Segments

Segments are one of the most useful targeting tools in SendBeam. Rather than manually curating a list of recipients, you define a set of rules and SendBeam works out which contacts qualify each time the segment is used — so the audience follows your data as it changes.

What are segments?

A segment is a saved filter that produces a dynamic set of contacts. Every segment is defined by one or more rules — conditions that a contact must meet to be included. Rules test the contact's fields: email address, first and last name, status, source, the date they were created, and any custom field stored on the contact.

For example, you could create a segment for:

• Contacts whose custom_fields.country equals United Kingdom
• Contacts whose email address ends with @acme.com
• Contacts created after 2026-01-01 whose source is form
• Contacts with no first name, so you can avoid a personalised greeting for them

Segments vs lists

Both segments and lists let you target a subset of your contacts, but they work in fundamentally different ways.

Use lists when contacts explicitly opt in to a specific topic or newsletter. Use segments when you want to target contacts based on who they are, without requiring manual curation.

When to use segments

Segments are the right choice in most of these situations:

• Field-value filtering — send region-specific campaigns by filtering on a country or city custom field without duplicating contacts across multiple lists.
• Lifecycle stages — record a plan or stage custom field via the API or a form, then target those stages directly in campaigns.
• Source-based targeting — reach only contacts who came in through a form, or only those you added by hand or via the API.
• Data hygiene — find contacts with an empty first name or an unexpected email domain and tidy them up before a big send.
• Company or domain targeting — send to everyone at a particular company by matching the end of their email address.

Evaluated when used

Segment membership is evaluated whenever the segment is used. Whenever a contact's data changes — a custom field is updated via the API, a name is corrected, a status changes — they qualify or disqualify from any segments whose rules are affected the next time those segments are resolved.

The count shown while building a segment reflects the current state of your audience. When a campaign starts sending, SendBeam resolves the recipient list at that moment and keeps only contacts whose status is Subscribed.