"Since writing this i have also been investigating using companies that actually do all the sending etc. on their servers etc. - can you suggest any good comapnies that do this?"
Before recommending any good companies, there is one other piece of software I wanted to reference. That is Send Studio -
http://www.interspire.com/sendstudio/
A bit more expensive then the other two, but lots of nice features. Also, you get the full PHP code, to allow for branding or modifications.
One thing I would want to know is what data is collected when the person subscribes using their web panel.
A lot of folks speak highly of L-soft and Lyris, although we are now speaking about more expensive software.
Unfortunately, Lyris does not collect the remote IP address of the subscriber when the person subscribes using their web panel, or confirms using their confirmation email.
True, the user may be subscribing via a dynamic IP, but you can still use this information for a variety of different purposes, including list segmentation and geo tracking.
Okay turning to your question, I am not familiar with European firms that act as an email service provider.
For the purpose of this post, I am defining an email service provider as:
"A company that provides email services to other businesses. ESP services include collecting and maintaining lists of email addresses, sending bulk email to the addresses on the lists, removing addresses that bounce, and dealing with complaints and abuse reports related to the mailings."
Please note that not all esps will deal with complaints and abuse reports related to the mailings.
Without knowing a bit more about the type of mailings, whether you have a list, how it was created and so forth, or whether you are planning to create a list, it is hard to make specific recommendations, but let me give it a go.
In your initial post, you wrote:
I am looking for a way of managing our email marketing (creating lists, sending, writing newsletters, managing databses, opt-ins, opt outs, click-thrus etc. etc.)
It sounds to me you are looking for a firm that does more than just sends out the mail. You are probably looking for a self-service web based application, that gives you various bells and whistles, has good delivery rates, watches over their customers and provides strong support.
The first firm I would suggest is BigHip.
Good feature set (including tracking links, open rates, list segmentation, geo targeting, delivery receipt service and so forth, RSS feed), strong support, monitors delivery rates like a hawk. Their sending practices are certified by Bonded Sender and they are white listed with all the major and many of the minor networks in North America.
Also, because BigHip's sending practices are certified by BigHip, this helps with networks that rely on SpamAssassin for filtering purposes, which to my understanding is many of the European networks.
The service is about to go through a major upgrade, adding more features, including the ability to set up a message sequence and have messages set up when a person clicks a link. The second allows for very focused targetting.
(These features were supposed to be added about a month ago, but ... like all software upgrades.)
Send a note on to sales (you will find the email address on the web site) with your questions.
http://www.learnsteps4profit.com/bighip.html
The second is AWeber. A lot of the marketers, both in Europe and North America like this service.
The feature set is slightly different than BigHip. AWeber started with offering a sequential message sequence service and branched out into list management.
AWeber offers lots of features that marketers like, such as the ability to create pop ups, pop unders, java script forms, along with good tracking, tracking links, the ability to test your messages for spamminess by checking against SpamAssassin, the ability to create an RSS feed and a form of delivery receipt service.
Their list management service is not as strong as BigHip, although they do provide a nice text and WYSIWYG HTML editor.
Any questions contact support. They offer a live support feature or you can get in touch by e-mail.
AWeber is accredited with IADB, which is a smaller certification service. Strong support, also very protective of their reputation, which benefits those who play by the rules.
http://www.learnsteps4profit.com/aweber.html
I use both AWeber and BigHip. It really depends on your needs as to which you will find more suitable.
There are other good providers out there, but these are the two I would recommend given your listed requirements and my guess as to your business focus.
One thing you will need to raise with any ESP, whether European or North American, is compliance with your data privacy laws viz a viz security, etc.
Trusting these comments are of assistance.
John
John Glube
Toronto, Canada
Are You Ready To Make Email Work For You?
http://www.learnsteps4profit.com/emgr.html