ABOUT ME
Greg Chetcuti
Email Marketing & Deliverability Expert, Domainer, Programmer, Poker Player & All-Around Geek
Although the beginning of my career was spent in Sales and Customer Support, the geek in me gravitated towards more technical and hands-on positions over time. This mixed background has given me the ability to communicate effectively in both plain English as well as 'computer speak', allowing me to act as a bit of a translator between IT, Marketing and Executive Teams.
I've been told many times that I don't really fit the mold when it comes to being a computer geek, which I attribute to this mixed background, and I'm definitely thankful for it. It probably also doesn't hurt that I've spent the better part of my life (since the age of 14), with a computer keyboard glued to my hands. Not literally, of course :)
From sales to online marketing, database programming to anti-spam techniques, I've dabbled in many areas over the years. I'm always willing to try something new, and who knows what the future will bring.
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CURRENT PROJECTS
Some projects I'm currently working on
EXPERIENCE
My current and previous professional experience
NZONE Media - Vancouver, BC / Kahnawake, QC - Website
Email & Domain Specialist
In my role as Email Specialist I report to the Director of Business Intelligence, keeping them up-to-date on any issues that may arise with our client's Email Reputation, as well as relaying any recommendations I have that will strengthen their Email Reputation and Brand.
One of my first big initiatives was a successful implementation of StrongMail's MTA & Message Studio appliance, as well as their SDT Email Deliverability and Reputation tools. These tools, along with a solid Email Reputation strategy, allowed our client's Email Reputation to quickly rise into the 90s, and it has remained between 95 and 100 ever since, ensuring their email has the highest chance of getting through to subscriber inboxes.
In my role as Domain Specialist I report to the Director of Internet Marketing, keeping them abreast of the day-to-day operations of our client's Domain and SSL Certificate Portfolio.
Some of my duties in these roles have included but are not limited to:
- Ensuring Email Marketing best practices are being followed
- Being responsible for our client's global Email Reputation, across multiple product channels and brands
- Monitoring and reporting of spam complaint, unsubscribe and delivery rates to quickly identify problems
- Email template creation, tracking implementation, and Quality Assurance testing
- Working with IT to implement authentication methods to ensure the highest chance of deliverability
- Maintaining an ICANN certified registrar that is run by our client, including being the primary contact with ICANN and Verisign, responding to registrar customer inquiries, and looking for ways to expand the registrar in order to help the client's organization as a whole
- Managing the day-to-day operations of a Domain Portfolio with close to 25,000 domains, as well as 80 accompanying SSL Certificates. This includes notifying appropriate teams of upcoming renewals, accounting reconciliation, DNS modifications, and keeping our domain management software synchronized with every change that is made
Business Objects (Now owned by SAP) - Vancouver, BC - Website
Database Marketing Specialist
As a Database Marketing Specialist for North & Latin America my primary function was to use my product, customer and database knowledge to pull relevant lists for the company's Email Marketing campaigns. This meant working closely with the Campaign Managers in order to gather list requirements, using my product knowledge to suggest additional customer segments to be added, as well as knowledge of SQL in order to write the queries to pull the lists. Post-production, I would report back to the Campaign Managers with the results from their campaigns, offering suggestions on how they could increase the performance of similar campaigns in the future.
The Internet Marketing Center - Vancouver, BC - Website
Direct Email Coordinator (Team Lead), And Various Other Positions
When I started at IMC, I and one other individual were responsible for running a subsidiary company of theirs, Internet Marketing Challenge. Internet Marketing Challenge was a paid, members-only Internet Marketing community with a member base of roughly 5,000. Members could consult with us via telephone or within the community on any number of topics related to Internet Marketing, from what product or service to market, to how to start or accelerate their Marketing efforts, to how to begin setting up Joint Ventures with other successful sites.
