Be A Marketer with Dave Charest

Have you ever felt like your work doesn’t matter? You’re not appreciated? Someone else can do what you do?

Kim Jones Sneed, owner of Stuff in the Bluff, an award-winning website focused on local news and entertainment in Pine Bluff, Ark., admits to feeling this way often. There have been many times she wanted to throw in the towel.

But what’s kept her going for over 20 years is feeling like she’s serving a purpose greater than just making money.

“It’s people who help you succeed,” Kim says. “Many times, it’s just that faithful customer who will continue to do business with you, who has the faith to take a chance.”

Community has played a key role in Kim’s longevity, and she returns the favor by treating every single customer with the same care, pride, and enthusiasm.

On this episode of the Be a Marketer Podcast, host Dave Charest, Director of Small Business Success at Constant Contact, talks to Kim about persevering through the tough times, uplifting a community through marketing, and sending emails multiple times daily.

👉 Check out the Constant Contact Community

Meet Today’s Guest: Kim Jones Sneed of Stuff in the Bluff

☕ What she does: Kim owns Stuff in the Bluff, an award-winning website focused on local news and entertainment in Pine Bluff, Ark.

💡 Key quote: “Running a small business can be something that can really reach beyond barriers, walls, limitations.”

👋 Where to find her: LinkedIn

👋 Where to find Stuff in the Bluff: Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Twitter

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Starting a pizzeria at age 22 might seem ill-advised — and even though Mike Bausch did it, he frankly wouldn’t advise anyone else to do the same. 

But the now-owner of Andolini’s Pizza bases his customer experience on one big concept: “If you’re not impressive, by default, you’re unimpressive.” Process standardization and careful staff training provide a killer customer experience, a core part of Andolini’s brand. 

With marketing, Mike wants you to appeal to the individual. 

“The number one headline of marketing is connecting to the selfishness of an individual,” he says. “What the value is to them is how you have a value proposition.”

In other words, focus on what you can give the customer and how you can appeal to their why, not why you want them to choose your business. It’s about them — not you. 

On this episode of the Constant Contact podcast, Be a Marketer, Mike shares what he’s learned since opening his first pizzeria in 2005 with host Dave Charest, Director of Small Business Success at Constant Contact. 

👉 Check out the full recording of the panel discussion featuring Mike Bausch, Candid Conversations: Celebrating Small Business Success

Meet Today’s Guest: Mike Bausch of Andolini’s Pizzeria

☕ What he does: Mike of Andolini’s Worldwide Restaurant Group is a pizza restaurateur in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He started his first restaurant, Andolini’s Pizzeria, in 2005 at the age of 22. 

💡 Key quote: “That’s where the real secret sauce is [in marketing]: automation and connection.”

👋 Where to find him: Book | Instagram | LinkedIn

👋 Where to find Andolini’s Pizzeria: Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

Opening up about our personal lives via email isn’t easy, especially with people we may not talk to on a daily basis. 

Marianne Mernick-Sullivan, President of Consignments Ltd., had difficulty getting personal in her weekly newsletter. She stuck to interior design and what was on sale in her store. But once she opened up about being a type 1 diabetic, she built a new connection with her customers.

“I wrote about my reasons for gratitude, and it was totally off-topic,” she says. “I had people crying, saying to me, I'm so glad you shared that. My brother's a diabetic, or I've had a health challenge. It just opens the customer relationship up to something bigger.”

Marianne was no longer just a shop owner to her customers—she was a person. She didn’t intend to share openly as a strategy, but it became a great tool to connect her business to her customers. 

On this episode of Constant Contact’s Be a Marketer podcast, host Dave Charest, Director of Small Business Success at Constant Contact, talks to Marianne about the importance of community connection, why you should have high standards for your business, and how to hire the right people.

👉 How to create a survey page

Meet Today’s Guest: Marianne Mernick-Sullivan of Consignments Ltd.

☕ What she does: Marianne is the President of Consignments Ltd. Her 6,400-square-foot brick-and-mortar store sells furniture, lighting, china, handbags, and jewelry to customers in Rhode Island. 

