Constant Contact Review
Constant Contact is an email marketing platform that enables businesses to create professional email campaigns using customizable templates and a simple drag-and-drop editor
The platform also offers tools for social media management, event planning, and digital advertising, along with features like landing pages, surveys, and sign-up forms. Integration with e-commerce and CRM systems makes it a versatile marketing solution.
Constant Contact provides detailed analytics for tracking campaign performance and offers strong customer support through tutorials, webinars, and live assistance, making it a great choice for small and medium-sized businesses.
4.5
Pricing
Core ₹1004
Standard ₹2928
Premium ₹6693
Key Features
Free Trial ✓
Money-Back Guarantee ✓
Email Templates ✓
A/B Testing ✓
Newsletters ✓
Ranked 7 from 29 Email Marketing Services
Performance: |4.9| 
Constant Contact delivers solid performance in terms of email deliverability, ensuring that most emails avoid spam filters and reach recipients’ inboxes. The platform is optimized for speed, with a reliable drag-and-drop editor that allows users to create campaigns quickly. It also includes detailed tracking for open rates, click-through rates, and conversions to measure performance effectively.
Uptime: |4.9|
Constant Contact boasts high uptime reliability, ensuring minimal service interruptions. The platform is designed to handle large volumes of emails without significant downtime, making it dependable for businesses that need consistent access to email marketing services. Frequent updates and server maintenance help ensure its smooth operation.
Customer Service: |4.8|
Constant Contact is known for its excellent customer service, offering live chat, phone support, and email assistance. Users also benefit from a comprehensive knowledge base, webinars, and tutorials. The platform provides personalized customer service for premium plans, ensuring users receive prompt help in resolving issues or optimizing their campaigns.
Pricing: |4.7|
Constant Contact offers tiered pricing based on the number of contacts, starting at around $12 per month for basic email marketing. Its higher-tier plans, which include additional features like advanced automation and personalized consultation, cost more. The pricing model is competitive, especially for small businesses, though some users may find the costs rise as their contact list grows.
Overview
Super Simple Email Marketing, or Is It Too Simple?
Constant Contact, like many email marketing platforms, claims to be the best option available. In fact, it touts itself as the only tool you’ll ever need for marketing your products or services through email, SMS, and even social media.
With its affordable plans that offer marketing campaigns, landing pages, and more, it seems promising.But the truth is a little more nuanced. The experience is a mix of impressive, user-friendly features, glaring omissions, and even an incident where my account was temporarily banned. Interestingly, that incident turned out to be one of the more positive aspects of my experience!
I genuinely found it beneficial, and I’ll explain why.
I conducted a thorough investigation to assess just how effective (or ineffective) the service really is. If you’re curious whether Constant Contact offers the specific features your business needs or if you’d be better off choosing another leading email marketing service, you’re in the right place to find out.
What Is Constant Contact
Constant Contact is a digital marketing platform focused on helping businesses create effective email marketing campaigns and manage online engagement. It provides tools for email creation, social media management, event promotion, digital ads, and e-commerce integration. Its user-friendly design and customizable templates make it accessible for users with varying technical skills.
Who Is It For?
Small Businesses – Owners looking for affordable and effective marketing solutions to reach customers and grow their brand.
Nonprofits – Organizations that need to engage supporters, promote events, and manage donations through targeted email campaigns.
Entrepreneurs – Individuals starting or managing small ventures who require user-friendly tools to establish an online presence.
Marketers – Marketing professionals seeking a reliable platform for email marketing and social media management.
Event Planners – Those who organize events and need tools for registration, promotion, and attendee management.
FEATURES |4.9|
| 💯 Free plan | No |
| 💲 Starting price | ₹1004 |
| 📄 Number of Templates | 300+ |
| ⚙️ Automations | Yes |
| 💬 Live chat support | Yes |
Email Campaign Builder – Offers customizable templates and a drag-and-drop editor for easy email design.
List Segmentation – Allows users to segment their contact lists for targeted email marketing.