After the decision was made to sell Internet Marketing Challenge, I accepted the position of Direct Email Coordinator with their parent company, The Internet Marketing Center. Here I was responsible for creating and implementing all processes and procedures related to adhering to the Can-Spam Act, as well as working with and overseeing a team of three Direct Email Coordinators who were responsible for sending over 5,000,000 opt-in emails per month.
As time went on I was able to help the company out in various other areas that were outside of my job description, including but not limited to helping co-workers with tech support issues, Affiliate software integrations for clients, and perl scripting to help automate repetitive tasks.
AYS Media - Website
Owner (Sole Proprietorship)
AYS Media is the newest form of the Sole Proprietorship I started back in 1996 (then known as Nabsoft Computers) that over the years has performed various services in the Computer and Internet Marketing fields. Such services include hardware sales, on-site computer training and repairs, custom back-end site administration tools, HTML, PHP & MySQL programming, Email Marketing, Deliverability & Reputation Management, Anti-Spam issues, SEO, PPC, and much more.
PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Helped a client, an extremely successful online gambling brand, improve their Email Reputation until it was in the high 90s, where it has remained for years. Given the industry the client is in, and the extra scrutiny their email copy gets from spam filters due to terms that can’t be avoided, a strong Email Reputation was key in ensuring emails were being delivered to the intended recipients.
Successfully lead a team of three Direct Email Coordinators that was responsible for preparing and sending over 5,000,000 opt-in emails per month, including managing all projects, being the liaison between our team, the Executive team, and the IT Department, ensuring list and mailout accuracy, as well as daily monitoring of deliverability and reputation issues.
While working for Fido I received two “Fido Bravo” awards, which are presented when an employee goes above and beyond what is expected of them. After an employee has received three Fido Bravo awards a regional dinner is held in their honour.
SKILLS
A few of the things I can do
Email
Marketing
Email Deliverability
Domains & DNS Management
Search Engine Optimization
PHP & MySQL Development
Web Server Management
Additional Skills & Information
Extensive hands-on experience with Email Marketing, Reputation Management & Spam Law compliance, including writing and executing SQL queries to pull relevant lists, list cleaning, template creation, QA testing, campaign deployment, delivery assurance, processing spam complaints, bouncebacks and fail logs, Can-Spam Act compliance checking, and contacting major ISPs to setup whitelisting and feedback loops.
Experience with many email distribution systems, from writing my own in PHP & MySQL, to using 3rd party ESPs such as ExactTarget, all the way up to being the lead on two implementations of StrongMail’s Enterprise MTA and Message Studio appliance.
More than 20 years of computer experience, which has given me the ability to learn new hardware and software with minimal time and effort. I found out at an early age that I had a knack for computers and I’ve stuck with it ever since.
The ability to communicate effectively in both plain English as well as ‘computer speak’, due to an extensive background in computers as well as customer service and sales. In two of my previous jobs I was the unofficial translator between the Executive Team, the Marketing Department, and the IT Department, which helped bridge the interdepartmental communication gap.
Experience with a wide range of software include Email Marketing & SEO tools, Affiliate tracking software, Web Design software, MS Office, Photoshop, and various Operating Systems.
Have taken The Difficult Guest, a course that teaches you how to deal with “problem” customers.
EDUCATION
Although I have taken various computer courses over the past 20 years, the majority of my
knowledge and experience has been self-taught, either on my own or while learning new tools on the job.
British Columbia Institute of Technology - Vancouver, BC - Website
Completed Redhat Linux Course (Parts 1 & 2) with an average of 96%
Brainbench - Chantilly, VA (online testing) - Website
Successfully passed the following tests: Typing Speed & Accuracy, Computer Fundamentals, Network Technical Support, MS Windows 95 Administration, HTML 3.2, Math Fundamentals, Written English, Human Resource Concepts, Listening Skills
Confederation College - Thunder Bay, ON - Website
Completed general business courses in Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Accounting, Human Resources, Mathematics, Corporate Communications and Office Administration
Fort William Collegiate Institute - Thunder Bay, ON - Website
Graduated with a business endorsed transcript