About Nick_S

Nick_S · ‎05-25-2023

How do you compete with giants? Ed Bernstein, President of 25Score, a loyalty program local to Santa Clarita and Antelope Valley in California, has some ideas. When some of your biggest competitors are Groupon and LivingSocial, it’s important to hone in on what your program does best, be efficient in your processes, and build a reputation that rallies your community around you. Despite the aforementioned competitors and a pandemic that saw many of his vendors closed temporarily, Ed’s managed to keep his business up-and-running. Tune in this week to hear how Ed’s approach to solving problems with abundant thinking helps him compete with the big names by bringing his clients as much value as possible.

Nick_S · ‎05-18-2023

It’s possible you’re one moment away from that push that will propel you towards your goals. Lisa Hammer and Dave Newman met while working for different companies and bonded over the shared challenges they faced as managers. After establishing a group to discuss handling personnel issues, it was one comment from one of the participants that pushed them to launch their own company: “You two are so passionate about this. Why aren’t you teaching it?” Thus, Leadership Techniques LLC was born. The company offers courses and consulting to help people become better managers and leaders. What’s the secret? Love what you do, even if what you do isn’t always easy. Tune in this week to hear about how Lisa and Dave share business responsibilities, how to adapt to change, and why they love email marketing as a tool for growing their business.

Nick_S · ‎05-11-2023

When Ricky Carruth first got into real estate, it was all about the money. Close the deal and move on. After the market crash in 2008, Ricky had to build himself back up and reevaluate what success meant for him. His new approach? It’s all about the people. Ricky used email marketing to help build relationships with his customers and stay in touch, long after the sale. He wasn’t satisfied with simply working in real estate, though, and launched the world’s first, free real estate coaching program called Zero to Diamond. This week, Ricky and Dave talk about his approach to staying top of mind and building relationships through email marketing. Listen to the full conversation to hear the full scoop on how Ricky got into real estate and how he’s managed his success (with a few bumps along the way), as well as his top advice for aspiring real estate agents trying to grow their business.

Nick_S · ‎05-04-2023

What will it take to make your business successful? Everything, potentially. That didn’t deter Sonja Rasula, founder and owner of the large-scale pop-up market company Unique Markets. She believed in her business idea so much, she was willing to empty her 401K to do it. “I do believe in the idea of go big or go home,” she says. “I wasn't going to create a little market that could happen outdoors in a parking lot. That's already out there. I wanted to create something new. I wanted to disrupt an industry.” Sonja joins Dave this week to talk about her entrepreneurship journey, her case for using email marketing and not falling into the social media trap, and the importance of self-care for business owners. Did you have an “all or nothing” moment when deciding to start your business?

Nick_S · ‎04-27-2023

Sending out your first marketing email can seem like a daunting task. You might be asking yourself, “Where do I begin? What should I talk about? Do I even have enough content? Will anyone even care to read?” The good thing is, you probably have more content than you realize. This week’s guest, Ken Countess of Ken is Email, wants to assure his clients that email marketing doesn't have to be complicated. And he should know! Ken has helped many customers up their marketing game over a span of 22 years. It's important to keep in mind that simple, short and sweet marketing wins over long, drawn-out newsletters. People don't have long attention spans. Focus on your brand and call-to-action. Keep it simple, concise, and build a relationship with your audience over time. If you're having trouble figuring out how to simplify your message, listen to this week's episode between Ken and Dave for inspiration on how to focus on the content that is most valuable to your customers. Then let us know: do you see better engagement from your shorter emails? Or longer ones?

Nick_S · ‎04-20-2023

After 30+ years in business as the president and founder of The Research Group, Barbara Gassaway points towards a culture of personal and professional growth for her employees as a major reason for her business’ success. Whether you’re leveraging the help and advice of a mentor to grow or using your own leadership skills to enable your own employees to grow and develop, this idea of lasting personal and professional growth is essential to the evolution of your business. As you grow and develop personally as a small business owner, your business will grow along with you and you’ll become a boss that employees look forward to working with. On the flip side of that, investing in your employees’ growth will make them even better at what they do, which leads to a better experience for your customers. Your business’ growth starts with you, so listen to the full conversation between Barbara and Dave to learn more about investing in yourself and your employees to build and scale.

