ConstantContact.com Review
Constant Contact is an established internet marketing company focused on the needs of small businesses, membership associations and nonprofit organizations. Founded in 1998 to provide an affordable, easy-to-use email tool, the company has since expanded into event and social media marketing campaigns, digital storefronts and local coupon deals, currently serving more than half a million users. Constant Contact offers a range of packages that could directly translate into substantial growth for your email list. With expertise in the field of social media, Constant Contact can provide sophisticated email services that help businesses better communicate with their customers.
Ease of Use
With 15 years of email experience, Constant Contact has managed to create an incredibly easy-to-use interface. The company also offers a toll-free number for American-based coaching and support, should the need ever arise.
Constant Contact offers multiple ways to add email addresses from existing lists, the most efficient being uploading them directly from applications like ACT!, Excel, Gmail, Outlook, Intuit and QuickBooks. Customers can generate a QR code for smartphone users to scan, or let them subscribe to your list by texting. You can even create a Facebook sign-up form or a web sign-up form. Once you’ve created a campaign, you can extend its reach by sharing it automatically on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn the moment you hit send. The emails in your lists can be tagged and sorted to maximize your targeting effectiveness.
Social Media Features
Scheduling emails is very straightforward. While browsing your email campaigns in draft mode, you simply pair a campaign with a date and a list. Constant Contact customers can schedule emails in 5-minute increments to help determine which time of day works best to maximize response.
Functionality
Constant Contact offers a wide variety of email templates presented in a “what you see is what you get” interface. In addition to the HTML version, you’ll be able to see the text-only version, which is sent out in MIME mode to customers with stricter firewalls.
Constant Contact interfaces with Salesforce, which offers real time data tracking of your campaigns, including: who opens an email, which links are clicked, when an email is forwarded, who redeems an offer and who purchases a product or registers for an event. It also breaks bounces into six categories, because getting the right information on why an email doesn’t go through can be essential for list management.
Email Analytics
If you have a Google Analytics account and a website with a tracking code installed, you can also add a code to your email.
Constant Contact provides a spam check tab at the top of each email design that can help increase your email delivery rate by scanning your entire email to predict whether or not an email service will reject it as spam.
When promoting an event with registration, Constant Contact allows for payment through either ProPay or Authorize.net. Additionally, Shopify can be integrated with Constant Contact through a program called Contactified.
Design
Constant Contact’s template styles include newsletters, promotions, announcements and business letters along with registration forms, which can be readily customized with colors, fonts or images. For account holders familiar with HTML and XHTML, Constant Contact offers an Advanced Editor User Guide for even more customization. Additionally, the company has partnered with Bigstock for access to millions of free or low-cost professional images for a campaign, and also allows for integration between Facebook and Instagram images.
Email Creator
Email Templates
Cost
The cost for the service is based on two factors: the number of subscribers on your list, and whether you choose the Basic, Essential or Ultimate package. All plans offer an unlimited number of emails, free coaching and support, as well as contact management and list building tools.
The Basic Plan gives a single user 250 MB of image and file storage. It charges $50 for each use of the Plus Campaigns, which feature event registration, Facebook promotion, local deals, survey campaigns, an online landing page and end-to-end email result reporting.
The Essential Campaign gives up to three users 2 GB of image and email storage, unlimited access to Plus Campaigns, campaign design and auto-responders.
The Ultimate Tier offers up to 10 users with unlimited storage, access to a personal marketing coach, dedicated assistance, best practices consultation, campaign planning advice and a contact management service.
| Number of Emails | Basic | Essential | Ultimate |
| 0-500 | $15 a month | $45 a month | $195 a month |
| 501-2,500 | $30 a month | $60 a month | $220 a month |
| 2,501-5,000 | $50 a month | $80 a month | $245 a month |
| 5,001-10,000 | $80 a month | $110 a month | $295 a month |
| 10,001-25,000 | $195 a month | $195 a month | $445 a month |
| 25,001-50,000 | $295 a month | $295 a month | $545 a month |
Conclusion
Constant Contact offers a wide range of professional-level email templates that will likely reflect favorably on your business or non-profit organization. The company strives to help its customers be successful by providing experts who are available 24/7 to walk you through the steps needed to create effective newsletters and campaigns. For more advanced users, your campaign can feature a wide array of customization options, meeting your professional standards as well as your marketing needs. If you’re looking to grow a community around your growing organization, Constant Contact may be the best way for you to stay in touch.