💡 Key quote: “I was basically told, This is the most stupid idea that a person has ever had, and you're going to lose this money on this. It sounds hokey, but if you believe in it and you're willing to work hard at it, you have to be willing to go for it.”

👋 Where to find her: LinkedIn

👋 Where to find Consignments Ltd.: Website | Facebook | Instagram

If you love this show, please leave a review. Go to RateThisPodcast.com/bam and follow the simple instructions.

Generative AI is all the rage right now. Tools like ChatGPT and Bard have become content creators’ best friends. But companies like Constant Contact have used AI for many years for tasks like A/B testing email subject lines, send-time optimization, and email subject line suggestions.

Russ Morton, Chief Product Officer at Constant Contact, says generative AI is just a part of what we’re doing in the space. 

“We have trained our AI such that if you give us a couple of sentences of what you’re trying to do — it doesn’t even need to be in plain English — we’ll come back to you with a really well-crafted email,” he says.

And early results show that the engagement you can get from working with our AI-generated content will only increase.

On this episode of Constant Contact’s Be a Marketer podcast, host Dave Charest, Director of Small Business Success at Constant Contact, talks to Russ about how we’re taking the guesswork out of email, tips for creating content that resonates with the click of a button, and Constant Contact’s vision for the future of AI.

👉 How to update your business profile in your Constant Contact account

👉 Use a recommended subject line in your Constant Contact email

👉 A/B test an email subject line

👉 Using AI-generated content as a small business marketer

Meet Today’s Guest: Russ Morton of Constant Contact

☕ What he does: Russ is the Chief Product Officer at Constant Contact.

💡 Key quote: “There's no part of becoming a great marketer that we don’t aspire to take off your shoulders as a small business owner.”

👋 Where to find him: LinkedIn

👋 Where to find Constant Contact: Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube

If you love this show, please leave a review. Go to RateThisPodcast.com/bam and follow the simple instructions.

Paul Baik, President of Paul’s Beauty Warehouse, believes in taking a holistic approach to business relationships in the beauty biz. It’s never just about the customer. It’s also about vendors, employees, and the customer’s customers. That’s why he considers his business a “circle of joy.”

“We wanted to focus not on making money, but making people beautiful … We look at everything holistically now,” Paul says. And that means looking at the bigger picture by exploring what parts of the job his team does, what parts of the job his customers do, and what parts of the job his vendors do. 

Paul’s Beauty Warehouse serves hairstylists, barbers, and trade schools in the Maryland/D.C./Virginia area. A “Costco for beauty” since 2006, Paul operates out of three locations and educates stylists through the company’s education program. Over the years, as his business has grown, he’s learned a few lessons.

In the early years, Paul ran a lean team consisting of his mother and just one other employee. Now he oversees 45 employees across all locations. One thing he’s learned is that customer service-driven people make the best team members. This rang especially true for Paul during 2020, as his team stepped up to pivot during closures in the hair care industry. With the help of his dedicated team, he was able to quickly begin offering online ordering and curbside pickup.  

On this episode of Constant Contact’s Be a Marketer podcast, host Dave Charest, Director of Small Business Success at Constant Contact, talks to Paul about the challenges and victories of serving the haircare industry and why email marketing plays an important role. 

Meet Today’s Guest: Paul Baik of Paul’s Beauty Warehouse

☕ What he does: Founded in 2006, Paul’s Beauty Warehouse serves hairstylists, barbers, and trade schools over three locations in the Maryland/D.C./Virginia area. Paul focuses on providing his customers with the highest quality hair care products. 

💡 Key quote: “Just do it. Start it. Email is still very relevant. Get the email out consistently to customers every week. Share anything that your business is all about. It's something that all businesses should do.”

👋 Where to find Paul: LinkedIn

👋 Where to find Paul’s Beauty Warehouse: Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

If you love this show, please leave a review. Go to RateThisPodcast.com/bam and follow the simple instructions.

