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.
