@ShawnL251 first of all big kudos to you for even starting your own business. You are one of the elite who have decided to take their skills (30 years, wow) and leverage them for your own future opportunities. You are welcome here and we do aim to guide and help however we can. Remember that everyone starts in the same place when they open their business, so don't be too hard on yourself. I'm sure you make endless wonderful meals because that is your gift and expertise, so why would it be logical that you should know how to market? It's not. That being said, Constant Contact has been the leading online digital marketing platforms for small businesses and entrepreneurs for decades for a reason: they set out not to just build a set of marketing tools, but to make it as easy as possible for those who are not inclined.
The other special part about Constant Contact is what we are doing right here: live support, community, and a team effort. So in addition to the community here, you can always get help from a real live support team member and marketing success manager.
As far as being overwhelmed, I'd say take a step back and organize things in a simple fashion.
Website - do you have one, even a one-pager that represents your business?
Email list - Constant contact is the central hub to build your contacts database - prospects, clients, past connections, colleagues, friends, family - everyone.
Social Media - at least one or two channels that you post on and engage with folks regularly.
If you have those three lined up and you are committed to taking a few minutes to learn the Constant Contact system (again, easiest out there for sure!) with a drag and drop email builder as well as the social media posting tool, you can accomplish most of what you need to do with simple and focused effort!
The template builder and brand kit feature will also give you massive shortcuts to auto-branding your marketing so that it's the right colors and style without you having to spend time doing it manually.
Feel free to contact support agents at any time or direct message me here in my community inbox, I have your back!
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