Marketing doesn’t have to be an obnoxious task you dread. Many small business owners are uncomfortable talking about themselves and their work with the public. Create an Instagram Reel? With me on camera? No, thank you.

According to Nicole Stevenson, CEO and Creative Director of Dear Handmade Life, it’s not about you. It’s about your message.

“I can’t serve my community if nobody knows about me,” she says.

Dear Handmade Life curates events, education, and community for creatives and small business owners. During her time as CEO, Nicole has done many things that made her uncomfortable. Marketing is one of those things. In her work with other small business owners, she finds this attitude toward marketing is pretty common. 

Sharing your story is essential to building a community. And for Nicole, that community is everything.

“I would not have a business without this community that we’ve curated,” she says.

On this episode of Be a Marketer, Nicole and host Dave Charest, Director of Small Business Success at Constant Contact, discuss being more open to new systems and technologies, creating processes to complete your big tasks, and why it’s important to sit back and appreciate yourself once in a while.

👉 Marketing for Makers Summit, July 11 & 12, 2023

👉 How to Create a Custom Landing Page with Constant Contact

Meet Today’s Guest: Nicole Stevenson of Dear Handmade Life

☕ What Nicole does: Nicole is the CEO and creative director of Dear Handmade Life, which helps curate events, education and community for small business owners.

💡 Nicole’s key quote: “Don't wait ‘til you're ready. Just dive in and get started. Just build that list. Do not only rely on Instagram or social media. Just don't do it. You've got to focus on email marketing as well.”

👋 Where to find Nicole: Instagram

👋 Where to find Dear Handmade Life: Website | Podcast | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

If it costs a little and means a lot, just do it! This is Ed-ism number one. It’s also how Ed Bernstein, President of 25Score, manages to thrive in a market led by Groupon and LivingSocial.

Ed bought 25Score, a local loyalty discount program, in 2009. Even with big-name competitors and a pandemic that forced most of his vendors to close temporarily, Ed’s business lives on. Lending a helping hand, even if it didn’t make a profit, allowed Ed to forge strong relationships throughout his community. Eventually, those relationships would create new customers.

“There's no way I could have built this company off of just advertising,” he says. “It's all word of mouth. It's all belly-to-belly, helping people every single day, every single month.”

On this episode of Be a Marketer, Ed and host Dave Charest, Director of Small Business Success at Constant Contact, discuss the importance of reflecting on your own accomplishments and how automation can help reduce mistakes and make your business more efficient. Plus, they share why sometimes you may need to shift your strategy to stay afloat.

👉 Want more from Ed on business? Check out his “Ed-isms”

👉 Create and manage a Constant Contact welcome email

👉 Create a recurring Constant Contact birthday email

👉 Create a recurring Constant Contact anniversary email

Meet Today’s Guest: Ed Bernstein of 25Score

☕ What Ed does: Ed is the President of 25Score, Santa Clarita and Antelope Valley’s longest-running local loyalty discount program.

💡 Ed’s key quote: “You always look at yourself and say, What did I not get done? But if you look at what you did do, it's an insane amount of things that you've implemented.”

👋 Where to find Ed: LinkedIn

👋 Where to find 25Score: Website | Facebook

Lisa Hammer is a business leader with a mindset for marketing, communications, and finance. Dave Newman is a mechanical engineer with a passion for teaching. Together, they run Leadership Techniques LLC, where their complementary skill sets drive their success.

Lisa and Dave met while working for different companies and found common ground discussing the challenges they faced as managers. They decided to bring a group together to discuss handling personnel issues. Afterward, one participant asked them: “You two are so passionate about this. Why aren’t you teaching it?”

They needed that motivation to take the plunge into starting their own business. Today, Leadership Techniques offers courses and consulting to help people become better managers and leaders. 

On this episode of Be a Marketer, Lisa, Dave, and host Dave Charest, Director of Small Business Success at Constant Contact, discuss what it takes to build a successful business with a partner and how to adapt when the world around you changes. 

