, annoying for them)
- Changes in your outreach goals
Pro tips & honest advice
- Start small. One or two well-defined segments beat a dozen confusing ones.
- Don’t get paralyzed by data. Use what you have, not what you wish you had.
- Manual review matters. Automation is great, but nothing beats a quick scan.
- Ask for feedback. If you’re not sure your outreach is working, just ask a few recipients.
Ignore:
- Overly granular segments (“users who logged in between 2-3pm last Thursday”). It’s rarely worth it.
- Fancy dashboards and charts unless they help you take actual action.
Keep it simple and get started
Custom segments in Common Room aren’t rocket science—they’re just a way to help you talk to the right people without the guesswork. Don’t wait for perfect data. Start with one segment, review who’s in it, and try a targeted message. Then see what happens and adjust.
Keep it simple. Use segments to reach people who actually care. Iterate as you go. That’s how you actually get results—without making yourself crazy.