Have you made the move from your old email provider to ConvertKit but are a bit confused about the difference between segments and tags? Planning out how to use them will make your life so much easier!
Tags vs Segments (vs Forms)
I like to think of tags as the nitty gritty detail of the people on my list. I have tags set up based on interests, what sequences people have completed, what they have purchased, what they have signed up for and so on. Tags track all that small detail.
Segments are what you then use to group together people with various tags (and forms). It is basically a time saver as rather than having to select every tag (or form) you want to send something to you can just select the segment.
And then just to add to the confusion of things, you can also add people based on which form they signed up for. The forms track if they got on your list via a certain opt-in or through a header on your site or maybe through Facebook. Handy information to know in terms of your marketing efforts but in some cases may not be meaningful in terms of specific interests. If someone signs up for a particular opt-in you might want to tag them with a particular interest but if they sign up through a general form on your website or Facebook it isn’t going to be obvious what they are particularly interested in.
My number one tip
My number one tip for using tags, segments and forms is to have a plan! Think about what you want to know about your subscribers to set up tags and then think about how you would like to group them. Just because someone falls in to one group doesn’t mean you have to exclude them from another.
And the plan should be based on how you can use information to best serve your clients.
I like to do this visually using a good old fashioned index cards or post it notes. Brainstorm what is important to for you to know about your clients on index cars. Then sort through them and see if there are any obvious groupings that you would use as segments. Then have a look at the suggestions below and see if there are any other ideas that you could use. Finally start plotting how you are going to get this information!
Ideas for using Segments
1. Running two blogs or websites? Then set up segments for each blog. No need to have a different account for each piece of the puzzle and if people sign up for both you aren’t going to be charged double as ConvertKit works on subscribers rather than lists. But you will need to change settings each time you send an email – like what the send email is. In the long run separate accounts may work better.
2. Split up people interested in different services. I offer Facebook ad services as well as support around setting up the tech side of your email list. Some people are going to be interested in both but I have people who are only interested in one of those topics. I also want to breakdown those interested in Facebook ads between those who are DIYers and those who want to hire in help. If I have content that is relevant to anyone interested in Facebook ads I can select that segment but if the content relates to DIYing your Facebook ads I am probably not going to want to send it to those who aren’t interested in the DIY route. I can set up tags for these two groups within the Facebook ad segment.
3. Changed business focus? Have you changed your business focus but still have old clients on your email list who aren’t going to be interested in most of the new content you are producing? Then set up segments based on when people joined your list. Using my Facebook ad example if I previously offered general Facebook ad services but now decided to focus on working with businesses who sell sparkly widgets, then most of my old audience aren’t going to be interested in content focussed on sparkly widgets. I can still have my segment for Facebook ads but now add tags around my change in business focus.
4. Group people together to save time. ConvertKit suggest setting up segments for regular activities. For example if you have a newsletter that you send out to people on your list every week after they have completed your sequence of welcome emails then set up a segment called newsletter which goes to everyone not going through the welcome sequence.
5. Clients vs potential clients. Once someone has bought a product from you, you might want to send them different content. If you have more than one product, you can tag which product they have bought but then bring everyone who has purchased together in a segment. If you are doing a launch you might want to have different sequences for people who already know and love you and those who are still warming up!
Really the only limitation is your imagination about how you can serve your clients better and what information will help you do that!
