Segments worth building first

A handful of segments cover most of what people actually need. Build these before inventing anything clever.

Engaged

Contacts who have opened or clicked recently. The single most useful segment you can have.

Send to it when warming a new domain, when testing a subject-line idea, and any time deliverability needs protecting — engagement is what mailbox providers reward. See Landing in the inbox instead of spam.

Recent buyers

Bought in the last 30 or 90 days. The audience for cross-sells, replenishment reminders and asking for reviews. Needs a connected store.

Lapsed

Bought once, a long time ago, and not since. The win-back audience — and the one to be careful with, since people who have forgotten you are the likeliest to complain. Keep it small and the tone low-key.

VIP

Two or more orders, or above a spend threshold. Worth separating because the right message for them is rarely the right message for everyone.

Never purchased

Subscribed but never bought. A different problem from lapsed, and usually a different email.

Two habits worth having

Start broad. A rule tight enough to be interesting is often tight enough to match eleven people. Begin wide, look at the Members count, then narrow.

Exclude rather than duplicate. If you have a VIP segment, keep it out of the general promotion rather than sending both — otherwise your best customers get two emails and the offer that was meant to feel special does not.

Check what feeds them

Order-based segments need a connected store, and behaviour-based ones need the pixel. Without those they sit at zero and look broken when they are simply unfed. See When do segments update?.

Next: open Segments and build Engaged first — you will use it more than any of the others.