How many groups should I split my email list into?

Start with 5-7: new, repeat, loyal, gone-quiet, plus big spenders and people who don't open emails. Beyond that, each new group needs its own set of emails to manage, which gets expensive fast. Focus on groups that genuinely behave differently, not just slicing your list by location or age.

What email tool lets me do this kind of automatic grouping?

Most modern email tools (Klaviyo, Drip, ActiveCampaign, and similar) can group people automatically and send emails triggered by what they do. The tool matters less than your data — make sure you're tracking purchase history, how much someone's spent, when they last bought, whether they open your emails, and what they've browsed.

Should I group people by how much they spend?

Yes, as a second layer. Big spenders should get better offers — early access, free shipping on larger orders. Budget-conscious customers respond better to bundles and discounts. But where someone is in their journey with you (new vs. repeat vs. loyal) matters more than spend alone.

How do I avoid overwhelming people with too many automatic emails?

Set a cap — say, no more than 2 promotional emails a week per person. If someone qualifies for more than one group at once (say, they abandoned a cart and are also a repeat customer), send one combined email instead of two separate ones. Watch unsubscribe rates by group — anything above 0.5% means you're emailing that group too often.

Does this same approach work for text messages?

Yes, and arguably even more so — texts feel more personal, so getting the timing and relevance right matters even more. Loyal customers might welcome a weekly tip by text. Customers who've gone quiet should get 2-3 well-timed win-back texts, not a weekly blast. The same grouping logic applies.

How many groups should I split my email list into?

Start with 5-7: new, repeat, loyal, gone-quiet, plus big spenders and people who don't open emails. Beyond that, each new group needs its own set of emails to manage, which gets expensive fast. Focus on groups that genuinely behave differently, not just slicing your list by location or age.

What email tool lets me do this kind of automatic grouping?

Most modern email tools (Klaviyo, Drip, ActiveCampaign, and similar) can group people automatically and send emails triggered by what they do. The tool matters less than your data — make sure you're tracking purchase history, how much someone's spent, when they last bought, whether they open your emails, and what they've browsed.

Should I group people by how much they spend?

Yes, as a second layer. Big spenders should get better offers — early access, free shipping on larger orders. Budget-conscious customers respond better to bundles and discounts. But where someone is in their journey with you (new vs. repeat vs. loyal) matters more than spend alone.

How do I avoid overwhelming people with too many automatic emails?

Set a cap — say, no more than 2 promotional emails a week per person. If someone qualifies for more than one group at once (say, they abandoned a cart and are also a repeat customer), send one combined email instead of two separate ones. Watch unsubscribe rates by group — anything above 0.5% means you're emailing that group too often.

Does this same approach work for text messages?

Yes, and arguably even more so — texts feel more personal, so getting the timing and relevance right matters even more. Loyal customers might welcome a weekly tip by text. Customers who've gone quiet should get 2-3 well-timed win-back texts, not a weekly blast. The same grouping logic applies.

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Performance Marketing

Why Most Online Brands Waste Their Email List

Marcus ChenSeptember 19, 20264 min read

Key takeaways

Email brings back more money for every dollar spent than almost any other channel — brands typically get about $43 back for every $1 spent — but only if you send different emails to different groups. A single email blasted to everyone has a 30-50% unsubscribe rate over time and brings in only 2-4% of sales. Grouping your list properly can push that to 15-25%.
Most brands split their list by basic things like location or how someone found them. Smarter brands split it by where someone is in their journey (brand new, repeat buyer, loyal, gone quiet), how they shop (big spenders vs. deal-seekers), and how often they open emails.
A customer who actually opens and reads your emails is worth $50-150 to you — 2-5x more than one who's stopped paying attention ($15-30). The difference isn't how big your list is. It's how you talk to each group within it.
Groups that update automatically based on what someone just did beat groups that never change, because what a customer needs changes week to week. Someone who bought two weeks ago needs different emails than someone who bought six months ago.

Most online brands build an email list and then send the exact same promotional email to everyone on it. New customers get the same '20% off, today only' as people who've bought five times. Someone who's never bought gets the same 'buy this bundle' email as a loyal customer. The result: fewer people open each email over time, more people unsubscribe, and email ends up bringing in only 2-4% of total sales.

