The Astonish Email Blog
We like to keep things nice and simple here at Astonish Email. Unfortunately like most industries Email Marketing is full of Jargon terms, which can be confusing when you are starting out with Email Marketing.
So being the friendly bunch we are, here is a list of some of the most common jargon terms used in Email Marketing.
We are massive advocates of social media at Astonish, however we are also well aware of the risks involved for small businesses. This months guest blog is from Michelle Duckworth, Managing Partner of DBB Solicitors. The blog gives a fantastic insight into the possible legal implications behind your social media strategy.
Social media presents real commercial opportunities if harnessed effectively. After all, it forms part of everyday working practices, offering professional and personal benefits. It can engage clients, advertise and profile your company, provide feedback, facilitate networking and allow you to post comments and share experiences. Social media knows no geographical barriers, facilitating global access to your business.
This month’s customer success story is AV3 (www.av3software.com) an online shop based in the UK providing plugins to the video editing industry across the world.
As an online business, email marketing along with social media is a crucial communication method for AV3, allowing them to send out product information, special offers and industry news to all of their contacts and customers.
Here is what AV3 Marketing Manager Ian Easton had to say about Astonish Email:
“Email Marketing is a key marketing activity for AV3. Since the business launched we have collated a large email list consisting of resellers, past customers and visitors to our site.
Our main aim with email marketing is to keep our subscribers up to date with the latest news, updates and special offers from AV3 as well as other key industry information. We understand that the more value we can provide within our correspondence, the more loyal our subscribers become. This ultimately yields more return visits to our site, which in turn helps our stats and conversion rates.
The Astonish Email system is perfect for our email marketing requirements. It's simplicity of use means we can get key product and industry news out quickly. The return on investment we receive is excellent, ensuring email marketing remains one of our top marketing priorities.”
This months Astonish Email success story is Joe Burnell from Liveport (www.liveport.co.uk). Liveport UK provides hotels with guest wireless Internet services and was launched by Joe in November 2012.
In the early stages of the business Joe believed it was important to keep in regular contact with all of the hotels he was meeting. Joe used Astonish Email to ensure at least once a month he was sending communications to explain the benefits of his product and the value it could provide Hotels.
This regular communication has helped Joe to convert many prospect opportunities, proving the value of Email Marketing with Astonish Email.
Here is what Joe had to say about Astonish Email:
“We launched Liveport in the UK in November 2012 and we simply wouldn't have had the success we've had to date without using Astonish Email.
The system is very simple to use, emails are quick to create, and the return on investment we have gained is extremely high. We originally saw e-mail marketing as quite far down the marketing priority list but now I would class it as our must successful and cost effective form of marketing.”
Social media for businesses has become one of the most important platforms for both engaging customers and promoting brands. Facebook in particular, with a projected user base of around 665 million, has become one of the more fundamental platforms to have a presence on. However, simply creating a page for your business does not guarantee success, and if not approached correctly can end up being a costly drain on time and resources, especially for smaller businesses who may not have the workforce to waste. In order to maximise the marketing opportunities that a Facebook page can provide, there are some useful guidelines to consider when getting started.
Astonish Email founder Adam Lovelock has been recently become the Email Marketing expert for Allbusiness.com, one of the world’s largest and most recognised online resources for Small Businesses. AllBusiness.com's business value has been recognised in coverage by The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune, The New York Times, US News & World Report, USA Today, and many other publications.
So, the dust has started to settle after an astonishingly action-packed 48 hours. 2 days of winning workshops, stimulating seminars and cracking conversations, all held at ExCeL London, the international exhibition and convention centre.
The show itself was a massive success with over 30,000 attendees and 350 exhibitors gathering from all over the UK to form the fastest growing business show in Europe.
We are delighted to announce a unique opportunity to partner with us to help support our every growing customer base of small businesses.
The Astonish Partner scheme operates inn 2 main ways –
1) As an Astonish Certified Partner you will have your own unique partner portal, this will allow you to add accounts for your customers and set up and send email campaigns on their behalf.
2) All Astonish Certified Partners will be listed on our website and advertised to our client base who are always looking for help with their email campaigns. You will also be able to display our ‘Certified Astonish Partner’ badge on your website.
The next Adam vs. Adam has been completed! These regular challenges see the Astonish Email Co-Founders go head-to-head in a series of challenges, and this time it was in a Triathlon. Adam Knight was leading 1 – 0 after victory at Wheelchair Basketball last time, could Adam Lovelock draw level? Watch the video below...
Introducing… Adam Knight & Adam Lovelock, also imaginatively known as Big Adam and Little Adam! As Co-Founders of Astonish Email, the Adams share a lot of common ground – they’re mad for marketing, totally devoted to small businesses, hugely patriotic and both harbour a dark and merciless desire to win, at any cost...
Astonish Email have announced that they will be exhibiting at The Business Show 2014, the UK’s Premier Business and Exhibition Conference. In addition, Adam Knight and Adam Lovelock, Founders and Directors of Astonish Email have confirmed that they will be running a series of free workshops at the show, designed to support small businesses from across the UK with their marketing campaigns.
So you’re still using Outlook to send your marketing emails? There is a better way! On the basis that you’re sending email marketing campaigns, it’s safe to assume that you appreciate the benefits of maintaining regular contact with your clients and prospects. It’s also safe to assume therefore that you want your communications to look professional and appealing and for them to reach as many of your intended recipients as possible.
Unfortunately, many small businesses are still using Outlook (other email applications are available) to send hundreds of emails on a regular basis as part of their marketing strategies. There are many pitfalls involved when it comes to using Outlook to share your marketing messages, not least the danger of exposing your entire email list if you fail to use the blind carbon copy (BCC) facility – yes, it happens way too often!
When looking at the reporting area of Astonish Email I am sure you may wonder how your email marketing campaigns compare to other small businesses? What is a good open rate? Do I receive a high number of un-subscribers? Well to give you a good benchmark of how you are getting on I have complied our overall customer reports based on the millions of emails that have gone out through Astonish Email this summer (June, July, August).
We are excited to announce we have secured an investment into Astonish Email Limited from the Jenson Seed EIS Fund.
The investment will help build our community of small businesses using Astonish Email to grow their business. Also in the coming months existing customers will experience the benefit, with system developments to make things quicker and even more simple.
The Jenson Seed EIS Fund is an exciting joint venture between the professional services firm Jenson Solutions and the fund manager Foresight Group. The aim of the fund is to help small businesses exceed their potential using the government backed Seed EIS initiative.
Adam Knight of Astonish Email “We are extremely excited to be working with the Jenson’s team. This is a crucial time in our development and we are really pleased to have a partner who shares our passion for ambitious small businesses. We can't wait to see our system help many more of them grow.“
Astonish Email is cloud-based email marketing software designed for ambitious small businesses who want to grow their business through Email Marketing. More information can be found at www.astonishemail.com
Further information about Seed EIS and the Jenson Seed EIS Fund can be found at www.jensonseedeis.com
When thinking about your relationships with customers, there’s one word that should pop into your head: engagement. As a small business, it’s crucial to keep your existing client base happy and actively involved with you and what you do. Whether they’re placing regular repeat orders or they’re brand new, the mission is the same – to find a way to keep your brand in their mind at all times. With email marketing deployed you can achieve this relatively easily and affordably.