Automation Tools – Provides email automation for welcome messages, drip campaigns, and follow-ups.
Social Media & Ads – Includes tools for managing social media posts and creating Facebook and Instagram ads.
Analytics & Reporting – Tracks performance metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversions to refine campaigns.
The Good, the Bad, and the Missing (Features)
I can’t criticize Constant Contact for its overall user-friendliness. While it’s essential to grasp the fundamental concepts of email marketing to maximize the platform’s potential—this holds true for all similar services—Constant Contact does excel in certain areas.
What sets this platform apart is its solid built-in tutorials and a remarkably responsive interface. I often find page and email builders sluggish and cumbersome, even on high-performance systems. Fortunately, that’s not the case here.
When Constant Contact works as intended, it’s genuinely enjoyable to use. However, the absence of certain features can be a bit jarring. It’s akin to biting into a delicious burger only to wonder where the pickles and custom automation workflows went—definitely a mystery worth exploring.
Indeed, this platform lacks some advanced features that have become standard in competing services. Here’s what I mean:
Email Campaigns, Templates, and Personalization
Email campaigns are fairly straightforward. Regardless of the plan you choose, pricing is determined by the number of contacts, accommodating up to 50,000 (for higher numbers, you’ll need to call for details). The Lite plan provides basic automation, hundreds of email templates, and the ability to send emails for up to ten times your monthly contact limit.
The Standard plan includes features like A/B testing, personalized pop-up forms, RSVP forms, polls, coupons, online donations, and customized email content, among others.
After dispatching any campaign, sharing the same email or newsletter on social media is simply a matter of clicking a button that appears after the email is sent. You can share your content on platforms like Facebook (Business Pages only), Instagram (Businesses only), LinkedIn, and Twitter.
While you can technically send a campaign via SMS, it involves entirely separate campaigns run through a different service called EZTexting. Constant Contact has a partnership with EZTexting to facilitate that aspect of their offerings.
The email campaign templates are quite satisfactory. Sure, a few may feel slightly outdated, but overall, they are clean, modern, and visually appealing. With over 300 templates available, there’s plenty to choose from. If you prefer not to use a pre-built template, several options allow you to start with basic frameworks or even design from scratch, showcasing your email design skills.
These templates are fully searchable and organized by tags such as “Holiday” (e.g., “See Our Christmas Deals”), “Newsletter,” or “Greeting” (e.g., “Welcome to Our Mailing List”). They are all mobile-responsive, which is crucial since more people are using smartphones than any other type of device nowadays.
Even when I’m not working on my desktop, my other desktop, or my laptop, I often find myself on my phone—this is why I’m fortunate enough to write these reviews for a living.
The email builder/editor itself is quite good, featuring all the essential tools you’d expect: drag-and-drop functionality, predefined content blocks to help arrange text and images, a decent selection of fonts, and straightforward color customization. However, you do need to upload your own images, as there isn’t a stock photo library available.
While a stock photo library isn’t absolutely necessary, it would certainly be a helpful addition.
It would also be great to have RTL language support for languages like Arabic and Hebrew, but that feature is currently absent.
Additionally, on the Standard plan, you can enhance your email layout with various extras, including products from your Shopify or WooCommerce store, events from Eventbrite, and the previously mentioned polls and RSVP forms.
Now, here’s a little confession: I took my next screenshot from the Constant Contact help center because I managed to capture nearly every feature except the editor itself. Unfortunately, I can’t grab another screenshot since my account has been canceled. [Bad reviewer, bad!]
Mailing Lists and Segmentation
Fortunately, setting up and managing your mailing lists on Constant Contact is quite straightforward. You can create web forms that can be easily embedded on any webpage to collect email addresses. If you already have a list of emails, you can import them by copying and pasting or by uploading a file. You can also manually add contacts one at a time.
Supported file formats include Microsoft Excel files (.xls, .xlsx), .csv files, .vcf files, and even comma-separated text files.