Brands that have grown past several million dollars a year almost never do this. They split their list carefully. Someone on day 1 gets a different email than someone on day 180. A repeat buyer gets different messages than someone who's only browsed. A customer who's spent $500+ with you gets different offers than someone who's only ever bought once on a discount.

15-25%

of total sales come from email for brands that group their list carefully, versus 2-4% for brands that send one email to everyone

Source: elMudita Email Benchmarks, 2026

Four Stages: From One Email For Everyone To A Real Sales Channel

Stage 1: One Email For Everyone

Everyone gets the same weekly promotional email. Typical results: 20-25% of people open it, 2-4% click something, 0.5-1% buy. Unsubscribes climb steadily over time.

Stage 2: Basic Grouping

Split people by location, how they found you (an ad vs. a search), or whether they're new or existing. Typical results: 25-30% open rate, 2-4% click rate, 0.8-1.5% buy. Better, but still pretty generic.

Stage 3: Grouping By What People Actually Do

New customers (first 30 days): send how-to-use tips and reassurance
Recent repeat buyers (30-90 days): recommend products that go well with what they bought
Loyal customers (90+ days, 3+ purchases): send early access, exclusive offers, and perks
Customers going quiet (haven't bought in 120+ days): send a win-back offer
People who left items in their cart: send a reminder, a small incentive, and reviews from other buyers

Typical results: 30-35% open rate, 3-5% click rate, 1.5-2.5% buy. Email now brings in 8-12% of sales.

Stage 4: Groups That Update Automatically

Someone's group changes the moment they do something: a purchase moves them straight into the 'recent buyer' group and they get that email sequence right away. Going 30 days without opening a single email moves them into a 're-engage' group. Looking at the same product three times gets them an email about that exact product.

Typical results: 35-40% open rate, 4-6% click rate, 2-3% buy. Email brings in 15-25% of sales.

How To Set This Up For Your Own List

Step 1: Map Out The Stages A Customer Goes Through

Figure out where each person sits in their relationship with your brand. For most online brands, that looks like:

Hasn't bought yet: emails should build trust and explain your value
New customer (1 purchase, first 30 days): emails should help them get the most from what they bought and reassure them
Repeat customer (2-4 purchases, 30-120 days): emails should recommend related products and build community
Loyal customer (5+ purchases, or 120+ days): emails should feel like VIP treatment — early or exclusive access
Gone quiet (no purchase in 120+ days): emails should focus on winning them back

Step 2: Decide How Often To Email Each Group

New customers: once a week (a getting-started series). Repeat customers: twice a month (recommendations and offers). Loyal customers: once a month (exclusive content and community). Customers going quiet: once a week for a win-back series, then once a month if they still don't respond.

Step 3: Set Up Emails That Respond To What People Do

Emails should react to actions, not just a fixed schedule:

After a purchase: order confirmation, then a shipping update, then a delivery notice, then usage tips (5 emails spread over 30 days)
After browsing: if someone looks at the same product 3+ times without buying, send an email about it 24 hours later, along with reviews from other customers
After going quiet: if someone hasn't opened an email in 14 days, move them into a win-back sequence
After abandoning a cart: send 3 emails (an immediate reminder, a small incentive after 24 hours, a last chance after 72 hours)
For subscriptions: if a customer hasn't been active in 30+ days, send an email to re-engage them before they cancel

Step 4: Track Sales By Group, Not Just Overall

Track how much money each group brings in, not just email as a whole. You'll usually find loyal customers bring in 10-15x more per email than people who've never bought. That tells you where to spend your time: polishing the loyal-customer email matters more than the generic one going to everyone.

Why This Is Worth The Effort

A customer who bought a skincare product in month one and an acne treatment in month two is a different person than someone who bought once and disappeared. Sending them the same email wastes the opportunity. Grouped emails cost the same to send — email is cheap either way — but they get bought from 5-10x more often, simply because they're actually relevant to the person reading them.

“Email isn't a megaphone — it's a one-on-one conversation that happens to scale to thousands of people. Brands that treat it that way, sending the right message to the right group at the right moment, get 15-25% of their sales from it. Everyone else gets 2-4%.”

Frequently asked questions

: Start with 5-7: new, repeat, loyal, gone-quiet, plus big spenders and people who don't open emails. Beyond that, each new group needs its own set of emails to manage, which gets expensive fast. Focus on groups that genuinely behave differently, not just slicing your list by location or age.

Sources

About the author

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Marcus Chen

Performance Marketing Lead