Constant Contact
Read the full Constant Contact review
Overall rating
4.1
30 day free trial available
Pros
- Supports more than 6000 integrations
- Brand Theme and BrandKit Editor
- Rich library of Email campaign templates
- Built-in social media management tool
- Social media and Google Ad campaigns
- Event management from scheduling to payment
Cons
- Only one time zone email scheduling
- Doesn't support custom domain for landing pages
- Not very knowledgeable customer support
Best or unique feature
- Massive integration support
- Social Media Management tools
User Interface & Ease of Use
Deliverability & Email Tools
Analytics & Insights
Personalization & Templates
Integrations with Other Tools
Automation & Scalability
Subscription & Sign Up Forms
Support & Knowledge Base
Pricing & Trial
Dive into our essential guide to Constant Contact, where we meticulously dissect both the strengths and limitations of this Email Marketing tool.
The main goal is to help you determine if Constant Contact is the right tool for your business, or you need to explore alternatives.
We evaluate its celebrated integrations and pinpoint the exact areas where it might fall short, like time zone scheduling.
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to enhance your marketing efforts with informed decisions.
And as a natural phenomenon of the universe, all good tools have their downsides.
Be sure to weigh things before getting a commitment.
How to Evaluate an Email Marketing Platform
When evaluating an email marketing platform, start with the user interface and ease of use—ensure it’s intuitive enough to create campaigns quickly.
Personalization and templates are crucial for engaging messages, while subscription and sign up forms should be easy to integrate and customize. Check the platform’s deliverability and email tools to ensure your messages reach their targets.
Integration with other tools is essential for efficient workflows. Reliable customer support and a well-stocked knowledge base can prevent many headaches. Don’t overlook analytics and insights; they’re key for refining email marketing strategies and measuring success.
Also, consider automation and scalability to ensure the platform can grow with your business. Finally, assess pricing and trial options to test features without immediate financial commitment. This approach will help you choose a platform that enhances your marketing efforts effectively.
1. User Interface and Ease of Use
Rating for Ease of Use
The user interface and ease of use are pivotal in navigating any email marketing platform. In this section, we’ll explore how this unique design choice impacts usability, including a look at the onboarding process that aims to ease new users into the platform despite some potential challenges with navigation.
User Interface
When diving into the user interface of email marketing platforms, you’ll notice that Constant Contact differs from many others. While most platforms utilize a sidebar for navigation, Constant Contact opts for a top nav bar.
This shift in design might be a slight adjustment if you prefer the traditional sidebar layout that other services offer. The sidebar approach, which I personally favor, tends to make navigation more intuitive, with easy access to various sections like campaign creation, list management, and analytics.
Although Constant Contact’s top nav bar aims to streamline the interface, it can take some getting used to if you’re more comfortable with the conventional layout found in other email marketing tools.
Onboarding
When you sign up for Constant Contact, you’re in for a smooth start. They’ve designed their account onboarding experience to be comprehensive yet unobtrusive, a standout feature that sets them apart from other platforms.
Instead of pushing you through a lengthy setup during the initial signup, Constant Contact lets you get on board quickly and easily. Once you’re in, their onboarding process kicks in, guiding you through setting up your account at your own pace.
This approach allows you to become familiar with the platform’s features without feeling rushed. I really appreciate this method because it gives you the space to comfortably explore and customize settings, ensuring you’re ready to launch your campaigns effectively.
This thoughtful onboarding can make a big difference, especially if you’re new to email marketing.
2. Personalization and Templates
Rating for Personalization
When it comes to email marketing, personalization and templates are essential. This section explores Constant Contact’s offerings that help tailor your campaigns to fit your brand perfectly.
You’ll discover the simplicity of embedding your brand identity into every email and how this can significantly engage your audience.
Basic Personalization
When you start crafting your email campaigns with Constant Contact, adding a personal touch is straightforward. You can easily insert personalization variables, such as recipient names, both into your subject line and the body of your email.
This is done using the greeting tag, which pulls the recipient’s name from your contact list and integrates it seamlessly into your message. Personalizing your emails this way helps create a connection with your audience, making them feel recognized and valued.
It’s a simple yet effective method to enhance engagement and open rates, giving your email marketing efforts a more tailored and impactful approach.
Email Design Builder
Diving into the world of email design, Constant Contact offers an email design builder that’s quite user-friendly. You can use the drag-and-drop feature to add various elements to your emails, making it a breeze to customize layouts and create professional-looking campaigns that resonate with your audience.
However, it’s worth mentioning that despite promoting their Write with AI feature, it seems to be not working when I personally tried it out. Instead of generating fresh content, it’s just echoing back the prompts you input, which is a significant downside for something that’s being advertised as a game changer.
This hiccup aside, the overall design process with Constant Contact is straightforward, allowing you to put together an email that looks good and feels personal.
Email Templates
Constant Contact’s library of email templates is impressive. With a ton of options to choose from, you’re almost guaranteed to find a design that fits your campaign’s vibe. Whether it’s for a holiday greeting, a newsletter update, or a sales announcement, they’ve got you covered.
The flexibility doesn’t end there. You have the power to shape the future of their template offerings by submitting a product idea. If you have a concept that’s clever or useful, throw it their way.
They might just turn it into a template that you and others can use. This level of attention to user needs shows a commitment to variety and personalization that can really take your email marketing to the next level.
Brand Theme
Constant Contact takes personalization a step further with its brand theme capabilities. You can effortlessly set your brand’s look and feel by uploading logos and customizing your color scheme.
What stands out is their handy website scanning feature; it automatically imports your logo and sets a matching color palette based on your website’s design. This nifty tool saves time and maintains consistency across your marketing materials.
With Constant Contact, fine-tuning your brand theme is hassle-free. You have the flexibility to change colors or images after the fact, allowing for easy updates that keep your emails in line with your brand’s evolving style.
This adaptability is key in maintaining a consistent and professional look across all your email campaigns.
3. Subscription and Sign Up Forms
Rating for Sign-up Forms
In email marketing, subscription and sign-up forms are vital for capturing new contacts. We’ll explore how Constant Contact’s form options can enhance your site and discuss the straightforward process of creating custom landing pages, along with certain limitations regarding domain customization.
Embedded Sign-up Forms
With Constant Contact, you have a variety of embedded sign-up forms at your disposal. Whether you want a pop-up that grabs attention, a flyout that slides in with a prompt, an inline form that integrates smoothly with your content, or a banner that sits neatly at the edge of the page, there’s a style to suit your needs.