Nick_S · ‎04-13-2023

One of the most difficult parts of starting a small business is getting the word out about your product or service. In today’s tech-first world, cutting through the noise has become harder than ever. That’s why Joan Noe, former Director of Partner Engagement at Senior Options, LLC, made sure that any messaging sent to her lists is both clear and concise. Joan knows that you only have a few seconds to capture someone’s attention, so she uses feedback from her customers to craft messaging that directly resonates with each audience. “Everybody's got a lot of distractions around them from their phones and other devices at all times,” she says. “So you’ve got to get their attention. And you've got to make sure your message is as clear as it can be.” Joan says. Listen to the full episode below to hear more about how Joan leverages customer feedback to craft clear marketing messages.

Nick_S · ‎04-06-2023

It’s one thing to build trust with your customers, but it’s another thing completely to give them something for free. For team-building expert and Training Wheels founder Michelle Cummings, the two go hand in hand. Now, Michelle might not be giving away products or courses from her team-building resource company, but she is giving away little pieces of knowledge and expertise in the form of content. Whether it’s through podcasting, weekly newsletters, or a free e-book when new members sign up for that newsletter, Michelle makes sure that a prospect’s first interaction with her brand is one full of value. She takes pride in creating and sharing meaningful content that helps consumers and positions her team as a thought leader in the industry. By doing so, Michelle is building trust with customers and prospects and positioning Training Wheels as the first place to turn to when looking for help with team-building. Michelle sat down with Dave this week to talk more about her marketing approach, so tune in below to listen to the full episode.

Nick_S · ‎03-30-2023

After hosting our community SMS Sneak Peek virtual event last week, Constant Contact product marketer Hannah Khouri and product manager Zachary Robertson sat down with Dave on a special episode of the Be a Marketer podcast to dive even deeper into why SMS marketing is a must for small businesses. Aside from learning more about why it’s important to land in your customers’ text message inbox, Hannah and Zach talk through ways to be timely and creative in your messaging. They help explain ways to integrate SMS marketing into your current marketing mix to help you deliver the right message, to the right person, through the right medium, at the right time. Listen to the full episode now and let us know the creative ways you use (or would like to use) SMS marketing to boost your business.

Nick_S · ‎03-29-2023

Hi @caseyjoewalker! At this time you can't use an existing email in one automated series to trigger the launch of a different automated series. Currently, trigger emails are created within the confines of an automated series and you can't select an existing email campaign or email within a series to act as the trigger. It would have to be created new or copied into the new series.

Nick_S · ‎03-29-2023

Hi @HopeandCope, if you're importing a PDF and generating an image of the first (or only) page to create an email campaign, the buttons would not be individually accessible, as it is all one image. It would have to be recreated as close as possible with the email editor itself. Additionally, I'm sorry to hear you experienced an issue connecting with our chat support. I'll forward that to our support team.

Nick_S · ‎03-29-2023

Hi @ChristopherP703, thank you for bringing this to our attention. Can you share a screenshot of what you're seeing after it's delivered to the inbox? I sent a test email to my inbox and it looks fine for me. What email client are you receiving the email at? Is this happening with test emails, live sends, or both? And are you viewing the email on a desktop/laptop or mobile device?

Nick_S · ‎03-29-2023

Hi @NicoleN43, I'm sorry to see you are experiencing this issue. I can't say for sure exactly what was causing it, but it had something to do with invisible characters (possibly) in the Ad Description field. I tested the field with different text (in this case, the word "Test") and the green check mark appeared. I copy/pasted the original text into Notepad to strip it of any potential hidden characters and pasted it back into the field. It saved successfully and the green checkmark remained. You should be all set! Our developers are still looking into why this issue occurs, but if it happens again in the future try deleting the text in the Ad Description field and typing it in manually or pasting it into a program like Notepad before pasting it into the Description field.

Nick_S · ‎03-29-2023

Hi @LizzieW0, I think like Caitlin suggested it would be best if you spoke with our Delivery specialists directly. We would need to know things like the domain of the email addresses, to see if there are any common denominators that might be impacting them. If you don't want to call in, we can set up a callback case for you.

Nick_S · ‎03-23-2023

For live concert promoter and producer Tom Agostino, putting out a great product is only half the battle of creating a strong foundation for a small business. After putting out a great product, you need to educate your buyer and then create a strong base of recurring customers, something that Tom says is crucial to his business. “Basically, what I've had to do is educate my audience to this kind of music and get them to trust that if I'm bringing somebody to town, they’re good. That’s basically all you need to know. I'm bringing them, so they're good. I had to earn that. I earned that respect.” Tom says. He’s worked really hard to build trust with his customer base, which has resulted in an increased number of repeat customers and a strong sense of recurring revenue for his business. Listen to the full episode to hear more about how Tom builds trust with his customers.