My experience was smooth and hassle-free. If you have the relevant information, you can also easily import full names, addresses, age, gender, and just about any other details you can think of.
You can search and sort your contacts by various criteria, including email address, subscription status (subscribed or unsubscribed), source, date added, job title, company name, and location. If you need to locate contacts based on more specific criteria, there’s an advanced search feature to assist you. You can also tag contacts to simplify their retrieval during searches.
Now, imagine you’ve performed an advanced search for contacts who have clicked on a link in your emails within the last six months, are subscribed to your “fancy kilts” mailing list, and reside outside of Scotland. Wouldn’t it be convenient to have a dynamically updated list of those specific individuals for follow-up, eliminating the need for a new search each time?
Well, that’s possible through segmentation, which is a crucial element of many marketing campaigns. The good news is that Constant Contact offers effective segmentation capabilities. You can create filters based on the information you have about your subscribers and proceed accordingly.
Popular Email Marketing Services
Service Offered
Email Marketing – Customizable email campaigns with templates and list segmentation.
Social Media Management – Tools for scheduling and managing posts across various social media platforms.
Event Marketing – Features for creating, promoting, and managing events with registration and payment options.
Digital Advertising – Creation and management of ads on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Google.
Landing Pages & Forms – Tools for building landing pages, surveys, sign-up forms, and collecting customer data.
E-commerce Integration – Seamless connection with platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, and others for better sales tracking.
CRM Tools – Integration with CRM systems for streamlined contact and relationship management.
PROS AND CONS OF CONSTANT CONTACT
Pros of Constant Contact
User-friendly interface with a drag-and-drop editor
Wide range of customizable templates
Strong customer support with live chat and phone options
Comprehensive tools for email marketing and social media
Robust analytics and reporting tools
Cons of Constant Contact
Pricing can increase significantly with larger lists
Limited automation features in lower-tier plans
Some advanced features may be complex for beginners
Limited A/B testing capabilities in basic plans
The design possibilities could seem a little limiting to certain consumers.
Why Constant Contact?
Here are several reasons to consider Constant Contact for your marketing needs:
User-Friendly Interface: The platform features an intuitive drag-and-drop editor and customizable templates, making it easy for users of all skill levels to create professional-looking emails.
Comprehensive Tools: Beyond email marketing, Constant Contact offers additional services like social media management, event marketing, and digital advertising, allowing you to manage various aspects of your marketing strategy in one place.
Strong Customer Support: With extensive resources including live chat, phone support, and a knowledge base, Constant Contact ensures that users receive assistance whenever they need it.
Automation Capabilities: The platform provides robust automation features, enabling users to set up targeted email campaigns and follow-ups, which can save time and improve engagement.
Detailed Analytics: Constant Contact offers in-depth reporting tools that help you track campaign performance, understand customer behavior, and make data-driven decisions to optimize future marketing efforts.
Solutions
Constant Contact provides a range of solutions tailored to meet the marketing needs of small to medium-sized businesses. Its primary offering is email marketing, which includes customizable templates and a user-friendly drag-and-drop editor, allowing users to create professional emails effortlessly. The platform also supports list segmentation, enabling targeted campaigns that can lead to higher engagement and conversion rates.
In addition to email marketing, Constant Contact offers tools for social media management and digital advertising. Users can schedule posts, track engagement, and create ads on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, all from within the same interface. This integration helps businesses maintain a cohesive online presence while reaching their target audience across multiple channels.
For event management, Constant Contact provides solutions for creating and promoting events, complete with registration and payment processing features. These comprehensive services, combined with robust analytics and customer support, make Constant Contact a versatile marketing solution for businesses looking to enhance their outreach and effectiveness.
Additional Features
In addition to its core offerings, Constant Contact includes its own website builder and an online store builder. I didn’t explore these features in detail, as they fall outside the focus of this review, but it’s worth mentioning that they are available.
