Anyone using Constant Contact?

[apanda]

I am thinking about outsourcing my email lists, and wondered if anyone has any personal experience with Constant Contact? It seems to be an affordable solution (vs. some of the others) with lots of good features. I am curious to know of any problems or limitations others have run into, if any.

[dotCOM-steven]

For the most part Constant Contact is pretty good to use since it has templates, easy to understand directions, and all the features you would need. The only downside is cost and they are sometimes on spam lists. We have been a partner of Constant Contact for about year and in some cases they work really well.

One of the best "free" web-based e-mail list management systems is Dada Mail (http://mojo.skazat.com).

With any PHP script it is important that you keep current with any updates from Dada Mail. It is also important to follow some common rules with opt-in, opt-out, and contact information.

If you decide to use something you install on your own site/server double check with your hosting company before you install it. Some hosts will require you throttle emails so you don't try to send out 100,000 emails a minute.

There are a few more I can suggest but let me know if you have any special needs or limits.

[apanda]

I have used several mailing list managers over the years... In fact, I used dada back when it was mojo. I've worked my way up to Oempro. It works pretty well if I want to stick with doing it all on my own. However, I am looking to possibly outsource because I'm tired of dealing with bounced mail, keeping up with who has and hasn't blocked me, upgrades/configuration, etc.

You mentioned that Constant Contact is on some spam lists. Can you give me more info about that? One reason I'd like to outsource is to increase deliverability since they claim to have relationships with many of the major ISPs. I am set up with AOL so my mailings won't be blocked, but with all the others it's hit or miss. Would Constant Contact really do a better job? I know my IP is not on any "blacklists" other than those that block the entire IP block of The Planet (which is who I have my dedicated servers with). I have a lot of email subscribers who are teachers, and school systems are very strict about blocking and the tech people are not worried about letting mail through even if it's legitimate. I imagine using Constant Contact probably wouldn't help for those subscribers.

Anyway, the spam factor is only one thing I am worried about. I would also benefit from not having to manually remove those that click the SPAM button instead of UNSUBSCRIBE and not having to process bounces. Also, Constant Contact claims to get spam reports from other ISPs. They will also remove those people from my list so I don't keep mailing them over and over again.

I guess I'm wondering how well these things really work so I can determine if it's worth the extra cost.

[jason - jmh web services]

I am thinking about outsourcing my email lists, and wondered if anyone has any personal experience with Constant Contact? It seems to be an affordable solution (vs. some of the others) with lots of good features. I am curious to know of any problems or limitations others have run into, if any.

Chuck Lasker likes Intellicontact (http://www.intellicontact.com).

[apanda]

Chuck Lasker likes Intellicontact (http://www.intellicontact.com).
Thanks for the suggestion - I'll check it out. It is a little more expensive than Constant Contact, but not as crazy as some services. (I am at the 50,000 level so it can be very pricey.)

[apanda]

Oops... actually Intellicontact is a little cheaper than Constant Contact. :)

[dotCOM-steven]

When they first came to the market they were less selective on the types of companies they would let send email through their system.

Over the last year they kicked out some e-mailer abusers and their "blacklisted" level came down to a reasonable level.

Google "constant contact is being blocked". The links have some good (and some bad) comments.

Some of our clients us oemPRO with good results. They keep adding great features and the price is perfect.

But I fully understand that with your level of email you need to spend less time on removing "spam report" people and more time on marketing. In that case, yes, the little added cost of Constant Contact may be perfect.

Though Dada Mail has introduced some high end features it still requires a lot of attention and maintenance.

[Jbrenan]

I tried to access the link http://mojo.skazat.com and I'm getting an error message. Any ideas?

[dotCOM_host]

The error I'm seeing on their page is "This site has exceeded its bandwidth quota. Please try again later." This means their hosting company suspended the site because of disk quotas. :-/ Give them a few hours and try again later - best I can suggest...

[Luke]

Uhh... try again later? Search Google for "Dada Mail"? There's not much you can do bud.

[dotCOM_host]

Well, the good news is that there are literally hundreds of mirror sites you can download this app from. Simply go to http://freshmeat.net/projects/dada/ and select the download options - you'll see a bunch of sites offering it for download. Enjoy!

[Capt'n Morgan]

I'm using a trial of Constant Contact, and I'm blown away at how simple it is to use. However, reading their forums, I'm shying away from using it. To keep themselves off of blacklists, they get on you if you have a very small percentage of messages marked as spam. I'm not sure, but I gathered that you have to consult with the staff before continuing your campaign, when that happens. That scares me because I'm having a heck of a time getting my newsletters past the Bayesian spam filter that Spam Assasin uses.

I've used Mojo/Dada in the past, actually still do for some sites, however they are missing a lot of functionality that some other products like "1-2 All" have. There's no built in support for bounced messages, and no tracking or stats. (unless it's available in the new one.)

For now, I'm continuing to use 1-2 All from Active Campaign, and struggling at making newsletters which the bayes filter approves of.

[Kuzi]

I've used Constant Contact for a couple of clients for several years. Mainly because it has lots of features, is easy to use, has good support by *lots of real people on the phone!* and online help site, and we've had excellent delivery rates. It's not perfect, but I've had overall good experience with it. Never had a problem with being marked as spam because of the nature of our emails (good open/click rates, only 5 unsubscribes in last year for main client) so not sure on that end. All my lists are under 2500 tho.