Nick_S · ‎03-16-2023

After taking over as the marketing director at Wolf Commercial Real Estate (WCRE), Gab Leonetti quickly realized the value of relationship building with customers and prospective buyers. “In order for us to be able to assist and be able to help our clients, you have to know what they're up against, or what they're facing, or what their challenges are,” she says. “Build the relationship. Ask about people's lives. Ask about what they're doing, what their successes are, where they need help.” Listen to the full episode below to hear how Gab has overhauled WCRE’s marketing efforts and let us know what methods you use to build lasting relationships with your customers.

Nick_S · ‎03-09-2023

Selling a product or service is at the core of nearly every small business. While it’s important to spread the word about your product, you also have to consider how you’re enticing consumers to give your product a try. Software entrepreneur and marketing and business guru Omar Zenhom spoke with us about the importance of taking the time to understand consumers to build trust and credibility for your product. “Your job is to show them that you are of value. Your job is to teach them what you’ve got ”, Omar says. “Most people have one or two reasons why they're not buying. They have a couple blockers in their head. And as long as you address those things, they don't have a reason not to buy.” Listen to the full conversation with Omar below and tell us how you are authentic in your brand during the customer’s buying process.

Nick_S · ‎03-02-2023

Running your own business gives you free rein to direct it however you wish. But Frank advises not getting away from the business basics. That means maintaining budgets and benchmarks, and understanding the important financials that dictate whether or not you’re profitable. Marketing plays a key role in helping Frank run his business, too. He’s not shy about tackling the marketing that The House Watchers needs, whether that’s getting the word out through community organizations or launching a new text campaign for his customer base. Frank offers some advice when it comes to learning how to use marketing tools - “Doing is the best method of learning.” What have you found helpful when learning about the tools in your Constant Contact account?

Nick_S · ‎02-25-2023

Hi @Ballet! I apologize for any confusion, but from the looks of it you're on the right track! You're officially entered. If you'd like some additional chances you can participate the discussion threads on our Share & Get Ideas board that are linked above such as this one here.

Nick_S · ‎02-23-2023

CEO Dereck E. Moore understands the importance of nailing down the things that are most important to his business. “Faith, integrity, impact, and abundance are our core values. We try to identify clients that can embrace those core values, and believe in the same type of things and how to do business. These are the clients I attempt to attract. And these are the clients I want to do business with”, Dereck said. Listen to his full conversation with Dave in this week’s podcast episode. Once you’ve had some time to think it through, hop over to our discussion board to let us know what your company’s values are.

Nick_S · ‎02-16-2023

After making the leap from the security of the corporate world into the whirlwind that is entrepreneurship, keynote speaker and leadership coach Scharrell Jackson quickly learned the importance of segmenting her audience. “For a business that wants to use Constant Contact as a primary marketing tool, they should get clear on their strategy. Do not just use it to load names and push emails, because people don't want to read. Use it to actually segment your database into whatever works for your business. And then have targeted marketing strategies, especially in your email drip campaigns that are personalized to the customers”, Scharrell says. Listen for more insights in the full episode below. Scharrell is currently re-defining her audience and properly segmenting it using Constant Contact. Tell us more about how you segment your audience right now.

Nick_S · ‎02-15-2023

The sweepstakes is now closed! We will be selecting the winners after March 22 and they will be notified by the contact email address listed on their Constant Contact account. Thank you so much for participating! If you haven’t noticed yet, there’s been a lot of changes around the Constant Contact Community. We’re adding new areas, updating existing ones, and creating exciting opportunities for y’all to learn more about the product, marketing, and each other! A community thrives on the engagement and creativity of its members. An easy and fun way to make your presence known is by customizing your user profile. For example, your community screen name, profile picture, signature, and biography. We’re excited to build Community together and create your one-stop shop for online marketing know-how, product support, and peer-to-peer conversations. To help get things started, you have the chance to win $100* by kicking off the conversation. The first step is making your user profile your own and the second is letting us know you’re here! How to enter: You have to be a Constant Contact customer to participate in the sweepstakes. In order to qualify, you must: Update your profile picture on your Constant Contact community account. We suggest your business/organization logo or a professional (or close-to-it) headshot. Reply to our Introduce Yourself To The Community thread, utilizing the prompts provided at the link for inspiration. This guarantees an entry to the sweepstakes. Additionally, you have two other ways to bolster your chances! You’ll receive one entry for each additional task completed. Update your community screen name, signature, and/or biography. Help get the conversation started by replying to one of the newly created discussion posts on our Share & Get Ideas board. Note: Listening to the podcast is not required to participate in the discussions, but we encourage you to do so anyway because it’s really good! Why did you start your small business? What is an important lesson you’ve learned since starting your business? How are you building community with your business? What are your 2023 marketing goals If you update your profile and/or participate in the discussion posts you will still need to reply to the Introduce Yourself To The Community thread and update your profile picture to be counted in the sweepstakes. What is the prize? Three lucky Community members will be selected at random to win $100 Visa gift cards! 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. We’re excited to have you here and look forward to seeing you around the community. — *No Purchase Necessary. The Constant Contact Make Your Community Sweepstakes is open to legal residents of the 50 United States (and D.C.), 18 years or older. You must be a Constant Contact Community Member and account holder (excluding Trialers) to be eligible. Sweepstakes starts on February 15, 2023 at 9:30 AM EST and ends on March 15, 2023 at 11:59 PM EST. Void where prohibited. For full entry details, see Official Rules here. Sponsored by Constant Contact, 1601 Trapelo Rd., Waltham, MA 02451 (the “Sponsor”). Visa and Khoros are not sponsors or participants in the Sweepstakes and make no endorsement of the Sweepstakes. Questions? Let us know below!