Tune in to hear how Lisa and Dave share the business responsibilities, how they’ve adapted to change, and why they love email marketing as a tool for growing their business. 

Meet Today’s Guests: Lisa Hammer and Dave Newman of Leadership Techniques

☕ What they do: Lisa and Dave are the co-founders and owners of Leadership Techniques, a business that provides training and consulting on project management, math-oriented scheduling, and leadership skills. 

💡 Key quote: “They say if you love what you do, you won’t feel like you’re working. We don’t… We have long days, but we absolutely love what we do. And we love making a difference. If you can find something that makes you feel good and makes you feel like you’re accomplishing something, it’s the best feeling.” 

👋 Where to find Lisa: LinkedIn

👋 Where to find Dave: LinkedIn

👋 Where to find Leadership Techniques: Website | LinkedIn | Facebook

👋 Where to buy The Engagement Matrix: Amazon

Get ready to learn from a real estate expert who's experienced the ups and downs of the industry. Ricky Carruth closes about 100 deals a year without prospecting and credits his success to his weekly email newsletter. Since 2007, he has sent more than 830 emails — or one newsletter per week for 16 years.

In addition to building his real estate business, the newsletters give him more time to focus on his other passion: coaching agents through Zero to Diamond, his free real estate coaching program.

Ricky walks the talk: He has faced some really tough times. He lost everything and had to live in his car when the market crashed. He was back at real estate one year later, using a people-first approach. Today, he focuses on building lifelong relationships with everyone he meets, regardless of whether they’re buying or selling property. 

On this episode of Be a Marketer, host Dave Charest talks with Ricky about his real estate journey and uncovers his top advice for agents trying to grow their businesses.

Meet Today’s Guest: Ricky Carruth of Zero to Diamond

☕ What Ricky does: Ricky is a top real estate agent in Alabama and founded Zero to Diamond, the world’s first completely free real estate coaching program.

💡 Key quote from Ricky: “It's just crazy to think back then, I didn't realize I was building a brand. I didn't realize that I was accumulating people. Once I got to that point, and I saw what the weekly email was doing back in 2008, ‘09, and ‘10, I was all in on it.”

👋 Where to find Ricky: LinkedIn | YouTube | Instagram | Twitter

👋 Where to find Zero to Diamond: Website | Facebook

If you love this show, please leave a review. Go to RateThisPodcast.com/bam and follow the simple instructions.

Imagine emptying your 401K to the tune of $50,000 to book a venue for your first event as a business owner with no previous entrepreneurship experience. Go big or go home, right? 

That’s the confidence level Sonja Rasula had in 2008 when she started Unique Markets. As a former journalist, she had the research skills and natural interest in telling stories that helped her prepare for owning a business.

For the last 15 years, Sonja has created large-scale pop-up markets across the country. She aims to support small businesses by showcasing up-and-coming designers, artists, and entrepreneurs just starting their journey. From the beginning, she set out to be a leader in an industry that didn’t even exist.

“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.”

On this episode of Be a Marketer, Sonja and host Dave Charest talk about the growing pains she experienced, why you shouldn’t fall for the social media trap, and the importance of focusing on yourself.

👉 Sonja’s Unique Assembly

👉 Constant Contact Resend to Non-openers Feature

👉 Constant Contact Canva Integration

Meet Today’s Guest: Sonja Rasula of Unique Markets

☕ What Sonja does: Sonja founded Unique Markets in 2008 to create large-scale pop-up markets nationwide. Her markets support small businesses by showcasing up-and-coming designers, artists, and entrepreneurs just starting their journey.

💡 Key quote from Sonja: “As a business owner, if you own nothing, that means Instagram or whatever social media platform you're using, that means they own you. That's a terrible position to be in.”

👋 Where to find Sonja: LinkedIn | Instagram

👋 Where to find Unique Markets: Website | Instagram | Facebook

If you love this show, please leave a review. Go to RateThisPodcast.com/bam and follow the simple instructions.