The website builder provides unlimited file storage (within reasonable limits), analytics for your site, blogging capabilities, and more. The store builder supports unlimited product sales and accommodates both digital and physical products, along with features for inventory and tax management, as well as coupons and discounts—everything you’d typically expect.
Constant Contact also includes an event management tool to help you track user registration for online events, such as webinars, classes, workshops, and product demonstrations.
You can set up a landing page for event registration, gather data on your attendees, and monitor who has received coupon codes. Additionally, you can accept payments directly on the sign-up page if your event requires it.
Finally, Constant Contact is not limited to Shopify, WooCommerce, and eBay integrations; it also works with a vast range of other providers. It can work with almost any analytics platform, DonorPerfect fundraising software, BigCommerce, and many more. Moreover, with Zapier, you can connect Constant Contact to over 3,300 other applications online, allowing for extensive third-party integrations.
Overall, the features that Constant Contact offers are impressive and enjoyable to use. However, I found it somewhat disappointing that there are several essential features that are noticeably absent.
DELIVERABILITY |4.5|
Constant Contact takes spam prevention very seriously, yet it lacks some essential features
Constant Contact takes spam prevention seriously, which is crucial for ensuring your emails reach your contacts’ inboxes without being marked as spam. This is vital for both your business’s success and your customers’ satisfaction.
Many services claim deliverability scores, such as 90%, but these numbers can be misleading due to the numerous factors influencing email delivery. Testing all these variables is nearly impossible without administrative access to the sending server, receiving server, and possibly every server along the route.
To gain a better understanding of deliverability rates and how to improve yours, check out my colleague’s detailed article.
In our evaluation, we focus on a few key factors that significantly impact email deliverability. One important aspect is DKIM, an authentication system that uses encryption to confirm that an email originates from the intended server and hasn’t been altered. Emails with DKIM authentication are generally viewed more favorably by email services worldwide.
Constant Contact supports DKIM authentication and provides a straightforward guide for setting it up, as seen in the following example:
Next, let’s discuss Constant Contact’s spam policy, which is quite stringent. If more than 0.1% of your emails are marked as spam, your contact lists and entire account may be reviewed. Their anti-spam team is very proactive about this.
In fact, I conducted a test where I uploaded email addresses of known spammers to see if they would be flagged. Ideally, these spammy addresses should be blocked from import, and you should receive an error message indicating this.
However, Constant Contact allowed the import of these addresses, and about half an hour later, my account was flagged for review. I received an email notifying me that my account was under scrutiny, and I had to contact tech support to resolve the issue.
When I called, I learned that suspicious email addresses are automatically shadow-banned. They get flagged, but you won’t be notified until your account is reviewed. This policy aims to prompt users to call in, especially since many upload addresses from purchased lists without realizing the potential issues.
I had to explain my situation, but ultimately, it was resolved. While I prefer less direct interaction, I appreciate the support team’s educational approach.
Next, regarding affiliate marketing, Constant Contact does not allow it. Users have reported that their accounts get flagged when they attempt to promote affiliate programs or recruit affiliates through email campaigns.
For those not involved in affiliate marketing, this policy can be beneficial. It helps maintain the reputation of Constant Contact by reducing the likelihood of spammy affiliate marketing emails being associated with their service, making your emails more trustworthy.
Lastly, you might consider acquiring a dedicated IP address for your email campaigns. If your email is sent from the same IP as a spammer, the entire IP can be flagged, preventing your emails from being delivered.
Unfortunately, Constant Contact does not offer dedicated IP addresses for purchase. While they do have their own trusted IP addresses, you can’t obtain one specifically for your campaigns. This isn’t a total dealbreaker, but it is a downside. Ideally, every business should have its own IP address for their emails at some point, although it can be costly.
EASY OF USE |4.9|
Intuitive Interface: The platform features a clean and straightforward layout, allowing users to navigate easily through its various tools and functions without confusion.
Drag-and-Drop Editor: Users can create emails quickly using the drag-and-drop editor, which allows for easy placement of images, text, and other elements. Coding knowledge is no longer required as a result.
