Small Business Success Sweepstakes

[Nick_S]

The Sweepstakes is now closed! Thank you to all our wonderful participants for sharing your stories!

National Small Business Week is here, but we want to keep the celebration going all month!

This week is a great opportunity to pat yourself on the back and relish the success! At Constant Contact, we love seeing small businesses and nonprofits succeed and we want to hear about your triumphs. What fist pumpin’ experiences have you had this year?

How to Enter: Share your success story by posting a reply to this article. We want to hear about your victories, big or small, in the last year that have helped you grow confidence in your business or organization.

Some topic ideas, for example:

• A marketing campaign or other activities that contributed strong growth to your business
• A positive customer experience
• Any progress made toward your nonprofit goals
• A new or updated physical store location or office expansion

But wait, there’s more! Share an anecdote specifically about how Constant Contact has helped your business and earn an additional entry to the Sweepstakes! Make sure to clearly define the start of this anecdote so it isn’t intermingled with the main entry.

But wait, there’s even more! Share the permalink URL of your reply on this sweepstakes article on Twitter with the hashtag #sbss and earn another entry to the sweepstakes!

Where to find the permalink: When viewing your reply on the official thread, click on the three dots in the top-right corner and right-click on the “Permalink” option. A window will pop up where you can select “Copy link address.” Voilà! Sharing the permalink in your tweet will allow us to track who tweeted what. We appreciate it!

What are the prizes? We have a bevy of great prizes to give out this time around.

Grand Prize - 1 Premium Email Template Design ($299 value)
First Prize - 3 Months of the Marketing Advisor Program ($150 value)
Second Prize - $100 credit on your Constant Contact account ($100 value)
Third Prize - 3-Pack of Animated Templates ($79 value)

The sweepstakes will run from September 13, 2021 to October 12, 2021. Once completed, we will select a winner for each prize at random and notify them!

If you are a winner we will notify you by the contact email address listed on your Constant Contact account, so make sure it is up-to-date! Thank you.

Questions? Let us know below!

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*No Purchase Necessary. The Constant Contact Community Small Business Success Sweepstakes is open to legal residents of the 50 United States (and D.C), 18 years or older. For Official Rules, visit here. Promotion ends on October 12, 2021 at 11:59 PM ET. The Sweepstakes is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Khoros, Pinterest, or Twitter.

[BernandoT]

Hi all,

We are Inmayra Taveras Event Planning LLC. Earlier this year, we were entertaining the possibility of buying an Event Planning franchise, but after doing extended research we decided to jump start the brand we registered as a business in November of 2019. That said, that was the best decision we ever made. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, our brand / business was on the shelf collecting dust, and we did not get it going again until late June of this year. Three months, later we are happy with the financial progress with have made, and we our pleasantly surprised with the many HIGH END resources we have pulled together to grow our brand / business in such short period of time. So far, the dollars we have invested to expose our brand through online marketing and lead generation sites has given us instant credibility with our clients, vendor partners and the VERY BEST Event Planning mentors. You can like our brand / business on Facebook at the following link: https://www.facebook.com/inmayrataveraseventplanning/. 

[ShelbyH130]

Picture this: Me, away from my desk and spending hours on my phone because my workplace -- a local gym -- has been shut down during the pandemic. My thumbs and tap fingers are sore. I use the Constant Contact app, text back and forth with staff, and do my best to inform our gym members about what's up. I'm using the ONLY form of communication we have at our disposal: elbasts.  With each new eblast, dozens of replies with even more questions come back. By the end of the summer, I have 1,000 emails in my inbox. (And I'm one of those "clean your inbox by the end of the day" kinda gals!)

Then, we reopen.

Our eblast open rates are higher than they've ever been because many of our members are elderly and cannot come back to the gym until after they're vaccinated. Together, we all slog through the unknown.

But, something has changed in me (as it did for many people in 2020). I want to start my own business -- and I want to do EXACTLY what I have been doing for the gym for the last seven years as a digital marketer. Two months later, I give notice and train my replacement while climbing the steep learning curve of entrepreneurship. On my last day, after my going-away party, two things happen: 1) We learn that the owner wants to close the gym; 2) I send out my first eblast letting people know that I've launched my own business -- Missoula Social Media. Of course, I used Constant Contact to send that first email. I'd been using it for seven years and have never been disappointed. That was one of the easiest decisions I had to make as a start up.

