Using Segments to Target Your Audience

Segments let you send campaigns to a specific subset of your list instead of everyone. A segment is a saved filter — whenever you send a campaign to it, Narrativ evaluates which subscribers currently match and targets only them.

For example: you could create a "Fantasy readers" segment for subscribers who signed up via your fantasy novel's signup page, and a "VIP readers" segment for subscribers who have clicked at least once. Then send your cover reveal to Fantasy readers only, and your ARC invitation to VIP readers only.

Creating a segment

1. Go to Email List in the left nav
2. Click Segments in the sub-nav (or the Segments section)
3. Click + New Segment
4. Give the segment a name (e.g. "Fantasy fans")
5. Set your filters (see below)
6. The preview count shows how many subscribers currently match
7. Click Save Segment

Filter options

Segments are built from a combination of three filter types. All filters you set must match for a subscriber to be included — they work as AND conditions.

Book

Filter by which book a subscriber is associated with. This reflects the book selected (or inferred from the signup page) at the time they subscribed. Options:

• Any book — include all subscribers regardless of book association
• A specific title — only subscribers tied to that book
• No book — subscribers who signed up without a book association (e.g. direct imports)

Source

Filter by how a subscriber joined your list:

• Any source — no filter
• Signup form — came through your hosted signup page or embedded form
• Manual — you added them manually via the + Add Subscriber button
• Import — they were imported via CSV

Engagement

Filter by how engaged a subscriber has been with your emails:

• Any — no engagement filter (default)
• Has clicked — subscribers who have clicked at least one link across any campaign
• Never opened — subscribers who have never registered an open on any campaign (dormant subscribers)
• Active last 30d — subscribers who opened or clicked something in the last 30 days
• Active last 60d — active within the last 60 days
• Active last 90d — active within the last 90 days

Combining filters

All three filter types can be combined. For example:

• Book: The Iron Crown + Engagement: Has clicked → highly engaged fans of that specific book — great for ARC invitations
• Source: Signup form + Engagement: Never opened → readers who signed up organically but haven't engaged yet — candidates for a re-engagement email
• Book: Any + Engagement: Active last 30d → your most active readers across all books — your VIP list

Segments are dynamic

Segments are not static snapshots — they're re-evaluated each time you send a campaign. If a subscriber joins your list after you created a segment, and they match its filters, they'll be included in the next send. If a subscriber unsubscribes, they're automatically excluded even if they matched the filters.

Using a segment in a campaign

1. Create or open a campaign
2. In the Audience section, select Send to a segment
3. Choose the segment from the dropdown
4. The recipient count updates to show how many subscribers currently match
5. Finish the campaign and send as normal

Editing and deleting segments

Click on any segment in your segments list to open it and edit its name or filters. Changes take effect immediately — the next campaign sent to that segment will use the updated filters.

To delete a segment, open it and click Delete Segment. Deleting a segment doesn't affect subscribers or any campaigns already sent to it — it only removes the saved filter.

Segment ideas for authors

• Super fans — Has clicked + Any book (your most engaged readers)
• Series readers — a specific book (the first in a series) for series continuation announcements
• Cold list — Never opened, for re-engagement or list cleanup
• Recent joiners — you don't have a date filter yet, but Import source is useful for new CSV imports
• ARC candidates — Has clicked + signup form source (organically engaged readers, more likely to actually read and review)