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List Management

Event-Based Segmentation

Creating subscriber segments based on specific actions users have taken in your product.

Definition

Event-based segmentation groups users by their behaviors rather than just their attributes. Instead of segmenting by plan type or company size, you segment by actions: users who completed onboarding, users who tried a specific feature, users who have not logged in for 14 days. This behavioral approach enables highly relevant targeting.

Why It Matters

Demographics tell you who someone is. Behavior tells you what they need. A user on the Enterprise plan who has never used your core feature needs different treatment than one who uses it daily. Event-based segments let you target based on actual product engagement, creating opportunities for contextually relevant email.

How It Works

Track events when users take actions in your product. Send these events to your email platform. Create segments based on event criteria: has done X, has not done Y, did X more than 5 times in the last 30 days. Use these segments to target email campaigns and trigger automations.

Best Practices

  • 1Track the events that matter for email targeting
  • 2Combine events with time windows for recency
  • 3Use negative segments (has not done X) for re-engagement
  • 4Layer events with attributes for precise targeting
  • 5Regularly audit segments to ensure they still make sense
  • 6Test segment-specific campaigns to validate relevance
  • 7Keep segment logic simple enough to understand

Behavioral Segments

Build segments based on product events. Target users by what they have done, not just who they are.

Learn More

Frequently Asked Questions

Focus on events that indicate different user needs: completed onboarding, used key features, invited teammates, hit usage limits, contacted support. These events define user states that call for different email treatment.

Attribute-based segments use static properties (plan, company size, location). Event-based segments use actions (clicked, signed up, used feature). Events are dynamic and often more relevant for email targeting because they reflect current behavior.

Define priority rules or mutually exclusive segment definitions. A user should not receive conflicting campaigns. Many email platforms let you prioritize segments or exclude users who belong to higher-priority groups.