If you’re sending emails to everyone and hoping for the best, you’re wasting your time (and probably annoying your audience). Smart segmentation is how you stop blasting and start targeting. This guide is for anyone using Mailtoaster who wants to actually get results from email campaigns—without needing a PhD in data science.
Let’s break down exactly how to segment your audience in Mailtoaster, what’s worth doing, and what’s just hype.
Why bother segmenting? (And why most people get it wrong)
Segmentation isn’t about having fancy charts or ticking boxes for your boss. It’s about sending the right stuff to the right people, so they actually care and respond. Here’s what segmenting can actually do for you:
- Better open and click rates. Duh, because you’re being relevant.
- Fewer unsubscribes. People get less annoyed if you stop spamming them.
- Cleaner data over time. You see what’s working, what isn’t, and who’s worth your attention.
What you don’t need: 20 segments for every micro-interest, or wasting hours slicing your audience into oblivion. Keep it practical.
Step 1: Get your data in order
Before you start carving up your audience, make sure you’ve got the right data in Mailtoaster. Garbage in, garbage out.
What you need:
- Email addresses. Obvious, but worth stating.
- Basic details. Think: name, signup date, location. Don’t overthink it.
- Behavior data. Opens, clicks, last activity. Most of this is tracked automatically.
- Custom fields (if you have them). Stuff like purchase history, preferences, or tags from your signup forms.
Pro tip: If your data is a mess, spend 30 minutes cleaning it up. Delete obvious junk, merge duplicates, and make sure your fields are consistent. This pays off later.
Step 2: Decide how you actually want to segment
Don’t segment just because you can. Segment based on what will actually help you send better emails.
The most useful ways to segment in Mailtoaster:
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Activity-based
- Recent openers/clickers vs. people who haven’t engaged in months.
- Great for re-engagement or reward campaigns.
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Signup date
- New subscribers vs. old-timers.
- Useful for onboarding, anniversary, or “we miss you” emails.
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Location
- Country, region, or city (if you have it).
- Handy for local offers or event invites.
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Purchase or interest
- Past buyers, product preferences, or specific interests (if you’ve collected this).
- Perfect for relevant offers—don’t pitch cat toys to dog people.
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Custom tags
- Anything else you’ve marked, like “VIP,” “Webinar attendee,” or “Needs follow-up.”
What to ignore: Complex psychographics, “lookalike” segments, or anything you can’t explain in a sentence. If you’re making up segments just to feel clever, stop.
Step 3: Build your segments in Mailtoaster
Now, let’s get hands-on. Here’s how Mailtoaster handles segmentation (as of 2024):
1. Go to your audience dashboard
- Click on “Audience” in the main nav.
- You’ll see your full list, along with basic stats.
2. Click “Create Segment”
- Usually a button near your list overview. If it’s not obvious, check under “Manage” or “Filters.”
3. Choose your criteria
You’ll get options like:
- Email activity: Opened/clicked in last X days, never opened, etc.
- Signup source or date: Filter by when or where they joined.
- Custom fields: Any extra data you imported.
- Tags: Manual or auto-applied labels.
Stack as many rules as you need, but keep it simple. “Opened in last 30 days AND lives in Canada” is good. “Opened in last 7 days AND clicked on ‘Red Widget’ AND signed up in March” is probably overkill.
4. Preview and save
- Always preview who’s in the segment before saving.
- Give it a clear name: “Active - Canada” beats “Segment 7.”
5. Use the segment in a campaign
- When you set up a campaign, pick your segment from the audience selector.
- Double-check the count—if it’s zero or way too high, something’s off.
Pro tip: Don’t delete old segments right away. Rename them if you’re not sure. Sometimes you’ll want to reuse or tweak them later.
Step 4: Test, send, and watch what happens
Segmentation isn’t magic. The best way to see what works is to test.
- Start with two or three segments. For example: recent openers, lapsed users, and new signups.
- Send tailored emails to each. Change up the subject line or offer—doesn’t have to be a total rewrite.
- Watch the results. Open rates, clicks, unsubscribes. Don’t obsess, but check after a few days.
- Adjust as you go. If a segment isn’t responding, try something different or merge it back into a bigger group.
What actually works: Focusing on recency (who’s active now) and relevance (what they’ve shown interest in) gets you 80% of the benefit. Don’t get lost in the weeds.
Step 5: Don’t overcomplicate it
Here’s where a lot of people mess up:
- Too many segments. You’re not Amazon. Three to five segments is plenty for most lists.
- Forgetting to update. Segments aren’t set-and-forget. Revisit every month or so.
- Ignoring engagement. If a segment isn’t performing, don’t keep hammering them—either tweak your approach or let it go.
Pro tip: If you’re not sure, keep it simple. It’s better to send decent emails to a few smart segments than try to micromanage every subscriber.
Quick cheatsheet: High-impact segments to try first
If you need ideas, steal these:
- Recent openers (last 30 days): Send them your best stuff.
- Lapsed users (no opens in 90+ days): Try a re-engagement or “we miss you” email.
- New signups (first 14 days): Welcome sequence or intro offer.
- Location-based: For anything local or timezone-dependent.
- VIP customers (top spenders or engaged users): Give them early access or a thank-you.
These cover most smart use-cases without adding headaches.
What about automation and “AI-powered” segments?
Look, every platform is shouting about “AI segmentation” now. Here’s the truth:
- Automation is great for triggers. Like, sending a welcome email when someone signs up. Use it.
- AI segments? Maybe useful for huge lists, but most small-to-midsize businesses won’t see much benefit. Hand-picked segments, based on real behavior, usually outperform generic AI guesses.
If you want to experiment, fine—just don’t expect miracles.
Wrapping up: Keep it simple, stay useful, and iterate
Segmentation in Mailtoaster isn’t rocket science. Get your data clean, pick a few practical segments, and send emails people actually want. Watch what works, tweak as you go, and don’t fall for shiny new features you don’t need.
Most importantly: don’t let “perfect” get in the way of “done.” Start simple, iterate, and you’ll see better results—without drowning in complexity.