What not do to when marketing your product with Dave Charest of Constant Contact - Product Hunt Radio Recap

Podcast: Product Hunt Radio

Published: 2019-12-04

Duration: 45 min

Guests: Dave Charest

Summary

Dave Charest from Constant Contact outlines the common pitfalls in marketing strategies, emphasizing the importance of early engagement, authentic participation in communities, and the power of content marketing.

What Happened

Dave Charest, Director of Content Marketing at Constant Contact, shares his insights on avoiding common marketing mistakes. He advises businesses to start engaging with their target audience through content early, even before a product launch, to build a community and gather valuable insights.

Charest highlights the importance of participation over broadcasting in online communities. He cautions against spamming potential customers and instead recommends engaging in meaningful conversations to build genuine connections.

He discusses the value of consistency in marketing efforts, emphasizing that it often takes 12 to 18 months of regular activity to see significant results. This long-term approach helps in building trust and understanding audience needs better.

For those uncomfortable with traditional marketing channels, Charest suggests focusing on formats that align with personal strengths, whether it be writing, audio, or video, and then repurposing content across platforms.

In email marketing, Charest warns against adding people to newsletters without consent and stresses the importance of having a clear plan for consistent communication. He advises businesses to focus on building their email lists through genuine interactions.

Charest shares practical advice on choosing the right marketing channels, suggesting that businesses consider where their audience is most active and which platforms align with the business's communication style.

The episode concludes with Charest recommending tools like Constant Contact for integrated marketing efforts, including email, website building, and social media advertising, to simplify and streamline marketing processes.

Key Insights

• Engaging with a target audience through content before a product launch can help build a community and gather valuable insights, setting the stage for successful marketing efforts.
• Consistency in marketing is key, with significant results often taking 12 to 18 months of regular activity, which helps in building trust and understanding audience needs.
• Email marketing should prioritize consent, avoiding adding individuals to newsletters without permission and focusing on building email lists through genuine interactions.
• Selecting marketing channels should be based on where the audience is most active and which platforms align with the business's communication style, ensuring effective engagement.