How to segment your audience for email campaigns with Zoominfo

So, you want to actually reach the right people with your emails—not just blast your whole list and hope for the best. This guide is for marketers, sales folks, or anyone tired of sending emails into the void. We’ll cut through the fluff and show you how to use Zoominfo to segment your audience so your campaigns don’t just get opened—they get results.

Let’s get right to it.

Step 1: Know Your Real Goals (Not Just “More Opens”)

Before you even log into Zoominfo, get clear on why you’re segmenting. It’s not just about higher open rates. Think about:

  • What action do you want people to take?
  • Are you targeting new leads, existing customers, or something more specific?
  • What actually matters to your business—not just what looks good on a dashboard?

Pro Tip: Don’t create segments just because you can. If you’re not going to email people differently, there’s no point in splitting them up.

Step 2: Define Useful Segments—Not Just Demographics

Zoominfo gives you a ton of data, but more isn’t always better. The trick is to pick segments that matter for your message. A few ideas:

  • Industry: Are you speaking to healthcare, finance, SaaS, retail? Tailor your pitch.
  • Company size: A 10-person startup and a Fortune 500 need very different emails.
  • Job title/function: The CTO cares about different things than a Marketing Manager.
  • Seniority: Decision-makers vs. influencers.
  • Tech stack: Is your product only relevant if they use Salesforce? Filter for that.
  • Recent funding/expansion: Catch companies right when they’re growing.
  • Location: Sometimes it actually matters (time zones, regulations, language).

What to ignore: Things like generic “employee count ranges” or “annual revenue” might sound impressive, but unless your offer genuinely changes based on these, don’t overcomplicate it.

Step 3: Build a Search in Zoominfo

Time to dig in. Here’s how to build a segment in Zoominfo that’s actually useful.

  1. Log in to Zoominfo. No, there’s no secret hack here.
  2. Go to the ‘Advanced Search’ (sometimes called “People Search” or “Company Search”).
  3. Stack your filters: Add one filter at a time, starting with the most important. For example:
    • Industry: “Manufacturing”
    • Location: “United States”
    • Job Title: “VP of Operations” or “Director of Operations”
    • Company Size: “200–1000 employees”
  4. Stay focused: If your segment gets too small, loosen a filter. If it’s too big, tighten up.
  5. Save your search: Give it a name that actually means something (not “Test List 4”).

Reality check: Don’t get seduced by all the filter options. The more filters you add, the more you risk excluding good prospects. Start broad, then narrow as you see what works.

Step 4: Export (But Don’t Go Wild)

Once you’ve got your segment, you’ll want to get it out of Zoominfo and into your email platform.

  • Export the list: Usually as a CSV.
  • Check your export limits: Zoominfo isn’t unlimited. You might hit a cap.
  • Review the data: Before uploading, spot check for junk—outdated emails, weird job titles, or obvious mismatches. Zoominfo’s data is good, but far from perfect.

Pro Tip: Don’t dump 10,000 new contacts into your email tool and blast them all at once. It’s a recipe for spam complaints and getting blacklisted.

Step 5: Clean & Enrich (Optional, But Smart)

Zoominfo data is better than a lot of sources, but it’s not flawless.

  • Run a quick email validation (with a tool like NeverBounce or ZeroBounce). This helps avoid bounces that can sink your sender reputation.
  • Cross-check for duplicates: If you’ve been building lists for a while, odds are you’ll have overlap.
  • Enrich with CRM data: Sometimes you already know more than Zoominfo does—merge what you have.

Skip this if: You’re just doing a small test or a one-time campaign.

Step 6: Import Into Your Email Platform

Different tools, different steps, but the basics are:

  • Map fields: Make sure “First Name,” “Email,” “Company,” etc., match your email tool’s fields.
  • Tag or label your new segment: This helps you track performance later.
  • Set up suppression lists: Exclude people who’ve opted out or are already customers (unless it’s a customer campaign).

Heads up: Don’t just add new contacts without thinking about GDPR, CAN-SPAM, or other regulations. If you’re not sure you have permission, don’t send.

Step 7: Tailor Your Message (Don’t Just Swap the Name)

Here’s where most people mess up. They do all this work segmenting, then send the exact same email to everyone.

  • Customize the subject line: Mention the industry, challenge, or trigger relevant to that segment.
  • Tweak the body copy: Even small changes—like referencing a relevant pain point—make a difference.
  • Add a relevant call-to-action: What’s the next step for this group? Book a call? Download a case study?

Don’t waste time: You don’t need a whole new email for every segment. Even a few lines of personalization go a long way.

Step 8: Measure, Learn, and Iterate

Don’t trust anyone who says, “This is the perfect way to segment.” The only way to know what works is to test.

  • Track by segment: See which groups actually open, click, and respond.
  • Ignore vanity metrics: Opens are nice, but replies, calls, or deals matter more.
  • Refine your segments: If you notice one segment flops, tweak it or try something else.

Reality check: Most “best practices” are guesses until you see what works for your list.

Honest Takes: What Works, What Doesn’t

What works:

  • Keeping segments simple and actionable.
  • Regularly refreshing your data—stale lists = wasted effort.
  • Personalizing just enough to make the message feel relevant.

What doesn’t:

  • Over-segmenting. It kills your list size and makes more work than it’s worth.
  • Blindly trusting data quality. Always check before importing.
  • Mass emails to cold lists. You’ll burn your domain and your reputation.

Final Thoughts: Keep It Simple, Iterate Often

Audience segmentation with Zoominfo isn’t magic—it’s just a way to get a bit closer to the right people, with the right message, at the right time. Don’t get paralyzed by all the options, or try to build the perfect segment on the first try. Start with a couple of meaningful groups, keep your emails relevant, and tweak as you go.

The fancy dashboards and filters are nice, but what matters is whether people actually care enough to respond. Keep it simple. Test. Adjust. Repeat. That’s how you get better—and that’s how you don’t send emails to the void.