Our Review of Constant Contact Email Marketing

Constant Contact has been a familiar name in the email marketing landscape for quite some time, often touted for its user-friendliness and broad appeal. But how does it stack up in today’s market, and is it the right fit for your business? Let’s delve into its features, pricing, and overall value.

Constant Contact Email Marketing Functionality

Constant Contact offers a tiered approach to its features, catering to different needs and budgets. Here’s a breakdown.

Lite Plan:

This is the entry-level offering, focusing on the essentials.

Key Features: Email creation and sending (including a drag-and-drop editor and templates), contact list management, basic reporting (opens, clicks, bounces), and integrations.
Functionality: Suitable for businesses just starting with email marketing and needing a simple way to communicate with their audience. Segmentation options are limited in this tier.

Standard Plan:

This tier builds upon the Lite plan, offering more advanced features for growing businesses.

Key Features: Everything in Lite, plus more advanced segmentation (based on engagement, contact details, etc.), automation (welcome emails, birthday emails), surveys, polls, and more detailed reporting.
Functionality: Allows for more targeted campaigns and automated workflows to nurture leads and engage customers more effectively.

Premium Plan:

The top-tier plan is designed for businesses with more sophisticated marketing needs.

Key Features: Everything in Standard, plus advanced automation (customer journey builder), A/B testing for subject lines and content, dynamic content, multi-step automation, and priority support.
Functionality: Enables highly personalised and complex marketing strategies, allowing for in-depth optimisation and customer journey management.

Take a look at our analysis and comparison of the features of the top ten email marketing platforms.

How Much Does Constant Contact Cost (And Is It Worth It?)

Constant Contact’s pricing is primarily based on the number of contacts you have. This means as your subscriber list grows, so does your monthly fee.

Lite: Prices typically start from around £8 per month for up to 500 contacts.
Standard: Prices generally begin at approximately £24 per month for up to 500 contacts.
Premium: Expect starting prices from roughly £60 per month for up to 500 contacts.

It’s important to note that these are starting prices and will increase as your contact list expands. Constant Contact often offers discounts for annual subscriptions.

The value for money offered by Constant Contact is a bit of a mixed bag. Its user-friendly interface and extensive template library are definite pluses, making it accessible for those new to email marketing. The Standard and Premium tiers offer a good range of features that can significantly enhance your marketing efforts.

However, compared to some of its competitors, particularly at the higher contact tiers, Constant Contact can appear to be on the pricier side. While the features are robust, businesses with large subscriber lists might find more cost-effective solutions elsewhere that offer similar or even more advanced functionalities.

For smaller businesses or those just starting, the Lite plan can be a reasonable entry point. However, as their needs grow, they’ll need to carefully weigh the cost of upgrading against the benefits and the pricing of alternative platforms.ng. The Premier tier, while feature-rich, is likely only justifiable for larger organisations with complex needs and a higher marketing budget.

Take a look at where Constant Contact sits on our ranking of the most cost-effective email marketing platforms.

Constant Contact: Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths	Weaknesses
Very user-friendly interface	Can be more expensive than competitors, especially at scale
Extensive library of email templates	Some advanced features are locked behind higher-tier plans
Good range of integrations with other platforms	Reporting in the lower tiers is relatively basic
Reliable email deliverability	Segmentation in the Lite plan is quite limited
Decent customer support

Our Analysis: What Type of Business is Constant Contact Best Suited For?

Constant Contact is generally best suited for:

Small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs): Especially those that value ease of use and a wide selection of templates.
Businesses new to email marketing: The intuitive interface makes it easy to get started without a steep learning curve.
Organisations that rely heavily on events and need event management tools (available in higher tiers).
Businesses that appreciate a good balance of features and support.

It might be less ideal for:

Businesses with very large email lists: The cost can become prohibitive compared to other platforms.
Businesses requiring highly advanced and granular automation from the outset.
Organisations on a very tight budget that need a feature-rich free or very low-cost option.

Conclusion

Constant Contact remains a solid and dependable email marketing platform, particularly for those who prioritise ease of use and a good selection of templates. Its tiered structure offers options for businesses at different stages of growth, with the Standard and Premium plans providing increasingly sophisticated features.

However, potential users should carefully consider their budget and the size of their contact list, as the cost can escalate as their needs expand. While it offers good value in terms of user-friendliness and reliability, businesses with large audiences or very specific advanced automation requirements might want to explore alternative platforms to ensure they are getting the most cost-effective solution for their needs. Overall, Constant Contact is a strong contender, especially for SMBs looking for a user-friendly and feature-rich email marketing tool.

Constant Contact Competitors

Check out our comparison of the best email marketing software, and see where Constant Contact sits in the top ten.