If you’re serious about not blasting the same marketing email to everyone, you need segmentation. But let’s be real: audience segmentation is messy, the tools are confusing, and “personalization” can mean anything from “Hi {First Name}” to actually treating people like, well, people.
This guide is for marketers, founders, and anyone trying to send the right stuff to the right people—using Ctd. We’ll skip the fluff and focus on what actually helps you send outreach that feels personal (without losing your mind or your whole weekend).
Step 1: Know Why You’re Segmenting (Don’t Skip This)
Before you start slicing up your audience, get clear on why you’re doing it. The answer isn’t “because everyone else does.” Here’s what should drive your segmentation:
- Relevance: You want to send content/offers that actually matter to people.
- Better response rates: More opens, replies, and conversions.
- Avoiding unsubscribes: If you’re annoying people, you’re losing them.
What doesn’t work: - Segmenting just to show off charts in meetings. - Over-complicating things so much you never actually send anything.
Pro tip: If you can’t explain in one sentence why a segment exists, you don’t need it (yet).
Step 2: Gather and Clean Your Audience Data
You can’t segment what you don’t have. Start by collecting and cleaning your data:
What to collect: - Contact info: Emails, names, maybe phone numbers. - Demographics: Job title, company size, industry, location. - Behavior: What have they clicked? Which pages have they visited? Did they sign up for anything? - Source: How did they get on your list? Download? Event? Purchase?
How to clean: - Ditch duplicates. - Standardize fields (e.g., “VP” isn’t the same as “Vice President” to a computer). - Delete obvious junk.
What to ignore: - Vanity fields you’ll never use (favorite color, anyone?). - Data that’s always blank.
In Ctd: Import your data (CSV, integration, whatever works) and double-check field mapping. Garbage in, garbage out.
Step 3: Pick Useful Segmentation Criteria
Not all criteria are created equal. The best segments are simple and tied to real differences in customer needs or behavior.
Classic ways to segment: - Firmographics: Company size, industry, revenue. - Demographics: Role, seniority, location. - Behavioral: What they’ve done (or not done)—opened emails, booked a demo, etc. - Lifecycle: New lead, trial user, paying customer, churned user.
What actually works: - Segmenting by pain point or use case, if you’ve captured that info. - Grouping by recent activity (e.g., “clicked last 2 emails”) for re-engagement. - Using lead source to personalize first touch (e.g., “Hey, thanks for joining our webinar…”).
What doesn’t: - Micro-segments so small that you’re writing a separate email for three people. - Relying only on job titles (“all CEOs are the same,” said no one ever).
Pro tip: Start broad. You can always get more granular later.
Step 4: Build Segments in Ctd (Without Losing Your Mind)
Here’s where most people get stuck. The interface in most tools isn’t exactly friendly, and it’s easy to overthink this part.
How to actually do it in Ctd: - Go to your audience or list view. - Click “Create segment” or whatever button means “make a group.” - Use filters: Pick the data fields that matter (e.g., Industry = SaaS, Last activity = within 30 days). - Give the segment a name that actually means something (“Active SaaS Prospects,” not “List 3”).
Tips: - Preview the segment—look at a few contacts to make sure they fit. - Don’t be afraid to delete or merge segments if they’re not useful. - Set up dynamic segments if Ctd supports it, so people move in/out automatically.
Don’t bother with: - Building 10 segments before you’ve even sent your first campaign. - Creating segments based on “nice to have” data that’s mostly blank.
Step 5: Match Outreach to Each Segment (Personalization That’s Not Creepy)
Here’s where segmentation pays off—if you actually tailor your outreach.
How to personalize effectively: - Use language that matches the segment’s needs or goals. (E.g., “struggling with onboarding?” for new customers.) - Reference the source or last action (“Since you downloaded our guide…”). - Adjust offers or CTAs: Don’t pitch a demo to someone who already bought.
What to avoid: - Over-personalizing with irrelevant details (“I see you’re in Boise…”). It’s weird. - Using only {First Name} and calling it a day.
Real-world example: - Segment: “Trial users who haven’t used key feature.” - Outreach: “Most people get the most out of Ctd by trying X. Need help getting started?”
Pro tip: Write your emails for a real person in that segment. If it feels like spam, it is.
Step 6: Test, Measure, and Adjust
Segmentation isn’t “set it and forget it.” The point isn’t to make fancy lists—it’s to get better results.
What to measure: - Open/click/reply rates for each segment. - Unsubscribe rates (did you get too aggressive?). - Conversion (did they do what you wanted?).
How to improve: - Prune segments that don’t perform. - Merge or split segments as you learn more. - Try different messages or offers—see what lands.
Ignore: - Chasing “perfect” segments. You’ll never have perfect data.
Pro tip: Document what you tried and what happened. Future-you will thank you.
Step 7: Don’t Overcomplicate It (Seriously)
It’s tempting to build a crazy segmentation tree that impresses… nobody. Here’s the honest truth:
- Most of your gains come from a few broad, well-chosen segments.
- You don’t need AI or predictive analytics to get started.
- If you can’t explain your segments to someone in 30 seconds, they’re too complex.
Start simple. Iterate as you learn. The best personalization is the kind that actually gets sent, not the kind that sits in a spreadsheet.
Wrapping Up
Segmentation isn’t magic—it’s just grouping people in ways that help you talk to them like humans. In Ctd, it’s easy to get lost in features, but the basics are what matter: clean data, clear segments, and outreach that feels real. Skip the fancy stuff until the basics work. Start small, measure results, and tweak as you go. That’s how you make personalized outreach that doesn’t suck—without burning out.