This is the third article in a six-part series on email marketing. Read part two.

Once you have a quality list together, the next step is to make it personal. Dividing your email list into smaller groups of like-minded individuals can dramatically improve the ROI of your campaigns. Sending highly relevant messages to your target audience not only improves your response rate, it helps with overall list growth. Companies that send appropriate and targeted messages tend to enjoy lower opt-out rates than those who blast the same message to everyone on their list.

Your segmentation is only as good as your knowledge of your customers and prospects. Some questions to consider:

• What messages will most likely cause them to react favorably?
• Are there groups within your database that are more receptive to a discount, promotion or other offer?
• Can you segment your customers into new/long-time/at-risk segments?
• How often do your customers want to hear from you?
• Are there buying differences between the men and women on your list?

The task can be daunting, but some marketers employ a simple solution – they follow the clicks. You can implement a simple segmentation process that treats frequent openers differently from those who only occasionally or rarely open messages. Another technique is to divide groups based on what they click within promotional messages or e-newsletters.

Take it even further. Talk to your customers directly by thanking them for specific purchases, making recommendations or referencing something personal.

Your subscribers will appreciate your attention. Personalization is one way to show you care about them and respect their preferences.

To illustrate this point, think about the fictitious company called Snap Photography. The single-location shop caters to hobbyists, advanced amateurs and professional photographers. The shop sells digital cameras for casual use and commercial equipment for the serious photographer. In addition, the store develops photos as well as sells a host of photo-related accessories such as frames and memory books. The business also offers photography classes for those who wish to hone their skills.

Now, just with this very brief abstract of our example company, you can see how many segments of customers the store serves and how many ways the list can be sliced. Hobbyists, advanced amateurs and professional photographers are natural segments. Identifying who shoots weddings, landscapes or families might further refine the professional photographers. The hobbyists might be separated to identify who has pets or children. Think about the possibilities to group people based on their interests and you’ll find your emails to be on target and valuable.

Next: Email Secret #4: Generate Content They Can Use