Customizable Templates: Constant Contact provides a wide range of professionally designed templates that users can customize to match their branding, making it simple to create visually appealing emails.
Step-by-Step Guidance: The platform offers guided setup processes and helpful tips throughout, ensuring that even beginners can successfully create and launch their email campaigns.
Mobile Optimization: Constant Contact’s templates are mobile-responsive, meaning emails will look good on any device, and users can manage their campaigns from mobile devices as well.
Getting started with Constant Contact
Visit the Website: Go to the Constant Contact website.
Choose a Plan: Click on the “Get Started” or “Pricing” button. Choose the plan that best suits your needs after reviewing the options.
Enter Your Information: Fill out the required fields, including your email address, business name, and other details as prompted. You may also need to create a password.
Add Payment Information: Provide your billing details, including credit card information. You may be offered a free trial period depending on the plan you choose.
Complete Registration: Review your information and click “Create Account” or “Sign Up.” You’ll receive a confirmation email to verify your account, and then you can log in and start using the platform.
GTMetrix
ANALYTICS & REPORTING |4.2|
Analytics Are Only Observed Technically
Analytics, much like A/B testing, are essential for marketers to determine if their strategies are effective. Understanding which emails are opened, who opens them, when they’re opened, and whether recipients click on links is crucial for success. This data forms the foundation of any online marketing strategy, complemented by intuition and a lot of experimentation. Therefore, you should expect your email marketing platform to provide comprehensive statistics and analysis to help you make informed decisions and optimize sales.
However, Constant Contact seems to have taken a different approach. While it does offer statistics, the insights provided are largely ineffective and unhelpful.
Next, let’s discuss the spam policy. Constant Contact enforces a strict policy: if over 0.1% of your emails are marked as spam, both your contact lists and your entire account may come under review. Their anti-spam team is quite proactive in this regard.
In fact, during my testing, I uploaded the email addresses of known spammers to see if they would be flagged. Ideally, these spammy addresses should be blocked from import, and users should receive an error message indicating this.
However, Constant Contact allowed the import of these addresses, and about half an hour later, I received a notification that my account was under review. I was informed that I needed to contact tech support to resolve the issue.
Upon calling, I discovered that suspicious email addresses are immediately shadow-banned. This means they are flagged, but users only learn about this during an account review. This practice encourages users to reach out for support, especially since many of them upload addresses from purchased lists without realizing the risks.
I had to explain the situation a bit, but ultimately, it all worked out. Although I generally prefer less direct interaction, I appreciate the support team’s educational approach.
Now, let’s look at affiliate marketing. If you intend to use your emails to promote affiliate programs, will Constant Contact allow it? The short answer is no. Other users have reported that their accounts get flagged for attempting to engage in affiliate marketing or recruiting affiliates for their campaigns.
For those who are not affiliate marketers, this can be beneficial. It ensures that spammy affiliate marketing emails are not associated with Constant Contact, which increases the likelihood that your emails will be trusted.
Lastly, you may consider obtaining a dedicated IP address for your emails. If your email is sent from the same IP address as a spammer, that entire IP can be flagged for spam, which may prevent your emails from being delivered.
Unfortunately, Constant Contact does not offer dedicated IP addresses for individual email campaigns. While they do provide known and trusted IP addresses, the inability to purchase a dedicated one is a drawback. Ideally, every company should have its own IP address for email campaigns, although this can be somewhat costly, so it’s not a total deal-breaker.
SUPPORT |4.7|
Customer Service
Live Chat Support: Available for immediate assistance, allowing users to get quick answers to their questions.
Phone Support: Users can call for direct support from knowledgeable representatives during business hours.
Email Support: Users can submit inquiries via email, with responses typically provided within a reasonable timeframe.
Personalized Support: Higher-tier plans may offer dedicated account managers for personalized assistance and guidance.
Extensive Knowledge Base: A comprehensive collection of articles, FAQs, and tutorials that cover various topics and common issues.
