Skip to main content
A segment is a saved group of contacts defined by rules, such as “email is verified and tagged vip”. Use one as a campaign audience or as the source of an export.
Before you start: segment rules read the data on your contacts: statuses, tags, language, time zone and dates. Import or add some contacts first so the rules have something to match.

​
Dynamic or static

You choose the type when you create the segment. A dynamic segment can be frozen into a static one later, but a static segment can’t become dynamic.

​
Segments or lists

A segment is built from rules or a frozen selection, while a list is a group people join and can leave by unsubscribing. A campaign can take both.

​
Create a segment

1

Open the builder

Go to Contacts > Segments and select Create Segment.
2

Name it and pick a type

Enter a Segment Name (it must be unique in your organization) and an optional Description. Under Segment Type, choose Dynamic or Static.
3

Add rules

Under Filter Rules, choose whether a contact must match All (AND) or Any (OR) of the rules. Then select Add Rule and pick a field, an operator and a value for each one.For a static segment the rules are optional. Leave them empty to build the segment by hand after you create it.
4

Create it

Select Create Segment. Brudcast works out the matching contacts after the segment is saved, so the count appears on the segment’s page rather than in the builder.

​
Fields and operators

A few rules behave in ways that are easy to miss:
  • Email Status and SMS Status look at every address or number on the contact. “Email Status is verified” matches a contact with at least one verified address.
  • is not on a status or a tag also matches contacts that don’t have one at all. “SMS Status is not opted_out” includes contacts with no phone number.
  • contains, starts with and ends with ignore case.
  • is set means the field has a value; for Tag, it means the contact has any tag.
  • A dynamic segment with no rules matches no one. It doesn’t fall back to “everyone”.

​
The segment page

Open a segment to see its Contacts and Rules tabs. The Contacts tile shows how many contacts are in it.
  • Dynamic segments recalculate their count whenever you open them. The number can lag a change to your contacts by up to 30 seconds.
  • Static segments show the contacts frozen into them. Select Add contacts to add more, or the remove icon on a row to take one out. Removing a contact from a segment doesn’t delete it.
To change the name, description or rules, select Edit.

​
Freeze a dynamic segment

The Freeze menu on a dynamic segment offers two options: Both keep the rules, so you can re-run them later.

​
Refresh a static segment

A static segment that was frozen from rules has a Refresh button. Refreshing runs the rules again and replaces the current members with today’s matches.
Refresh throws away any contacts you added or removed by hand since the last freeze. Editing the filter alone doesn’t change the members; the new filter applies at the next refresh.
A static segment with no rules has no Refresh button. You manage its members from the Contacts tab.

​
Troubleshooting

Why: segment names are unique within an organization, including snapshot names. Fix: choose a different name, or rename the older segment.
Why: either the segment has no rules, or no contact matches all of them. Fix: open the Rules tab and check each rule. With All (AND), a single rule no one matches empties the segment; try Any (OR) to see which rules match.
Why: dynamic counts are cached for up to 30 seconds, and static segments never change on their own. Fix: reopen the segment after half a minute. For a static segment, select Refresh to re-run its rules.

Create a campaign

Send a campaign to a segment, with lists and exclusions.

Lists

The other kind of audience, and how it differs from a segment.

Export contacts

Download the contacts in a segment.