Communicating to a Segmented Audience.

Of Marketing Communication, Audience Personas, Profiles, and Segmentation.

Photo by Mike Meyers on Unsplash

Hello! A quick welcome to new readers, and a deep thank you to those readers who upgraded - your support keeps me going!

You're likely aware that different audiences engage with your content in various ways, whether you're promoting a product, sharing an article, or offering services.

So, what do audience segmentation profiles look like for a writer, regardless of the platform?

Think about followers and subscribers—those who opt to receive your communications on their platform of choice. For example, Medium users enjoy stories, Twitter users follow tweets, LinkedIn users engage with posts, Substack users read Notes, and YouTube viewers watch videos.

Each interaction builds awareness and consideration for you and your brand.

As a writer or product owner, your primary goal is to consistently create value. This alone helps you attract and retain followers, and convert them into subscribers, and so on.

Have you read this recommendations strategy cheat sheet that discusses funnels and conversion?

Your subscribers/readers are by default, segmented into free, paid (annual/monthly), and premium.

Now, what's your communication strategy for each segment? Here, “communication” refers to messaging your audience outside of your regular posts. Consider these factors:

a. Frequency—how often you'll communicate?

b. What messages will you'll share? What are the perks per segment?

c. How will you ensure the quality of engagement in chats, comments?

The effectiveness of your tactics depends on the goals you've set for each segment. What feedback do you have that your current tactics are working? Are you consistently attracting new followers, free and paid subscribers?

Consistent engagement with your customers is essential. As a writer, you own a personal brand, and your products include various offerings—newsletters, books, notes, tweets, posts, and more.

Effective communication requires purpose and clarity. To achieve this, you need a strategy that addresses the following questions:

1. When to communicate?

2. How often to communicate?

3. What to say?

4. Which medium to use to communicate?

5. How to gauge if it is working?

If you are active on multiple platforms, your audience segmentation strategy must be finely tuned to each platform's dynamics.

For example, your email subscribers on Medium are accustomed to receiving your new posts via Medium's platform. If you aim to expand their awareness of your brand, it's essential to consider the style of your communication. One strategy could involve crafting a note formatted as a post to align with their expectations, accompanied by links to your other offerings.

As a walk-thru example, we can consider what Substack enables for you:

Segment 1: Followers

You can only communicate to them via Notes. So when you write one, communicate your brand value. This can help convert followers into free or paid subscribers.

Segment 2: Free Readers

Tailor email footers for them and offer perks like access to a single paid article for free via dashboard and post settings.

Segment 3: Paid or Comped Readers

There is no way to distinguish between readers who are comped or are monthly versus annual subscribers. You can customize footers for them based on post availability or offer them paid chat threads or direct messaging as a perk.

Segment 4: Platinum or Founding or Business Readers

Customize email footers similar to the options available for paid, but further customize the text to differentiate them as platinum readers.

Segment 5: Other Writers

Chats, Direct Messages can help you reach other writers for collaboration on guest posts, sharing audience growth trends, cross-posting etc. Be careful to not ambush them with cold messages that are not purpose-driven.

Other Channels that Apply to All Readers

• Targeted emails to filtered subsets of readers based on activity levels or subscription type.

• Monthly or weekly roundups for an insider's peek into your publication.

• Relevant and infrequent chats and new threads on different topics.

• Engaging podcasts and videocasts to connect differently with your audience. One writer

  Nan Tepper
  shared a compelling example of using videos. She intends to upload her readings from local story slams. What a great idea! Thanks for sharing, Nan!

• Host external webinars for a subset of subscribers via email invites.

Pro-tip: Use the format and channel that best aligns with reader preferences.

Using most of these channels already? Why not share what’s working for you?

Engaging with Your Audience

• Authentic engagement is key.

• Be consistent and share valuable content.

• Offer behind-the-scenes insights and exclusives to paid/platinum members.

• Tailor messages and mediums to targeted segments.

For Minimum Effort:

• Customize email footers in Dashboard → Settings for each segment once. Here is the post with the video on how to edit this setting.

• Then, when needed, tweak the headers and footers to offer special perks or discounts to each segment. (Use the ‘Edit email footer and header’ button at the top of your draft post to customize.)

Here are some sample email footers set using TechMadeSimple as an example:

For more, explore these posts:

Substack: Using Notes Minimally.

Substack: Enhancing Your Engagement on Posts.

Substack: Tracking Engagment At a Macro Level.

---

Need more help? Upgrade to get customized answers and how-to videos.