Support Resources
Webinars and Training: Regularly scheduled webinars and training sessions to help users learn about features and best practices.
Video Tutorials: Short, instructional videos available on the website to guide users through specific tasks and functionalities.
Community Forum: A platform where users can connect, share experiences, and seek advice from other Constant Contact users.
Blog and Articles: A blog featuring marketing tips, trends, and updates to help users improve their email marketing strategies.
Mobile App Support: Resources specifically for users accessing Constant Contact through its mobile app, ensuring full functionality on-the-go.
Constant Contact Security:
PRICING |4.4|
You Could Get Better Value Elsewhere
Constant Contact’s pricing isn’t unreasonable, but it doesn’t exactly stand out either. To be clear, their plans are fairly decent in terms of numbers. The Lite plan starts at ₹1004 per month for up to 500 contacts, allowing 10x your contact limit in monthly email sends. If you opt for the Standard plan, you get 12x the contact limit.
You get 1 user account and all the essential tools to begin.
However, when weighing the sheer number of features against their quality, some fall short or are simply missing. While you might pay more with other services, at least all the necessary features are included.
If Constant Contact can maintain its current pricing while improving those incomplete features, it could become a leading name in email marketing. Maybe someday.
For now, I suggest you make the most of their free first month before committing to anything. Plus, there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee in case you cancel. Just note, it doesn’t cover additional services like custom design or Facebook Lead ads.
As long as you stick to basic email functionality, you can get a full refund. And if you want more in-depth details, we’ve got a comprehensive breakdown of Constant Contact’s pricing plans for your convenience. You’re welcome.
Constant Contact
CORE
₹1004
/MONTHS
Constant Contact
STANDARD
₹2928
/MONTHS
Number of emails per month: 6000
Multi-user accounts: 3
Automation
Segmentation
Analytics
Constant Contact
STANDARD
₹2928
/MONTHS
Number of emails per month: 12000
Multi-user accounts: unlimited
Automation
Segmentation
Analytics
Constant Contact
CORE
₹1004
/MONTHS
Constant Contact
STANDARD
₹2928
/MONTHS
Number of emails per month: 6000
Multi-user accounts: 3
Automation
Segmentation
Analytics
Constant Contact
PREMIUM
₹6693
/MONTHS
Number of emails per month: 12000
Multi-user accounts: unlimited
Automation
Segmentation
Analytics
Constant Contact Alternatives
Frequently Asked Question.
Constant Contact is an email marketing platform that helps businesses create, send, and track email campaigns, manage contacts, and engage their audience through various marketing tools.
Yes, Constant Contact is designed with a user-friendly interface, featuring a drag-and-drop email editor and customizable templates, making it accessible for users of all skill levels.
Constant Contact is ideal for small to medium-sized businesses, nonprofits, entrepreneurs, and event planners looking for effective marketing solutions to engage their audience.
Constant Contact offers email marketing, social media management, event marketing, digital advertising, landing pages, surveys, and CRM integration.
Pricing starts at approximately $12 per month for basic email marketing, with higher-tier plans available that offer additional features, such as automation and event management.
Yes, Constant Contact offers various customer support options, including live chat, phone support, email assistance, and an extensive knowledge base.
Yes, Constant Contact integrates with numerous e-commerce platforms, CRMs, and other applications to streamline marketing efforts and data management.
Yes, Constant Contact typically offers a 30-day free trial for new users to explore the platform’s features before committing to a paid plan.
Constant Contact provides detailed analytics, including open rates, click-through rates, bounce rates, and conversion tracking to help users measure campaign performance.
Yes, Constant Contact offers automation features that allow users to set up welcome emails, drip campaigns, and follow-up messages based on user actions.
Yes, Constant Contact employs data encryption and security measures to protect user information and ensure secure email delivery.
Yes, Constant Contact complies with GDPR regulations, providing tools to help users manage their contacts’ data privacy and consent preferences.