Part 4: Segments

Segments are subsets of your list. They allow you to target specific members of your list based on information you have about them. For example, they could allow you to send a special message to only those list members who:

• live in Canada
• have made a major purchase in the last year
• have an email address at a particular domain (e.g., aol.com or hotmail.com)

Note that you can only segment your list based on the information you have about your members. This information must be included when they join or when you import them.

You don't have to create segments for your list. If you don't create and select a segment, your message will simply be sent to your entire list.

The main Segments page

The main Segments page shows you all of the segments you've created for a particular list. You can save, edit, copy, or test segments on this page. Like the ‘View All Contents' page, it is a kind of "library" of your segments. Some segments have been created for you automatically — "administrators", "aol" and "not-aol". From the drop-down menu, you can choose to view All, Standard, or Triggered segments.

Creating a segment

This example shows how to make a segment of all recipients who work in education — they have .edu as their top level domain.
1. Select the Segments tab.

2. Select create new segment.

3. Enter edu for the Segment Name. Note that there can be no spaces in a segment's name.

4. Enter Education Addresses for the segment's Description.

5. Click the Insert Clause button.

6. On the Text tab, select "Domain_" from the Insert member text field drop-down menu.

7. Select "Ends With" and enter .edu in the this value field.

8. Click insert.

9. The following will appear in the Query box:

   --Text field 'Domain_' ends with '.edu'
members_.Domain_ LIKE '%.edu'

   The window will now look like this:

   

11. Click on Save and Test. You will be taken to the Segments: Test Segment page, where you can see the query generated and a sample of the addresses pulled. Note that if you don't have any .edu addresses, no names will be displayed here.

12. You can edit the segment here or click OK to go back to the main segments page, where your new segment will now be on the list. When you send a mailing, you can now include (or exclude) this or any other segment you've created.

What's next?

• Part 4b: Triggered Segments
• Skip to Part 5: Mailings
• Return to the Getting Started main page