Nick_S · ‎02-09-2023

This week we’re seeing double Dave! B2B marketing guru Dave Gerhardt joined the podcast to talk about all things small business – from building a marketing plan based on just a story to fighting off imposter syndrome as your business grows. Listen to the full episode right here! As you continue to start off the new year strong, try focusing your marketing efforts on a single target audience as a great way to optimize your small business marketing strategy. With your marketing strategy in mind, what are your 2023 marketing goals?

Nick_S · ‎02-06-2023

It can be scary to put yourself out there, so I’ll bite the bullet and introduce myself first. Hi, my name is Nick Sermuksnis! I am the Social Media & Content Manager for the Community. I’ve actually been around these parts for several years now, wearing different hats such as providing direct product support to our customers and curating meaningful and fun content, like sweepstakes! I don’t have a business of my own, but one of my favorite aspects of working for Constant Contact is learning about and helping the small businesses and nonprofit organizations that use our product. It’s a humbling experience, getting even a small peek behind the scenes of what it takes to make your dreams a reality. When I am not glued to my keyboard, I am still glued to my keyboard. Well, the computer, at least. I am a budding digital artist in my spare time. My eyeballs are pretty fried at the end of the day, though. To compensate, I like to go on hikes, indoor rock climbing, and nature walks – really connect with nature, y’know? I’ve also been fortunate to do some traveling in recent years which has expanded my worldview. My wife and I have two cats that keep us busy, too. Well, one of them does, for sure. You know who you are.

Nick_S · ‎02-03-2023

Update your community screen name You can change your Community screen name online within the My Account section of your Constant Contact account. To change your screen name: Log into your Constant Contact account; click on the account name in the top-right of the navigation bar and choose My Account. On the right under Profile details, click Edit. Enter your new screen name under Community screen name. Click Save to complete the change. Guidelines: Your screen name would ideally be your name or your business/organization name for easy identification. It should be professional, accurate, and not include any profanity. Change the image (profile picture) next to your screen name Changing your profile picture is an easy way to personalize your community identity. You can change your picture as often as you like. Your current picture appears in the top right of the navigation bar. To change your profile picture: Sign in to your Community account. Click on your profile image in the top-right corner of the page and go to My settings > Avatars. Choose a new avatar in one of these ways: Choose an avatar From the Community collection. (Choose an avatar collection from the drop-down and click the avatar you want). Upload your own avatar by clicking on Upload an Avatar under From the Community or click on From my Albums and select an image you’ve already uploaded. Click on From the Web and paste a custom avatar URL in the Custom avatar URL field. Guidelines: If you don’t want to use one of the stock avatar options, we recommend using a professional (or close to it) headshot of the user running the account or the logo of your business. Profile pictures will appear 40x40 pixels on your posts and 150x150 pixels on your profile page. For example: Who's a cute dog? (Hm, that’s not right…) Your signature is text that appears at the bottom of your posts. To create your personal signature: Sign in to your community account. Click on your profile image in the top-right corner of the page and go to My settings > Personal > Personal Information. Enter your signature text in the Signature box. Click Save. Guidelines: We recommend keeping your signatures short and sweet. You can think of it like a professional signature in your email. Add your name, preferred pronouns, job title, business, and/or any other pertinent credentials you feel comfortable sharing. Heck, throw in an inspirational quote if you want. The signature editor can handle simple HTML, so you could include an image of your business logo, as well. Compose a biography for your profile You can tell other Community members as much or as little about yourself as you want. To tell other Community members about yourself: Click on your profile image in the top-right corner of the page and go to My settings > Personal > Personal Information. Enter information about yourself in the Biography field. For example, you can share your name, location, company info, and/or any other information you want to share. Click Save. Guidelines: Similar to the signature; your short biography can also include your location, personal interests, or anything else (within Community guidelines, of course). Example: “Social Media & Content Manager for the Community and Social Care team here at Constant Contact, aka @ConstantContact on Twitter. When I'm not at work you can find me drawing, reading, or hiking.”