Things I like about CC:

Simple to use for newbies, but also works for those who want to design their own
Easy to setup subscribe/unsubscribes, signup form, thanks form, etc
Easy to customize standard email templates a bit or design your own in Dreamweaver, etc, and paste those in
Good documentation and forums (haven't used forums myself tho)
Good phone support. Most reps have a decent understanding of email, and 2nd level reps help resolve issues if necessary
List management specialists help resolve list issues so you don't have to talk to a complete generalist (of course this varies rep to rep but my experience with them has been better than with other competitors)
Easy integration of PayPal buttons - tutorials and help doc give step by step for 1st timers
Easy personalization (Hi George) and merging of subscriber fields within standard email templates, and pretty easy in custom ones with a bit of reading
Decent tracking, with nice comparison to averages from all CC users to tell you if you ave above or below on your numbers
A variety of templates. A quick way to get started is to edit their template in Dreamweaver.
Long-standing, mature company (isn't going to disappear like some have)
Free trial to check it out, or for use with less than 50 subscribers. Free version includes CC ad, tho so not a good thing for pros IMO.
A few things it doesn't have that I'd like to see:

integrated autoresponder like Aweber, GetResponse, 1ShoppingCart
inegrated surveys like SurveyGizmo, SurveyMonkey
agency feature for managing multiple clients, assigning login priveledges so clients only see certain reports and can't do anything else (i.e., mess things up)
I've recently looked in detail at a few others because I want integrated autoresponders and surveys (NOT use separate applications). While time and my understanding level don't allow a detailed review, I had a few impressions that you might find helpful. Check them out against your "needs and wants" list and see what you think.

Intellicontact (http://www.intellicontact.com/)

Nice integration of email mktg, basic surveys, basic autoresponder, rss at a good rate
Poor support was the deal-killer for me. I did not have good experience. Sales and support reps not only did not know their own product well enough to answer questions, but they didn't recognize what I consider basic email marketing terms (like split testing and a few others I don't remember at moment). Questions asked were answered with completely unrelated questions. Maybe not uncommon these days, but not at all helpful.
Not much documentation (except for super basic stuff) to make up for the poor support so I crossed this one off my list despite the appeal of the integrated features. If I can't use it and have to deal with unpleasant or unhelpful support it's not a good choice for me or my clients. Aweber (http://www.aweber.com/)
One of the most popular autoresponder services, but you can also use it for sending broadcast emails like newsletters. Really powerful possibilities. Good learning resources, phone support, online knowledgebase and video tuts. Phone support also.

Emma (http://www.myemma.com/)
Nice features, including agency feature, but higher in cost. Includes a custom designed template with every account, so is a bit more $ upfront, but probably a good thing because their input will make your email campaigns more effective immediately. Nice trigger email feature. Nice lack of techie talk.

MailChimp (http://www.mailchimp.com/)
Good features, including agency setup, fun/user-friendly attitude, good learning resources. Don't remember their support info, but several people I know who are very savvy marketers really love it so it must be decent. A bit higher cost

EmailLabs (http://www.emaillabs.com/)
For high-volume or advanced features, this is fantastic. Excellent features, support features, and knowledge of the email marketing and online business environment. 1st tier, but with a corresponding price. Subscribe to their newsletter for excellent info, and check out their articles. If I could afford it, I would switch to this in half a heartbeat.

I highly, highly recommend getting a month trial and creating a realistic sample email using the features you need to see how they really compare. Send a sample campaign to a group of buddies, use their support, check the delivery over different email clients and ISPs.

Take some time to check them out up front, because switching between providers later is very difficult because you have to use double opt-in at most reputable companies so you have to re-subscribe your list after you move.

</novel>

[Vic - WolfPaw Computers]

Keep in mind that AWeber is also one of the most blacklisted services in the industry.

Many ISPs and Hosts have them blocked due to all the spam complaints.

[jason - jmh web services]

Keep in mind that AWeber is also one of the most blacklisted services in the industry.

Many ISPs and Hosts have them blocked due to all the spam complaints.

Yep, I can't subscribe to any newsletter using aweber. Emails never reach me.

[leslienord]

I use CC for 2 newsletters at the day job. One is 65,000+, the other is 25,000+. I use a custom HTML template (my own HTML) plus text. We only get charged for the number of subscribers, not by file size or bandwidth. Good feature since the larger list gets a weekly newsletter.

Some negatives - Hotmail seems to block us. Some users not understanding a clearly defined confirmation email. You can't confirm a subscriber for them even if they email asking you to.

[jason - jmh web services]

I use CC for 2 newsletters at the day job. One is 65,000+, the other is 25,000+. I use a custom HTML template (my own HTML) plus text. We only get charged for the number of subscribers, not by file size or bandwidth. Good feature since the larger list gets a weekly newsletter.

Some negatives - Hotmail seems to block us. Some users not understanding a clearly defined confirmation email. You can't confirm a subscriber for them even if they email asking you to.

Those are just some of the things I will be covering during the free email marketing for miva merchant teleseminar (http://www.askjasonhenderson.com/?nml).