Real Results

Bruce Holdsworth Books

Even in times of economic stability, maintaining success as a one-man operation poses a raft of unique challenges.

Staying on top of the latest e-commerce and email marketing solutions, and turning them into profitable tools for your business is a challenge that Bruce Holdsworth, owner of Bruce Holdsworth Books, has risen to admirably.

Bruce originally studied to be an artist, before going on to train as an art teacher and undertaking two masters degrees in the subject. Later, Bruce went on to help run a furniture design business.

Over ten years ago, he decided to bring together his expertise in art, research, books and business to create a successful company selling new, used, second-hand and rare art books not available on the high street.

Bruce's books can cost anything from a few pounds to thousands and he now maintains a worldwide client-base that includes collectors, students, institutions, galleries and Universities.

Ahead of the game

When Bruce started his business, the route to market for his extensive collection involved printing and distributing hundreds of catalogues, as well as packing up his stock and driving across the country to specialist book fairs.

In 2000 Bruce registered www.bruceholdsworthbooks.com and began selling via his own custom email marketing solution using his existing email provider.

Bruce had already been meticulously collecting data about his clients so the transition to an online sales through e-newsletters simply required updating records with email addresses for each client.

Overheads began to fall. With brochures and fairs no longer the major sales drivers, over the coming years he managed to decrease and almost eliminate the costs of print, post and mileage.

Coping with change

With success came inevitable challenges. The website and initial email marketing solution of using his home email client had helped widen his market and increase sales, but with dramatic growth of his database, Bruce now faced a problem.

"I found myself performing a regular email send to thousands of people", Bruce explains. "I discovered that as a result, my newsletters and e-shots were being blocked or marked as spam."

It only got worse. Very soon Bruce found he wasn't able to send en masse at all. "I was having to spend valuable time, breaking the sends into small bundles, just to get anything out."

The business was facing a critical issue. The monthly email newsletter and regular special offer e-shots had become the main source of sales. With these email broadcasts either being bounced or marked as spam, his income was under serious threat.

Investing in success

Previously reticent about investing in an email marketing solution, Bruce realised a professional platform was the only way to avoid the impending crisis.

Having investigated the available products, he decided on Pure's PureResponse as the solution for his email driven business.

Using a system that checks messages for any potential spam indicators, sending them via dedicated servers rated as high quality, ensures the crucial sales emails are now reaching more people than ever before. They continue to meet their vital objective, not only by increasing site hits, but initiating many phone calls as a result.

Bringing added value

"It wasnt just the peace of mind that came with paying for the service", says Bruce. "The excellent reporting functions told me what I needed to know about who was actually receiving my email broadcast, who was looking at them and allowed me to gauge their response."

Since taking the leap from a DIY to professional email marketing solution, despite challenging economic times, Bruce says his sales are holding steady.

He's in no doubt he made the right decision, at the right time. "I dread to think what might have happened if I had not smartened up my email act. Using an email marketing soluton has become an essential and necessary part of my business."