Karen Davidson, Marketing Manager, Echobox
For years, email segmentation has been the gold standard for digital publishers. We’ve been told that by breaking our massive subscriber lists into smaller groups based on age, location, or general interests, we’ve mastered the art of personalization.
But as the digital landscape grows more crowded and subscriber expectations soar, we’re finding that traditional segmentation has hit a ceiling. It’s a great starting point, but on its own, it still leaves performance on the table.
To truly unlock growth, publishers need to move beyond static segments and toward dynamic, AI-driven automation. No one proves this better than lifestyle media giant Brit + Co, who recently transformed their strategy to achieve staggering results.
The problem with traditional segmentation
The theory behind segmentation is sound: send content that resonates. If a subscriber tells you they love soccer, you send them soccer news. But there are two critical factors that manual segmentation simply cannot solve: Timing and dynamic interests.
- The timing gap: Every subscriber has a unique routine. One might check their inbox during a 7:30 AM commute, while another doesn’t settle in until 9:00 PM. Our data shows that sending an email just 30 minutes off-peak can cause open rates to plummet from 40% to 20%.
- Stated vs. revealed preference: A subscriber might say they want “General Lifestyle” news (stated preference), but they only ever click on “DIY Home Decor” (revealed preference). Segmentation relies on what people think they want to read, but the true way to stay relevant and engaging is by serving up what people actually do read.
Bridging the gap: Why automation is the future
High performance requires granularity and adaptability that humans cannot achieve manually.
Subscriber habits are dynamic. A new job changes a commute; a new hobby changes a reading preference. AI-powered automation stays responsive to these shifts in real-time, ensuring your newsletter remains relevant even when the subscriber’s life changes.
From manual struggles to automated success: The Brit + Co Story
Brit + Co, one of America’s largest lifestyle brands, faced these exact challenges. Their newsletters are a cornerstone of their business, driving both engagement and affiliate revenue. However, their team had reached plateauing engagement rates.
They needed a way to provide deep personalization without requiring a massive editorial team to manage dozens of different segments manually.
Through personalization Brit + Co moved from manual “guessing” to AI-powered “knowing.” The results were transformative:
- 50% Increase in Open Rates: By leveraging AI to send the right content at the exact moment a subscriber is most likely to open it.
- 89% Reduction in Production Time: What used to take hours of manual curation was replaced by a “set it and forget it” workflow.
- 10 Hours Saved Per Month: This allowed their small team to stop acting like data processors and start acting like creative strategists.
The bottom line
Segmentation is a powerful tool to understand your audience, but automation is the engine that drives ROI. By combining the two, you move away from sending the best content for the group and start sending the best content for the person.
Just ask Brit + Co: when you stop managing segments and start automating engagement, the growth follows.
For publishers navigating similar challenges, don’t miss Echobox CEO Antoine Amann and Brit + Co VP of Product & Growth Jemal Swoboda at the 2026 Mather Symposium.
If you’d like to explore how email personalization can be a game changer for your organization, visit echobox.com.