Get Advice: Let's Get Started Sweepstakes!

[Nick_S]

The sweepstakes is closed! Thank you so much for everyone who participated and we will be selecting the winner and announcing them soon. Stay tuned for our next event!

Let's Get Started Sweepstakes!

Even though the end of the year is usually reserved for reflection, we wanted to get a head start and ask our esteemed users to reflect on their humble beginnings with online marketing and what hurdles they may have had to overcome. 

When you first sat down to use Constant Contact, what gaps in your knowledge did you need to fill? Were you familiar with contact upload and management? Did you need to learn how to design a template from the ground up? Were you able to translate the information under Reporting into actionable goals? 

There are lots of elements to consider when you’re trying to launch a successful marketing campaign and we want to share your stories with new and future Constant Contact users that might be in a similar situation! Heck, if you are new we want to hear from you, too!

How to Enter: Visit this thread and share your story by replying to the article. Specifically, focus on what you had to learn when you were first starting out (or are learning currently, if you’re new). Limit one entry per person/Constant Contact account holder.

Some topic ideas, for example:

• Creating an email
• Collecting and/or managing contacts
• Use of other Constant Contact tools (sign-up forms, etc.)
• Understanding reporting

These are just some ideas. This is your experience!

But wait, there’s more! Share a URL or screenshot along with your response of an email template design and earn one additional entry toward the sweepstakes! This is optional, but we love seeing what our customers are working on!

Important to note, that if you are having any trouble on getting started with using Constant Contact, we offer many services that can help cut down on the learning curve. For example, we have a premium template design service or we can set you up with a Marketing Advisor to help walk you through the ins-and-outs of online marketing! Visit our Professional Services page to learn more! We’re also running a deal where you can receive 3 animated templates for $79!

What’s the prize? One lucky winner will receive a $100 credit on their Constant Contact account!

The sweepstakes will run from July 12, 2021 through August 9, 2021. Once completed, we will select one winner at random and notify them!

If you are the winner we will notify you by the contact email address listed on your Constant Contact account, so make sure it is up-to-date! Thank you.

Questions? Let us know below!

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*No Purchase Necessary. The Constant Contact Community Get Advice: Let’s Get Started Sweepstakes is open to legal residents of the 50 United States (and D.C), 18 years or older. For Official Rules, visit here. Promotion ends on August 9, 2021 at 11:59 PM ET. The Sweepstakes is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Khoros, Pinterest, or Twitter.

[GayeElise]

"Specifically, focus on what you had to learn when you were first starting out"

1) The build a newsletter elements were hard to figure out. It takes a good deal of time, to figure it all out.

2) Within the newsletter, ask subscribers, for  what they want to see, in the newsletter.

3) Send a "thank you for signing up" email.

4) At the end of the newsletter, add a few sentences about the next newsletter.

5) I found one newsletter a month works for me. Four times a month is too much.

6) I found a newsletter that can be read within 5 mintues, works for me.

Thank you for your time,

Stay safe,

Gaye Elise Beda

[ElizabethJ6492]

Hello Gaye,

As an avid multitasker, overtime, it can be easy for me to overlook some things and writing newsletters is of them. 

I found the advice you shared to be very helpful and enlightening. Thank you.

[AngelaD7589]

I am very new to constant contact but so far I love it. I was lucky as I had templates and a News Letter ready for me to use for my very first email sent. Still, I had great feedback and help to get me started. I find myself using this service to send out my emails when I need them to stand out and I love the ease of knowing who is seeing them. I know I have a lot to learn but so far I find it a lot of fun. 

Thank you Constant Contact for making your products friendly and easy to use.

[ArtreiceW2]

I love Constant Contact. I am learning how to manage my contacts by using tags. I love tags because I do not have to make a hundred lists especially if my contacts are basically get the same or even different content from me. I am going to learn segmentation next.

Thanks,

Artreice Westmoreland

[HDbyMichelle]

New(ish) to it all!

