Article navigation
Overview
Every time you send an email or SMS message, you need to choose a contact list. If you want to send your message to a more specific group—like people who attended an event or haven’t opened a past email—you can use filters to include or exclude certain contacts. This lets you target exactly who you want!
How to send a message to a specific segment
While it's not mandatory, some users find it easier to create their segments in the Audience table first, and then select the segment when sending an email.
For more details on how to create a segment in your Audience table, check out this help article. Once your segment is set up, follow the steps below to select it when sending your email.
Open your email or SMS message draft.
Under the To dropdown, select your contact list.
Click the Filter button next to the list.
In the side panel that appears, click Add filter.
Choose Segment from the options.
Select the segment you'd like to use by ticking the checkbox.
Click Apply filters
Once you’ve applied your segment filter, the system will check how many contacts from your selected list match the segment criteria. You’ll see the exact number of contacts who will receive your message before sending.
How to use quick filters
Quick Filters let you target your message based on behavior like opens, clicks, or ticket purchases—without creating a new segment.
To use Quick Filters:
Select your Send to list and click Quick Filters.
From the dropdown, choose the filter type you’d like to use. Here are your options:
Tag: Include or exclude contacts based on a specific tag.
Opened message / Didn’t open message: Target based on whether a contact opened certain emails.
Clicked message / Didn’t click message: Target based on link clicks in specific messages.
Purchased ticket to / Didn’t purchase ticket to: Filter based on ticket purchase history for selected events.
Registered to campaign / Didn’t register to campaign: Filter based on whether contacts registered for a particular campaign.
Make your selections, then apply the filter.
Troubleshooting: Filters not working
If Quick Filters aren't working correctly or you can’t send your message:
Return to the Send to dropdown and reselect the list.
Reapply your Quick Filters to refresh the settings.
Use cases and examples
How to exclude previous ticket purchasers
If you want to send an email or SMS to everyone except those who bought tickets to a certain event:
Open your message and select your contact list.
Click Filter.
Select Purchased ticket to and choose the “Did not purchase ticket” option.
Choose the events you'd like to exclude.
Click Apply.
How to include or exclude contacts with a specific tag
To avoid sending to contacts with a certain tag:
Open your message and select your contact list.
Click Filter.
Select Tag, then choose “Not assigned to any / all” or "assigned to any / all".
Pick the tag you want to exclude.
Click Apply.
Should you resend a message to non-openers?
If your message didn’t perform as expected, you might wonder if you should resend it to those who didn’t open it. The short answer is: yes, but do it thoughtfully. Resending to non-openers can boost open rates and conversions, but be cautious—some recipients may feel annoyed and unsubscribe.
5 tips for resending your email campaign to non-openers:
Resend only your most important emails: To avoid overwhelming your subscribers, limit resending to your most crucial email campaigns.
Change your subject line: Your subject line is key to grabbing attention. Add terms like “reminder” or “last chance” to create urgency and clarify that this is a follow-up, not an error.
Timing is crucial: We recommend waiting at least 3 days before resending. Additionally, try sending the email at a different time of day. If your first email was sent in the morning, consider resending it at midday.
Filter your recipients carefully: Use tags and segments in the Audience Menu to filter out recipients who didn’t open or didn’t click. You can even target those who clicked but didn’t convert.
Evaluate the impact—both positive and negative: Check the unsubscribe rate in the Message Insights dashboard and weigh it against the new conversions. If unsubscribes increase too much, resending may not be worth it.
How to send an email to non-openers:
Duplicate the original message.
Open the duplicated message and go to the "Send To" section.
Use the quick filter option: Opened message / Didn't Open message.
Select "Send only to People > Didn't Open Message."
Remember to update your subject line.
How to exclude recipients who were sent a previous email?
You can exclude recipients who received a previous email by using the Messaging
Click on the filter option.
In the filter, select “Sent Message - not in any of the selected.”
Choose the email(s) you wish to exclude.
Click "Apply Filter."
Still need help?
Contact us at support@audiencerepublic.com