# How to Build Personalised Journey Paths Using Segmentation
In the modern Australian digital landscape, the 'spray and pray' approach to email marketing is a quick way to land in the spam folder. Personalised journey paths allow you to deliver the right message to the right person at exactly the right time, significantly increasing your conversion rates and building long-term brand loyalty.
By segmenting your audience and creating automated paths based on their behaviour, interests, or demographics, you treat your customers like individuals rather than just names on a list. This guide will show you how to architect these journeys from the ground up.
Prerequisites
Before you start, ensure you have:- An Email Service Provider (ESP) with automation capabilities (e.g., Mailchimp, Klaviyo, or ActiveCampaign).
- A clean subscriber list with at least some basic data (purchase history, location, or sign-up source).
- A clear understanding of your primary customer personas.
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Step 1: Define Your Goal for the Journey
Every automated journey needs a specific purpose. Are you trying to welcome a new lead, nurture a prospect who hasn't bought yet, or win back a former customer? Action: Write down one specific goal. For example: "Convert first-time newsletter sign-ups into customers within 30 days."Step 2: Audit Your Existing Data
You can only segment based on the data you have. Look at your current list and identify what 'identifiers' you are collecting. In an Australian context, this might include their state (useful for shipping or event notifications), their ABN (if you are B2B), or their last purchase date.Screenshot Description: You should see your 'Audience' or 'Contacts' dashboard, showing columns like Email, Name, Last Order, and Tags.
Step 3: Create Your Primary Segments
Instead of sending one email to everyone, split your audience into logical groups. Common segments include:- The Newbie: Signed up but hasn't purchased.
- The VIP: High spenders or frequent buyers.
- The Lapsed: Haven't engaged or bought in 6 months.
Step 4: Map the 'Trigger' Event
A journey path must be triggered by a specific action. This is the 'entry point' for the customer. Common triggers include:- Joining a list via a website pop-up.
- Making their first purchase.
- Clicking a specific link in a previous email.
- A date-based trigger (like a birthday or membership renewal).
Step 5: Set Up the Initial Branching Logic
This is where the 'personalisation' happens. Most automation builders use 'If/Else' logic. Example: If a customer signs up, the system checks: "Has this person purchased before?"- Yes: Send them a 'Welcome Back' discount for their next order.
- No: Send them an 'Introduction to Our Brand' story.
Step 6: Design Your First Touchpoint
Create the first email in the sequence. It should be high-value and low-pressure. If you are a Brisbane-based service business, use this opportunity to introduce your local team or share a local success story to build immediate trust.Step 7: Incorporate Time Delays
Don't overwhelm your subscribers. After the first email, add a 'Wait' period. For most Australian small businesses, a 2-to-3-day delay between emails is the 'sweet spot' to stay top-of-mind without being annoying.Step 8: Add Behavioural Splits
As the journey progresses, add more branches based on how the user interacts with your emails. Action: Create a split based on 'Email Open'.- If they opened Email 1: Send them a deeper dive into a product.
- If they did NOT open Email 1: Resend the same email with a different, more urgent subject line 48 hours later.
Step 9: Use Dynamic Content Blocks
If your platform allows it, use dynamic content within the emails themselves. This means the email remains the same, but a specific section (like a product recommendation) changes based on the user's segment. This saves you from building dozens of separate emails.Step 10: Set a 'Goal' or 'Exit' Condition
You don't want to keep marketing a 'New Customer Discount' to someone who has just bought. Set an exit condition so that as soon as the user completes the desired action (e.g., makes a purchase), they are automatically removed from the journey.Screenshot Description: Look for a setting usually labelled 'Exit Criteria' or 'Goals' in your automation builder sidebar. It should allow you to select 'Placed Order' as the reason to stop the sequence.
Step 11: Test the Journey (The 'Sandboxing' Phase)
Before going live, test the journey yourself. Sign up with a secondary email address and trigger the automation. Check that the delays work, the links are correct, and the personalisation tags (like|FNAME|) are pulling data correctly.
Step 12: Go Live and Monitor
Activate your journey. For the first two weeks, monitor your 'Unsubscribe' and 'Spam' rates closely. If these spike, your journey might be too aggressive or the segmentation might be inaccurate.---
Pro Tips for Success
- Keep it Simple: Start with a 3-step journey before building complex 20-step webs. Complexity often leads to technical errors.
- Localise Your Language: Use Australian English. Say 'optimise' not 'optimize', and use local references if your audience is regional.
- Mobile First: Over 60% of Australians check their emails on mobile devices while commuting or on breaks. Ensure your journey emails look great on small screens.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Over-segmenting: If you have a list of 500 people, creating 20 segments is overkill. You'll end up with segments of 5 people, which isn't worth the manual effort.
- Forgetting the 'Default' Value: If you use a tag like "Hi [First Name]", always set a default (like "Hi there") for when that data field is empty.
- Broken Links: Always check that your 'Call to Action' buttons link to live pages on your website.
Troubleshooting
- Problem: The journey isn't triggering.
- Problem: Everyone is going down the 'Else' path.
- Problem: High bounce rates.
Next Steps
Now that you've built your first personalised journey, you can begin to refine it. Consider adding A/B testing to your subject lines within the journey to see which path performs better.If you need help setting up complex integrations between your website and your email marketing platform, the team at Local Marketing Group is here to help. Contact us today to book a strategy session.