What is Constant Contact (and Can it Grow Your Email List)?
I have subscriptions with several email marketing and web hosting platforms but I’m always looking for better offers and better features. I hadn’t used Constant Contact, so when I decided to open another e-commerce website for my digital products I decided to give Constant Contact a try. So what is Constant Contact? Let’s take a look.
I thought, if the price was right and the platform was effective and easy to use, I would share it with you. If not I would just not continue after the free trial expired.
Well, here I am with my review because not only did I love the product, I have used it well beyond the trial period (keep reading to see how you can get a 60-day free trial) and it not hosts my online store.
I thought, if the price was right and the platform was effective and easy to use, I would share it with you. If not I would just not continue after the free trial expired.
Well, here I am with my review because not only did I love the product, I have used it well beyond the trial period (keep reading to see how you can get a 60-day free trial) and it not hosts my online store.
I am an affiliate for this product so should you decide to make a purchase I will receive a small commission at no cost to you. If I didn’t love and use this product, believe me, I would not have taken the time to write this post. Now, what’s the deal with Constant Contact?
What is Constant Contact and How Does it Work?
Constant Contact is an email marketing software that allows you to create a website, an e-commerce store with email and marketing campaigns that can help you grow your business.
Constant Contact is usually thought of as an email marketing tool but it’s so much more than that. Let’s take a look at this versatile and very reasonably priced software. I think you’ll be surprised at what Constant Contact can do.
How to Build an Email List With Constant Contact
This is what most people think about when they think about Constant Contact. Email marketing tools to help business owners attract more customers.
Most email marketing platforms I have seen all have templates, with varying levels of flexibility. That’s no different here, but not only do they offer over one hundred gorgeous templates, but they also make them easy to edit with drag and drop features.
You can customize your emails to match your brand so people connect your brand with the emails landing in their inboxes. It’s also possible to add photos that you have saved on your computer or from their selection of stock photos (because who keeps thousands of stock photos on their computers?). Links to products and buy buttons for products in your store can also be added.
You can even embed surveys right into your emails, which for me was a new one. I’ve embedded surveys in my emails but I always had to customize them in a different tool and then add them into the emails. This feature was a nice surprise.
Surveys and other tools are great, but designing pretty, eye-catching emails is essential if you want your audience to actually read them! Making functional emails that can help you convert sales is an added bonus. Constant Contact makes both very easy to do.
Maybe even better than the templates is the ability to set up email automation. It’s too time-consuming to have to send out individual broadcast emails. Set up a whole chain of emails at one time and let it go. Space out the emails to go out when you like and let Constant Content do the work for you.
Constant Contact Website Builder
The website builder is perfect for anyone building their first website or for anyone who wants an easy way to build a mobile-friendly, SEO-optimized website.
Making sure your website has the features it needs to attract organic traffic on search engines like Google is important but most of us don’t know how to do that. It’s nice to have a website with tools to help with that.
Constant Contact also offers a library of stock photos that can be used to build your site as well as offering support that ensures your site will load quickly and reliably.
Email Marketing for E-commerce
This feature may be the one that was most surprising to me when I first discovered Constant Contact. Not only can you build a great site that is catered to your industry, but you can also add an e-commerce store.
Whether you sell physical or digital products, setting up an e-commerce store is easy. Create a logo, customize the site with your brand colors and fonts, and you’re on your way to earning money with your very own store.
There is no need to worry about using plugins or embedding a checkout tool into your website. You will have access to a secure shopping cart and checkout for your customers. Create an account with Paypal, Stripe, or Mollie and accept credit or debit card payments.
If you sell physical products you can organize inventory, track orders, and see changes in shipping rates in real-time. The Constant Contact analytics feature allows you to see which products are selling best and track your customers so you know where they are coming from.
If you sell digital products Constant Contact’s platform will support your products as well. All of the features that are beneficial to sellers with physical products will help you as well. If you market your products on other websites, why not also create your own site and direct traffic there?
You will get sales on other platforms through their built-in audience and you can direct traffic to your own site where you will be able to keep more of the profit.
There are people who will tell you to focus on selling on other platforms because it’s easier, which I agree with to an extent. If you are not earning profits yet you may not want to spend money on a separate website. I suggest you add your products to your own website just as soon as you begin making money, know your target audience, and have a way to reach them. Take more control over your business and your brand.
Social Media Marketing
Content marketing in 2021 is crucial. It’s hard to get in front of your target audience without providing content or value of some sort. Social media posts can achieve both goals and be able to track the success of your efforts is paramount.
Constant Contact lets you integrate your social media accounts and schedule posts directly from your dashboard.
Create an email campaign and post the link on your social media to get people to join your email campaigns.
Being able to schedule posts ahead of time will save you so much time you’ll wonder what you were doing before.
Constant Contact Pricing
Constant Contact’s trial period is possibly one of the most attractive features they offer. Within the trial period, you can fully utilize all of the features they offer and that’s without even having to provide a credit card number.
A lot of companies offer you a short trial period with a credit card on file, hoping you will forget to cancel. You end up paying for a service you either never used or really wanted.
Once the trial period ends you can choose from their different pricing tiers for email marketing, e-commerce marketing, or website pricing. If you aren’t satisfied once the trial period ends, Constant Contact offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
You also save 15% when you pay for 12-months in advance.
Constant Contacts Integrations
Constant Contact integrates with over five hundred platforms, including Shopify, WordPress, Big Commerce, Facebook, Salesforce, Quickbooks and so many more.
One of the challenges nowadays is finding software that can work with tools we already have. It can be a struggle to find compatible and complementary products. It’s hard to imagine a program that cannot be easily linked.
Constant Contact Customer Service
Customer service is a big issue for me. I have paid for programs and software where customer support is either non-existent or so limited that it really didn’t benefit me at all.
Constant Contact offers help via a live one-on-one marketing advisor support number. In addition, there is always support available either via chat (Monday through Saturday) or via telephone (Monday through Friday).
In addition to customer support, there is also a library of video tutorials, a knowledge database, as well as a community with other users. There are lots of resources available should you have questions when live support is not available.
I would personally prefer 24-hour customer support where I can speak with an agent whenever I need it, but that’s not offered.
How to Make Money With Affiliate Marketing
If you try it out and love it as I do, why not become an affiliate? Constant Contact will pay you to share your opinion with your customers. Simply visit their affiliate program page and apply. Once approved you can share your personalized link. If someone makes a purchase using your link you can make a small commission, at no additional cost to your customers.
Be sure to include the appropriate affiliate disclaimers as required by the Federal Trade Commission. It’s an easy win-win. You share a product you like and get paid to do so.
Of course, if for some reason you don’t fall in love with Constant Contact I would not suggest you share it. Disingenuous reviews are (in my opinion) unethical and will lead your readers to distrust you.
Sign Up Here and Get a 60-Day Trial of Constant Contact!
Happily, I don’t have that problem. In my opinion, overall, Constant Contact is a great option for anyone needing an affordably priced and easy-to-use website builder, email or social marketing, or email automation tool.
Do you use a tool to promote your business? If so, which one do you prefer? Comment below, I’d love to hear your thoughts.