What you want to do is something called, list segmentation. This is simply dividing your list into smaller groups according to certain criteria. We'll get to that in a moment. After segmenting your list, you'll be able to specialize your product offers to each segment.

This is extremely powerful and done right... it'll skyrocket your conversions and profits. Lets continue...

The principle behind segmenting is targeting your offers based on customer needs, desires, and buying power. The end result will be promoting offers to people who'll be more likely to buy.

Quite simple and elegant!

You'll also achieve higher customer satisfaction. Why? If a business does NO segmentation, then every single subscriber receives the same message. Right?

I cannot count the number of times I've been annoyed with receiving an email offer for something I've already purchased! Ever happened to you? I bet it has. And it's just plain crazy to market a higher priced offer to subscribers who have NEVER bought anything!

So lets take a look at some ways you can segment your list for higher conversions and increased profits.

One method used by direct response marketers considers 3 main areas.

1. How recent a customer has purchased from you.

2. How often the customer makes a purchase.

3. How much the customer spends.

Now, this subject of list segmentation is very wide and exhaustive. So today we'll only hit some highlights. But it'll give you a great start with your own list. You can segment your list according to how long your subscribers have been with you. There's some flexibility with this. So you can try something like dividing into the 4 annual quarterly periods.

Your newest subscribers can be golden when treated properly because they're prime for being converted into paying customers. They're fresh and looking forward to your ezine or email course. You can make special offers to this group as an introductory marketing campaign. The special offers should be designed to be as attractive as possible. Designed to entice, intrigue, and excite.

Once converted into paying customers, then you'll segment them accordingly and move on.

Every list has a group that has never bought anything... yet. But do NOT give up on them. They're still valuable because you can do something that smart marketers always do. TEST!

That's right. You can send them offers with different price points, marketing messages, etc. Use your business and marketing creativity! Try making them a very low-cost offer. For example... many of you may have seen reports selling for the magical $7 price point. Or...

You can be more direct with them and ask them if they're happy with your ezine. Solicit some feedback from them. Ask them if they want to remain on your list! Think of a good way to engage them in some way. Why not? You just may convert some into buying customers. Then move them into their own special group.

Now lets talk about, frequency... How often has someone on your list made a purchase. Look for those who have made more than one purchase. Ideally, you have a good number of them. Then you can divide them into specific number of times they've bought. This is where it gets exciting! If you have such a segment within your list, then you can design special higher-priced offers to them. But make darn sure these offers are high quality and the higher price is fully justified.

The people in this segment have proven their loyalty. They have shown that they like the products and service they've been getting from you. So this group contains your very best prospects for higher priced offers.

And your conversions for these special offers will reflect the quality of customers in this group.

The third area concerns how much your customers spend with you. So you'll segment your list according to price point. And hopefully you'll already have had some bigger ticket sales. If so, here's what you can do...

Look for your highest price point customers. Then create a special group and these will be your premium subscribers. You have a lot of flexibility with this group because you can design excellent offers exclusively for them. For example...

You can create an exclusive... and pricey... membership service for them. It's the best form of subscription-based service for obvious reasons. If done smartly and creatively you can really boost your profit levels with a group like this!

So! Have you ever tried looking at your list in this manner? If not, you're losing out big time! It's a very simple way to dramatically increase your list marketing conversions. There's always more to the story, though. But get cracking on your list and see what happens!