Lifestyle Mailing Lists: The Best Kept Secret For Attracting New Customers

Wouldn’t it be great if you could look into a crystal ball and find out who wants the products and services that you offer? In many cases, utilizing lifestyle mailing lists can help you find these illusive new customers.

What is a lifestyle mailing list? A lifestyle list is a list of prospects who share a common interest or passion instead of a common geography. The great thing about using a lifestyle select first when creating a list, is that the list can still be pared down using traditional selections like geography, income, age, etc. The net result is almost always a smaller list of better prospects. The financial benefit of this is a much bigger bang for the buck since the list is smaller, but response is typically substantially higher than using more traditional criteria only.

What information is typically used to create these lists? The number one source for most lifestyle databases is magazine subscriptions. It’s a safe bet that the majority of people who subscribe to “Horse Illustrated” probably like horses, and may even own one. Product registrations are another common source for this data. Signing up to receive coupons and special offers for certain types of products or services is another way this information is collected. Also, credit card purchases history can be used as a source for this information. The bottom line is that there are a variety of ways to compile this information, but the information is available and it’s what’s used to create lifestyle databases.

What sort of lifestyle lists are available? Some of the most frequently requested lifestyle lists are wine-lovers (used often by upscale restaurants) and avid golfers.

For those selling products to infants and moms, one of the most popular lists is the maternity list which is composed of women who are pregnant right now. It can actually be further sorted by the appropriate trimester. Related to this is the “new moms” mailing list that can pinpoint babies of a certain age; this list is a favorite for professional photographers.

For a theater or playhouse trying to sell ticket subscriptions the art & cultural events mailing list would be a great fit while art galleries may be more interested in the arts & antiques list.

For those marketing organic products, there is a “health foods and natural foods” mailing list available. Mailing lists based on religious affiliations and political parties are also available. People who enjoy knitting and quilting even merit their own lifestyle mailing list.

How do I know which list is right for me? Those considering using a lifestyle list to grow their customer base simply need to identify the hobbies, pastimes, or interests of their existing customers and look for a list that targets this data. This article identifies just a handful of the lifestyle lists that are available; there are thousands of other lists available that most people aren’t even aware exist. With this in mind, the only dumb lifestyle list question is the question that is not asked. Most list vendors will offer a free list count that will identify how many records are in a particular list, so it’s free to research what’s available and the size of the list. With this in mind, I am happy to offer a free count to anyone interested; simply click here to submit your request.

Comments

[John Schulte]

When using direct mail, or any marketing tactic, make sure you have an idea of what the Long Term Value of a new customer is, and what is an acceptable cost to acquire these new customers. Some people new to direct marketing use direct mail one time and say it didn't work for them because the amount of initial sales from new customers didn't pay for the mailing. Yet if they figured in how much a new customer would spend over the next year or years, they may find out that the effort was hugely successful.

If you are looking for direct mail marketing statistics to plan a successful marketing campaign, two studies are available from the National Mail Order Association, NMOA. They are, the DMA Statistical Fact Book, http://www.nmoa.org/catalog/dma/dma_stats.htm and the Response Rate Trends Report, http://www.nmoa.org/catalog/dma/dma_response.htm

[Blase Ciabaton]

John, terrific comment! I encounter so many who report a "bad" mailing experience because they invested in a one-and-done campaign with no thought on long-term results. Thanks also for the useful link to statistics!

[Artmorehead]

Blase,
This was a great article, I did not know you could pin point with such accuracy. Because the nature of my business is so "visual" most advertising has very little return for me, but on the other hand if the lists were "filtered" like the article states then the chances of a return would be much higher, I like this......

[Kelly Schiffman]

I loved this article..I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on these "lifestyle lists" in regards to fundraising in a tough economy for a non-profit, independent health care facility. Any thoughts or recommendations?

[Blase Ciabaton]

Kelly, thank you for your comment! Glad that you found the article useful! Would love to learn a bit more about your nonprofit so we could determine what sort of folks might be interested in supporting you.