Nick_S · ‎02-03-2023

We are delighted to welcome you to the Constant Contact Community. We hope you find new ideas, learn about marketing and your Constant Contact account and get advice that helps you drive results for your business here in the community. Whether you are new to the community or a seasoned veteran, hello! Tell us a little bit about yourself, what you do, and what you hope to get out of your time here. What’s your name? Tell us a little about your small business or nonprofit and what you do there. What is your favorite part about working for a small business or nonprofit organization? What are you passionate about? We can’t wait to get to know all of you!

Nick_S · ‎02-02-2023

This week, Dave talks with Pam Roussell of Purrrfectly Holistic about how she’s connected felines and their owners to services and products that provide new ways of approaching cat health care. In the last year, she decided to go full-time with Purrrfectly Holistic and saw significant growth within just 30 days! Listen to the full conversation right here! Pam also shared advice on the importance of hitting your customers’ inbox on a consistent basis.. “You have to keep getting in front of people all the time. You can't just send one email a month and expect them to remember you.” Tell us how often you send emails to your customers to remain top-of-mind.

Nick_S · ‎01-27-2023

This week, Chris and Mary Ginder from Gindo’s Spice of Life join Dave to talk about the ups and downs of growing their hot sauce business. Gindo’s experienced a lot of change through a cross-country move and a global pandemic, but connection and community always remained a key to their success. Mary also expanded on why they value community so much at Gindo’s; “[Community] is a huge part of our business. Our mission statement is we make fresh pepper hot sauces designed to inspire creativity in the kitchen and support local farms and businesses. It’s everything for us”. How is community important to your business?

Nick_S · ‎01-27-2023

This week, Dave had the opportunity to sit down with serial entrepreneur Ramon Ray to discuss how the lessons he’s learned building 5 different businesses influence the way he does business today. Listen to the full conversation right here. Ramon mentioned that while it’s important to generate recurring revenue for your business and establish a great team, the real magic happens when you can identify your ideal customer and leverage your tools and your team to curate a customer experience that keeps them coming back. What is an important lesson you’ve learned since starting your business?

Nick_S · ‎01-27-2023

Dave had an interesting conversation with Tamika Catchings, the owner of Tea’s Me Cafe in Indianapolis, about how and why she started her own business. Listen in to hear what’s worked for Tamika since she started her business in 2017. I was inspired to hear why Tamika made the decision to start her business. She said, “I didn't get into it to get rich. I got into it because of the community and to bring people together and build this.” Why did you decide to start your small business? Share your story and hear from other small business owners how they got started.

About Nick_S

Episode #20 - Be a Marketer

Episode #19 - Be a Marketer

Episode #18 - Be a Marketer

Episode #17 - Be a Marketer

Episode #16 - Be a Marketer

Episode #15 - Be a Marketer

Episode #14 - Be a Marketer

Episode #13 - Be a Marketer

Episode #12 - Be a Marketer

Re: Linking automated series

Re: Question about PDF import and multiple links

Re: Sent emails showing contents too narrow. How d...

Re: There's a glitch in your ad campaign

Re: An email that didn't send/only sent to few on ...

Episode #11 - Be a Marketer

Episode #10 - Be A Marketer

Episode #9 - Be A Marketer

Episode #8 - Be A Marketer

Re: You could win $100 - Make Your Community Sweep...

Episode #7 - Be A Marketer

Episode #6 - Be A Marketer

You could win $100 - Make Your Community Sweepstak...

Episode #5 - Be A Marketer

Re: Introduce Yourself To The Community

Set Up Your Community Profile

Introduce Yourself To The Community

Episode #4 - Finding Your Tribe With Pam Roussell

Episode #3 - Growing a Business With Consistency, ...

Episode #2 - Lessons From a 25-Year Serial Entrepr...

Episode #1 - Building a Business by Building Commu...

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