E-mail newsletters seek riches in niches
Advertisers are finding receptive audiences with the increasingly popular services.
Evan Friedman isn't lazy, just efficient. Why should he slog through newspapers, entertainment guides, restaurant fliers and concert promotions if someone will do it for him?
Friedman, a 24-year-old from Los Angeles, subscribes to Thrilllist.com, which bills itself as a lifestyle guide for men. It keeps him in the know with daily e-mails that advise him, basically, on how to be cool. He has dined at restaurants it suggested, attended events it plugged and purchased gadgets it recommended, including a cover for his iPhone.
"It's a trusted break in my barrage of e-mail," Friedman said. "It's kind of like an e-mail from a friend."
E-mail newsletters: An article in the Business section Tuesday about the popularity of subscription electronic mailing list services gave an incorrect first name for an EMarketer analyst. It is David, not Kris, Hallerman.
Thrillist is one of dozens of electronic mailing list services. Some have been around for years but new ones have been popping up recently, godsends not only for Friedman and people like him but also for advertisers.
The services, most supported by ads, reach audiences most magazines only dream of. The median household income of Thrillist subscribers, for instance, is $107,000, dwarfing Sports Illustrated's median of $63,605 and Maxim's of $65,710.
"Magazines like Stuff and Cargo have been going under, and we've been taking their place in the market," said Ben Lerer, a co-founder of Thrillist, which recently launched a Las Vegas edition. Lerer said its L.A. edition was projected to reach 45,000 recipients by next December, which would be an 86% jump from a year earlier.
The idea behind e-mail list services is simple. They bring order to the chaotic mass of information on the Web and elsewhere, seize on relevant information -- or things that the services' employees decide is relevant -- and present it via e-mails to subscribers.
"We appeal to people who like to be on top of things but don't have the time to do it," said Gary Foodim, general manager of Very Short List.
Every service claims a niche. Veryshortlist.com says it "points to excellent new (and sometimes vintage) entertainment and media that haven't been hyped to within an inch of their lives." Dailycandy.com touts itself as "the ultimate insider's guide to what's hot, new and undiscovered." Flavorpill.com says it provides "filtered bits of knowledge that help you better navigate an ever-expanding sea of cultural options."
