As you compare and contrast email marketing services and pricing, here are some of the reasons we think Constant Contact is inferior:
- Higher/better e-mail deliverability and more features than Constant Contact. The biggest problem/issue that’s reported with Constant Contact is the deliverability of the emails. Their servers do not have the best SPAM ratings. Their e-mail deliverability is not very good being that they allow large list imports (spammers often abuse their system by uploading purchased lists and lists where consent was not properly obtained, which in turn generates spam complaints against their mail server IP addresses which in turn results in a lower e-mail deliverability rate). Some ISP’s block Constant Contact and there is almost nothing you can do to get your emails delivered to those recipients, even if they have added your address to an “approved” list.
- More flexibility with custom designs as opposed to pre-packaged templates. From your signup screens and database fields to campaign templates and content, we have more flexibility to customize. The templates offered by Constant Contact are, for the most part, not as attractive and they are harder to customize as their are more limitations.
- List Management–Better options for grouping, segmenting & then retargeting. You can send a mailing to only the people who click on something in an email. It gives you lots of control on the backend.
- You have the ability to load graphics from a remote server into your email marketing program, allowing you to include files, photos, surveys and forms (great for membership, event registration, volunteer feedback, etc.)
Constant Contact is often a good entry point, but people often feel the need to “upgrade” to a better service after using Constant Contact and seeing some of the limitations.
