You may have heard that today’s consumers expect timely and relevant information from the businesses they choose to hear from. Segmentation is the first step toward sending that targeted, relevant content that gets results for your business.
We recently hosted a webinar where we discussed segmentation and how you can use this tool, along with others in your Constant Contact account, to be sure you are sending the right message to your contacts. Other highlights included:
Basic strategies to segment your email list
How to get your subscribers to self-segment
How to use existing data & tools to send relevant information
In this post, you can watch the webinar in its entirety and read some of the questions asked by our attendees. Interested in our free, future webinars? Sign up here to stay informed!
Segmentation
Can you add segments to automated campaigns?
Not directly from Segments but you can add a segment to a contact list and then create an automated series that will send to that list. However, if you use click segmentation, contacts who click on a specific link or image in your account are then automatically added to a list. If you create a series that is connected to this list, they will then start to receive automated emails.
Is there an easy way to segment contacts who regularly open emails/newsletters? What about those who aren’t engaging with my emails?
Do you have to upgrade to be able to use segments?
All accounts have access to segments
What's the difference between using segments and using tags? Segments and lists?
All three serve different purposes and instead of viewing them all as separate segmentation options, you can use them together to better understand your contacts. Lists are generally larger groups of contacts while segments are more concentrated and created to sort out contacts based on email activity or other criteria. Tags are used for smaller lists and can be used to exclude or filter out contacts when scheduling an email.
When sending an email to a list that may include several segments, will you see in the report statistics per segments?
At this time, there is no specific reporting available for segments. You can view the reporting for the email sent instead under Email Details.
Are these segments dynamic? Meaning people will be added and drop off automatically?
Can I create a segment that includes contacts from different lists? Or, can contacts belong to multiple segments?
Yes, when you create a segment, you can select the specific list(s) you would like the segment to find contacts in. Contacts can belong to multiple segments.
Will it be possible to send to a segment list and an email list at the same time? Currently, we can only choose one or the other.
This is a feature request that we are reviewing. Right now, emails can only be sent to either a list or a segment.
Can we do subject line A/B testing when sending to a segment?
I created my sign-up form and I want to add it to my website. How do I do that?
Our Knowledge Base article outlines the steps to activate and install a sign up form for many popular website builders. Please note our Support teams do not assist with the installation of this code and you will want to reach out to the support for your website builder if you need help adding this code.
Is there a way to get some kind of notification when a consumer fills out a sign-up form?
Can you use sign-up tools with unsolicited subscribers (haven't met person, haven't exchanged information)?
Sure! When contacts use a sign-up form to join your mailing list, they are giving express permission to receive communications from you which is the best way to stay compliant with CASL and GDPR
Are pop-up forms part of the basic package with Constant Contact?
Yes but it's worth keeping in mind that our basic Email package only allows you to create one pop up form and you are not able to adjust the timing. If you were looking to create multiple forms, you would want to consider upgrading to Email Plus.
Can you create different sign-up forms or pop-up forms for different pages of your website?
For inline sign-up forms, you will need to insert the specific inline code for each form on the page you would like it to display on. You are not able to have multiple pop-up forms display since they all pull from the same Universal Code.
Can you edit inline and pop-up forms after they have published?
Yes, and since the codes are already inserted on your website, there is no need to replace any coding. Changes will be implemented automatically!
Contacts
When someone is assigned to two lists and they opt-out of one of them, are they removed from both? Is there an option provided for them to choose which email to opt-out of?
We provide an option for contacts to update what they want to receive from you. This is done through the Update Profile link at the bottom of your emails. You can customize the Update Profile form to have list options displayed.
How do you create an update profile email that I can send out to all of my contacts? What do you suggest I say when creating this email?
We don’t have a specific template for this type of email but you should make sure that you have your branding included. Include a short description of why your contacts should update their profile and how it will benefit them. A best practice is to make the request the sole purpose of the email so it doesn’t get lost amongst other content.
Why can't we add the Update Your Profile link to the header? I think it needs to be up higher.
That’s a great point. This link can only be found in the footer of your email but you can include a small text block at the top of your email directing contacts to update their profiles, should they need to do so.
Can people opt back in after they opt-out on their own? Are we able to add them back to a list after they have opted out (given they have requested this)?
You can add back an unsubscribed contact by sending them a confirmation email or providing them with any other kind of sign-up tool. You need express permission from these contacts that they want to receive emails from you again and these methods provide this type of permission. You cannot manually update an unsubscribed contact in your account.
Is there a way to import opt-out/unsubscribed contacts from an external ESP?
Yes and this is a necessary step to take in order to stay compliant with CAN-SPAM. You can do a bulk upload of unsubscribed contacts under the Contacts tab in your account.
With Constant Contact, I've noticed you cannot add a contact unless you have their email. Some people only give us an address. Any thoughts?
A contact without an email address is not considered a valid contact (one that we can send email to), so we do not allow these contacts to be uploaded. You may want to consider using a CRM tool or simply create an Excel file of your contacts without email addresses. If you do receive an email address from them in the future, you can upload them to your account.
Does Constant Contact offer or sell mail lists?
No, we do not sell email lists to our customers nor do we allow our customers to use these lists. We offer numerous list growth tools so you can organically grow your list while ensuring that you are receiving consent from your contacts to contact them
Integrations
Does Constant Contact integrate with WordPress? What about Salesforce or other websites/CRMs?
We have an integration with WordPress to easily capture contact information from website visitors. For a full listing of official and third-party integrations with our product, please visit our Marketplace.
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We had so many great questions from our attendees that we had to come back do to another quick video. Dave Charest, Director of Content Marketing, covered even more topics, including using custom fields, advertising on Facebook, and a further explanation about click segmentation. Check it out and let us know what you think.
We take questions asked by customers on the Community and expand on them to help you find answers fast, getting you back to using Constant Contact's suite of amazing tools in no time.
"There's a multitude of ways to engage your audience through us using your social platforms - via ads, social post metrics, email links, and more! " - Will
