How to Create an Engaged Segment of Email Subscribers

Email marketing is a powerful tool for reaching your target audience and driving conversions, especially when you leverage the concept of creating an engaged segment. In this blog post, we'll delve into the importance of an engaged segment in email marketing and explore how Apple's Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) affects it.

Understanding MPP: Apple's Mail Privacy Protection

Before we dive into creating an engaged segment, let's shed some light on MPP, or Apple's Mail Privacy Protection. MPP is a feature introduced by Apple to enhance user privacy and engagement in email marketing. It primarily affects individuals who use Apple devices to access their email accounts, impacting how you can nurture an engaged segment of subscribers.

Here's how it works:

When you send an email to a customer who uses an Apple device, Apple intercepts and opens the email before it reaches the recipient's inbox. While this may sound like a privacy measure, it has significant implications for email marketers, particularly those focused on nurturing an engaged segment.

One of the most noticeable effects is that open rates, a metric marketers often rely on to gauge the engagement segment's performance, become less accurate.

For instance, if you observe a 50% open rate, there's a good chance that it's closer to 40% due to MPP's interference. This discrepancy is crucial to understand, as open rates are just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to evaluating email campaign success.

The Role of Engaged Segments in Email Marketing

Now that we have a grasp of MPP and its impact on open rates within email marketing, let's shift our focus to engaged segments—a pivotal strategy for nurturing your email subscribers' engagement and driving meaningful interactions.

Precision is paramount for effective email marketing, and that's where the concept of the "engaged segment" shines. An engaged segment comprises subscribers who actively interact with your emails, showing genuine interest in your brand.

Sending emails exclusively to an engaged segment offers numerous advantages, including higher open and click rates, increased conversions, and reduced unsubscribe rates. To maximise the impact of your email marketing efforts, prioritising engaged segments is not just a choice—it's a strategic necessity.

An engaged segment isn't solely dependent on open rates; it involves several other factors that determine a subscriber's level of engagement with your emails.

This strategy allows you to target a highly engaged segment of subscribers who are genuinely interested in your content and products, irrespective of MPP's effects on open rates.

What Factors to Include in an Engaged Segment

Subscription and Non-Suppression

To create a robust engaged segment, every subscriber must meet two essential criteria. Your subscriber must be subscribed to your main email list and not suppressed. These prerequisites ensure that you're targeting an audience genuinely interested in your content and committed to engagement.

Engagement Factors

Beyond subscription and non-suppression, an engaged segment hinges on various engagement factors. Here's where we emphasise the importance of segmenting based on interactions to nurture your engaged audience further. Within a 90-day engagement window, subscribers must meet at least one of the following criteria to qualify for the engaged segment:

Has clicked an email: Demonstrates active engagement with your content.

Opened an email (exclude Apple MPP opens): Indicates interaction even if they didn't click through.

Has been active on your site: Shows a multi-channel engagement approach, extending beyond emails.

Has viewed a product: Indicates potential interest in a purchase.

Has started checkout: Demonstrates intent to make a purchase.

Has placed an order: Represents the pinnacle of engagement, as they have converted.

Recent Subscribers: Including subscribers who have joined your list in the last 14 to 30 days is a valuable addition. This ensures that new subscribers have the opportunity to become part of your engaged segment, contributing to your overall email marketing success.

By consistently focusing on these engagement criteria, you can create and maintain a dedicated engaged segment with high deliverability.

To Put it Simply

In the dynamic landscape of email marketing, an engaged segment is your secret weapon. It's about more than just open rates; it's about identifying and nurturing relationships with subscribers who are genuinely interested in your offerings.

To thrive in the ever-evolving email marketing landscape, prioritise the engagement of your subscribers, and leverage the power of engaged segments to create meaningful connections and drive business growth.

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