Nashville, Tennessee. December 3, 2025 – The Tasmanian Devil. Yoda. The Swedish Chef. What do they have in common? They all have a voice.

Sam Claitor and Jon Delp of the Hammer and Nail Marketing team spoke about practical, actionable tips for newsletters and social media on December 3 at the 2025 Docks Expo. Yes, there was a PowerPoint complete with Muppet references and suspiciously terrible “don’t do this” newsletter examples.

The Music City Center hosted the three-day conference from December 2 to 4, which brings together marina managers, engineers, designers, manufacturers, and product representatives from across the country. More than 190 vendors represented the conference trade floor, and education sessions spotlighted topics from team culture to revenue-generating ideas for marina managers.

“Building an Engaged Client Audience with Best Practices for Social Media and Email Marketing” was the session’s title, as Founder and lead strategist Sam Claitor spoke about social media best practices for “DIY” beginners, and lead writer Jon Delp covered what you should and shouldn’t do in a good newsletter.

From the Docks Expo session description:

Every marketing strategy’s presumed ultimate goal is to evoke leads, but what do you do when you have a customer base that represents a disengaged audience? This interactive session will touch on practical, actionable basics of how marina managers can curate an effective mailing list, grow a social media presence, and execute email marketing best practices that will invite members and visitors to spend more time at the marina with a more invested connection to its brand. If a marina’s website is its digital face, then the classic mailing list or social media channel is a marina’s voice. Give it a microphone.

The crowd that filled “Hall D” of the Music City Center included marketing directors, social media managers, and marina managers seeking ways to improve their own marketing game. Readers interested in improving their own newsletter or social media can download Hammer and Nail’s free marina marketing guide or our newsletter and social media content ideation sheet.

We thank the Docks Expo team for inviting us, and hope to see you next year, Nashville.

Article by Hammer and Nail Marketing

WHAT IS HAMMER & NAIL?

Hammer and Nail Marketing is a boutique marketing firm that helps small to mid-sized marinas get noticed by boaters. If you’d like to focus on operating your marina without the additional responsibility of marketing, get in touch with us.

We’re boaters ourselves from a background of operating a family-run marina. From a group of experts who know the water, let Hammer and Nail Marketing help you be the waterfront your local boaters see every time they cast off.