It's been a rollercoaster for over a year, but I'm grateful for two things: 1) I have a constant, dependable way to engage with my audience; 2) I've made so many quality friendships, and I still stay in contact with my old coworkers.

Thank you for reading my story. I do not have a Twitter account, but I shared the link to this sweepstakes on my Facebook and Instagram feeds.

Shelby Humphreys

Missoula Social Media

www.missoulasocialmedia.guru

shelby.humphreys73@gmail.com

406.529.5488

Facebook

Instagram

TikTok

[ClarinelB]

Hello,

I am an independent contractor, home based travel advisor with Archer Travel. Travel business was terribly affected by the pandemic.

As the travel industry starts to bounce back in business, there's hope that this budding business of mine would gain momentum as well. I am still working on my website, slowly working on all the marketing preparation and building social media presence. It gives me the assurance that I am going in the right direction with Constant Contact.

It would be nice to be considered. I will be able to automate some of the tasks to be done daily. It will help me focus on the more important part of my business which are my clients.

Kudos to the creators of Constant Contact. Stay safe. 

Kind regards,

Clarinel Biol

SereneWind Travel

Archer Travel Group

[AMABlackBelt]

We are a martial arts school. In the last year, we have moved online, reopened in-person for some, moved back online for all, and are now back in person with hybrid classes. by staying in contact with all our students we have not just survived, but we have thrived. We have been able to sign up tons of new students and grow our business at a time when others around us were closing their doors. We used Constant Contact to keep our students up to date with the constant change. Being able to adapt, pivot, and move forward is what we train for. Constant Contact has also evolved a lot since we started using them, we have used email campaigns, social media posts, Facebook ads, and a few integrations. Thank you for making it easier.

Michael

amadojo.com

[McgeheeSe123]

I have posted for my first paint party and let week did 4 shirts. It may seem small but I gotta start somewhere. Thank you constant contact for helping me have motivation to get started!!

[BrandonS6003]

Greetings!

My name is Brandon and last year I launched a holistic energy wellness company using the healing sciences of Pranic Healing, NLP, and the metaphysical sciences of numerology and astrology to provide a comprehensive approach to energy wellness. 

SInce starting my business, with the help of Constant Contact, I've been able to grow my client base by sending monthly newsletters, advertise promotions and sales, and gather a general excitement from family, friends, and clients with the designs of the newsletters. Because of this interaction my clients come in with an excitement which makes the whole experience so much better. 

I have also taken advantage of the text to join feature that constant contact has to offer.  I'm looking forward to growing my business even more with the assistance of Constant Contact.

www.b-wellenergywellness.com

[MarcelleW6]

The Early Learning Coalition of Marion County (ELCMC) is a nonprofit in Central Florida, providing families with access to quality early learning programs that prepare children for educational success. We  also foster partnerships with other community agencies to connect families in need to resources. An example of a recent success is Escarlin's story. A mother of three, Escarlin was in an abusive marriage when she attended Marion County's World's Greatest Baby Shower, an annual event sponsored by the ELCMC. She began attending ELCMC parenting classes and learning about programs and resources available, many of which helped her and her children leave their unsafe environment. Through ELCMC's Child Care Resource and Referral services, Escarlin was connected with College of Central Florida to improve her work skills and then to CareerSource Citrus Levy Marion for help with her job search. Our School Readiness child care assistance and Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) programs ensured Escarlin's children were enrolled in quality early learning programs while she worked to improve their quality of life. Escarlin was also able to rebuild her children's library, which was destroyed along with all their belongings. Each time she attended a parenting class or other ELCMC event, she received a free book for each of the kids. Today Escarlin is a successful real estate agent who owns her own home and no longer needs the School Readiness subsidy assistance! ELCMC is proud to have been a part of Escarlin's journey and see her and her children thrive.

How Constant Contact has helped us grow: Last month we participated in a community-wide, 24-hour, on-line giving campaign (Give4Marion). This was the second year for the event, and this year we added Constant Contact to our promotional mix, sending 12 email campaigns over a week and a half. Our average click rate was 9%, exceeding the 7.92% nonprofit industry average. And we experienced a 10.87% conversion rate - ultimately raising 72% more than last year!