Austin Ekeler has always known his roots were in building things and pushing himself to the next level. A strong work ethic has been a core part of his identity since growing up on a ranch in Colorado, and it has been a cornerstone of his multifaceted career ranging from professional sports to business owner. Today, Austin is not only the current running back for the Washington Commanders but an entrepreneur and philanthropist.
Building community
While Austin has pursued a variety of entrepreneurial ventures, his biggest passion projects are centered around the mission of building community. One of his main focuses is Eksperience, an app that helps fans build genuine connections with athletes. The app is a content creation platform that allows players to leverage their personal brand and engage with their audience through videos, social interactions, and live calls.
“As I continued to build some popularity in the NFL, I had a community that was being built around me. I wanted to have an opportunity to give more access to [the fans] that was time efficient for me,” he explained. “So, what we’ve built is a content creation platform. When [an athlete] has a community of fans, they can request content from them or give them things to post.”
He also founded the Gridiron Gaming Group to help bridge the gap between traditional and online sports by connecting retired NFL athletes with esports players. Esports players are professional gamers who compete in video games, often as part of a team or an organization. Through the Gridiron Gaming Group, they can compete in tournaments with retired NFL players.
To give back to the community more directly, Austin founded the Austin Ekeler Foundation in 2021, which is an organization that renovates weight rooms in high schools across the United States. Austin’s inspiration for the foundation came from his own experience. “After my third year in the NFL, I found myself in a place where I was like, ‘How can I give back to the things that helped me push through my high school career’? The weight room really was a sanctuary where I felt like I learned a lot of mental toughness. I wanted to make sure there were communities out there that had that resource for people because I know how therapeutic it was for me at a young age.”
As he pursued multiple ventures beyond the football field, Austin needed a way to efficiently market his brands and fundraise for his foundation. He turned to Constant Contact to help him maximize his marketing efforts, connect with his fanbase, and grow his businesses to new heights.
“I love Constant Contact because it helps me stay up to date and keep other people up to date.”
Open Rate: 45%
Click Rate: 4%
Open Rate v. Industry Avg: +9%
Click Rate v. Industry Avg: +2%
Marketing lessons
While Austin used his popularity as a football player as a starting point for his business ventures, he knew the true path to success was to level up his marketing skills. “One of the lessons that I’ve learned in marketing is how to grow something authentically,” he said.
By attracting email subscribers on social media, segmenting his contact list, automating campaigns, and integrating with other platforms, Austin uses Constant Contact to make sure his growth as a business owner only accelerates.
Kickstarting a contact list on social media
Austin understood from the beginning of his entrepreneurial journey that his contact list would be a key player in his marketing strategy. Social media gives brands the opportunity to reach new people, share relevant content, and build connections, but the real power comes when followers are converted to subscribers.
“[Social media] is a very light way to build a relationship without actually knowing somebody,” Austin said. “For me to continue to further that relationship, I need to get information to them so that they can feel like they know me. So, email is a great way to communicate in a more appropriate way that’s not too invasive, but can give me enough information.”
Since using Constant Contact, Austin’s email list has grown by 18%.
One of the social media channels Austin used to reach his fans is Twitch, a live video streaming platform that is popular for audiences who enjoy online gaming. In addition to playing games in real time, Austin shared workouts and advice with his followers.
Austin decided to capture contact information from his audience on Twitch to grow a stronger relationship with them. He began collecting email addresses and invited people to sign up for his monthly newsletter that included an updated live stream schedule. He then used his email list from Twitch to invite people to learn more about the Austin Ekeler Foundation. “Email helps us stay efficient with our time and keep [emails] targeted towards people that are actually there and further that relationship with those individuals,” said Austin. “From early on, it was about capturing the audiences from my community and keeping them updated.”
Whether he is welcoming new subscribers to Eksperience, seeking donations for his foundation, or promoting giveaways and events, Austin keeps his community-driven mission in mind. His content prioritizes building a relationship with his subscribers and makes them feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves.
Sending the right information to the right people
One of the biggest lessons Austin has learned from using Constant Contact is the value of segmentation and customizing content for different lists of subscribers. He understands that the goal is not always to sell something–it is about bringing a fan into the experience and encouraging them to be more proactive and engage with the brand.
By identifying similar groups of people based on their interests, location, and preferences, Austin is able to curate highly personalized content. With segmentation, Austin can email only the people who are truly interested in what he offers. “I’ve learned how to find product market fit and identify the profile of a customer that I can actually market to within my ecosystem,” he said.
He identifies the power users compared to people who want to stay at a distance, and uses those characteristics to curate different lists for different uses. In Constant Contact, he can see insights about his lists and segments, including information about who is the most and least engaged with his content.
“They’re going to continue to give you feedback, and that’s going to tell you if they’re sticky or not or if you need to make a pivot,” Austin added.
Working smart with automations and integrations
With multiple lists and segments, Austin realized there was too much manual work to do in order to keep the information up to date. He and his team learned how to use tags and automations to streamline their workflows and save time.
“Let’s say someone is part of our foundation group and they make a donation to our foundation. There’s an automatic tag that is going to send them a ‘thank you’,” Austin explained. “They get that instant feedback that says, ‘You’ve been received, you’ve been noticed. We appreciate your offering’.”
In Constant Contact, Austin uses more than 20 automations and 60 tags to keep his contact list organized and ensure his communications are timely and effective.
As another way to improve efficiency and simplify the work, Austin and his team integrated tools they were already using with Constant Contact, including Squarespace and Vimeo.
“Technology has definitely helped us be more efficient and just keep up a repetitive, consistent cadence with our outreach,” said Austin. “We can just go to one place and manage all our lists.”
Scoring big results
By using Constant Contact’s reporting insights, Austin can see exactly what kind of results he gets from his marketing efforts. “It really keeps everything accounted for, and you’re getting analytics back,” he said.
One of his most successful campaigns was in honor of Giving Tuesday–through the power of email and a sign-up landing page, 8,000 people made a donation to the Austin Ekeler Foundation in just one weekend. The campaign included a giveaway for a signed jersey if people signed up and interacted with the foundation. “I’ll give Constant Contact the credit for that because they’ve been helping me continue to expand my usage of the platform,” said Austin.
His advice for other entrepreneurs is to explore how much use they can get out of Constant Contact. For Austin, the most powerful features have been segmentation, automation, and the reporting dashboard, all of which help him continuously evolve his businesses and the foundation.
“I think it’s only an unsuccessful journey in the entrepreneurial world if you don’t take the lessons that are learned from your wins and from your losses.”
