Meet Lisa S. Jones | Founder & Chief EyeMail Officer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lisa S. Jones and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lisa S., can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My thought process centered around how could I develop a product that would deliver value and engagement on a global scale. When I thought about the email experience, I pondered on how could I deliver compelling storytelling moments the inbox experience. Email is the preferred method of communication by 81% but we all know what it’s like to be flooded with an influx of emails. We receive on average 120 emails a day, yet 73% remain unread. The question crossed my mind regarding how will brands need to innovate to stand out from the inbox clutter as a competitive differentiator?

I signed up for 150 brands email marketing communications as I wanted to understand what major Fortune brands, Non-profits, mid-tier and emerging businesses send out to engage and connect with their audiences. I learned that all of these brands had common similarities: I did not feel special, engaged or ‘inspired’ to take the next step for a call to action. The communications included words only or a static image, or a thumbnail with a big play button to click a hyperlink to click to a browser online, where I had to then click again to engage with the email campaign. I realized at that moment where I could make a global impact, I said what if Email could have a personality, what is Email could be brought to life with automatic play video in email? EyeMail was born.

What should our readers know about your business?
We at EyeMail, believe your messages deserve to be Seen, Heard and Felt.

EyeMail is a patent-pending customer-centric marketing communications technology, enables full video (up to 60 seconds) to play automatically inside the email & mobile, to increase customer engagement and conversions. Delivers at 15k in size with no downloads and performs with All email service provider systems.

What sets EyeMail apart is we have an iconic formula that helps brands to extend their video storytelling to the email inbox to capture attention, engage audiences and inspire action to increase open and click-thru rates and build a stronger bond to brand offerings. Our differentiator also includes the ability to continue to innovate in email, mobile and upcoming video in text messaging.

Key focus areas include customer communications, event marketing and employee engagement initiatives. This is a unique and compelling media with EyeMail, video in email campaigns yield an average of 60% unique views and an average of 38% click through rate compared to standard email rates of 20% and 4% respectively.

We partner with forward-thinking progressive brands who are Early Adopters, and Market Leaders seeking to elevate their email effectiveness in communications with customers to reach and engage internal and external audiences quickly.

We are honored to be recognized as a 2022 Finalist – Microsoft Diverse Supplier of the Year!

We are thrilled to also be recognized as Delta Air Lines Catalyst of the Year and several other key milestones accomplished in the journey.

I believe that setbacks set the framework for growth forward and allow you to be one step closer to your desired outcome, because you’ve learned what doesn’t work and how to calibrate your next strategic move.

“My journey as an African American female innovator has been a journey of several peaks, many valleys, and even more curves.” My experiences have provided their own unique set of challenges but have shaped my perspectives and opened doors for opportunities. I am so fortunate I was raised to know it’s Ok to challenge the status quo, ask questions, stand confidently, and to never settle for less than I deserve.

“A few of my challenges included being advised repeatedly that automatic play video-in-email is a dumb idea, that you can never make it happen as a female, and to top it off, you are not a coder or developer.” I realized that indeed I was not a developer, but I knew I was a visionary and a female digital disruptor with a dream.”

I did not allow these limiting beliefs to stop me and I actively chose to remain focused. After several failures and restarts, I was able to assemble my technical dream team onboard EyeMail.

“I knew when I started, my journey would not be an easy road, but I made a commitment to light a trail forward and to create a new space for digital innovation and the advancement of women in tech,” says Lisa.

Further challenges included lack of funding, limited access to introductions and opportunities, lack of an immediate support system, and technology challenges with compatibility issues.

As a black female technology innovator, with patent-pending technologies, I still experience unconscious bias as the CEO and Founder. I remain inspired to know I have sustained and thrived through adversity, and my life has help me learn, grow, and fuel my fire, because I know me and my global team can win, continue to build an empire, make a global impact and difference!

The lessons I learned along the way is to always believe in yourself, even if no one else understands or believes in your dream, stay focused, find various mentors, keep learning from others, its ok to ask for help and kept the eye of the tiger laser focused on your goals and mission. Keep going until your dream come true.

I want the world to know that it is possible to create storytelling moments in email, webmail and mobile, with auto-play video directly in the inbox.

I also want to share my quote: Greatness can be born from anywhere in the world and Significance is not geographically defined.” – Lisa S. Jones

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
For some of the most memorable experiences in Atlanta, I would take my friends and family to eat at Houston’s or Joey D’s. For BBQ I would take them to Dreamland or Fox Brothers.

I would take them on a tour of the Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coke.

I would also take them on relaxing adventure to JeJu Spa & Korean Bath house in Gwinnett.

For amazing soul food on the southside, I would take them to Big Daddy’s Dish. I would also take them on a cultural tour to the Dr. King memorial site, church and to see his childhood home location, here in Atlanta.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to shoutout to all of the important lessons I learned in my very 1st job at McDonalds hamburgers. They serve as a vital part to my success as I learned the importance of: how to listen to customer needs, how to follow key business processes, exceptional customer service skills. I also developed stellar interpersonal and communication skills, learned how to service customers with a smile, I even learned how to upsell (would you like fries or an apple pie with that shake)!

I would also like to give a shoutout to my Harvard professors, John Westman, Dr. Susan Hughes-Isley, Sandrine Crener, Christina Inge and Ani Kharajian who have helped to expand my business thought leadership and global roadmap. I remain full of gratitude for all of the mentorship and advocacy received from Melissa Drew, Michael Moore, Maurice Evans and countless others. I also want to send a special shoutout to It Takes a Village Accelerator program at Atlanta Tech Village. Thank You for all the seeds sown for me to Dream Big and Pay it Forward.

Website: https://www.eyemailinc.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eyemail_inc/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisasjones/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/eyemailinc

Youtube: EyeMail Inc.

Image Credits
Holland Reid Photography