Hi!  My name is Michelle, and I'm in my mid-50's.  I only tell you that so you know I'm not new to EVERYTHING, just everything on CC!  LOL!  However, I am a designer, and while you'd think marketing should be a part of that - it's not!

I've had my own business at least part-time since 2008.  In 2017, I restructured and became independently wealthy!  Ok, maybe not... but I did at least become self-employed full-time!  Most of my work has been subcontracting to contractors and builders that I've met or been introduced to, so marketing has not been a huge issue.

Welcome to 2020 and the pandemic effect.  What had been a pretty constant stream of work went down to a trickle, and then a drought!  I needed to get some marketing knowledge, and quickly!

So what did I do?  Everything wrong, apparently.  I've gone to webinars, read every article I could get my hands on, signed up for seminars and paid events, even bought a couple of books.  I went so far as to hire a website design team that was supposed to help me convert my site to leads.  Did any of it work?  NO!  So I started to think of things I could do myself, without having to shell out thousands of dollars with no ROI (Return On Investment. See - I told you I did some reading!).  I knew I had a bunch of contacts, but they were spread all over the place, with no real format or function.  I wasn't sure what to do, so I asked some very smart friends for their advice.  I would say about 75% suggested Constant Contact!

Turns out I had used Constant Contact many years ago in one of my previous positions.  This was probably very near the start of CC, so I'm sure things were MUCH different then - especially since the email marketing landscape seems to change on a daily basis anymore.  While I remember CC being quite helpful, I did NOT remember any of the details, so I have to start from scratch.

I knew I wanted to get started this week, so I signed up last week and gave myself a lot of homework over the weekend!  I've literally scanned in about 400 business cards, rounded up contacts from all my accounts and files, and even went through an old rolodex that I was using several years ago (I know, I know... I'm showing my age here!).  For those of you who don't know, a Rolodex is the analog version of your contacts list.  Hard copy.  Sits on your desktop.  Not the desktop on your computer.

Honestly, at this point, doing all of that was MUCH harder than actually launching my first campaign!  I've been able to udpate, edit, and sort all my contacts into several different lists so that I can send targeted emails, and with the CC Design Template that you did for me, I'm off and running!  I actually sent my first test campaign to some friends and family!  And while I had to send a 2nd one immediately due to an auto-fill error (watch out for that, by the way!), I've already received some feedback from my test subjects, and can't wait to hear more!

While I don't have any reportable results yet, I'm pretty hopeful at this stage!  Add in the fact that I can post to ALL of my social media accounts from one source (which I've been trying to figure out how to do!), and this might just be the best thing I've done for my business in years!  I'll keep you posted on the results, if you're interested.  I haven't sent anything to all my business contacts yet, so there's still some stuff to do.

Thanks for the system - I'm really glad I made the decision to give it a try!

P.S. - I just read the other "replies" on this thread - sorry mine is so long!  LOL!

[KevinG506]

Every time I learn more when I work with my Marketing Advisor Tim is Great and all of  constant contacts Great Workers .. Thank you.. Now I want to learn more about integrations of My Website its automations and emails  

[CherylO9]

Hi Email Lovers, I have been using CC for a lot of years. One of the first things I appreciated from the first was the email templates. I explored those and found ones that I could use over and over (time saver) that expressed who I am as an artist/art instructor and easily let me feature lots of my paintings. The stats that are supplied are really helpful too, and I would say that I am still learning exactly how to apply those numbers to my email decisions. Thanks CC! Here is a sample of one of my recent emails: https://conta.cc/2UIdJlv

[UnitedRealtyGroupE]

Hey @Nick_S

I am a newbie at Constant Contact. I started using Constant Contact when I first started my new job in March 2021. 

What I have had to learn and have become successful fast at was adding and managing contacts, lists, tags and segments (I am still working on the segment learning part but your last webinar this month in July regarding Segments was VERY helpful). 

I had to learn how to work the designs, templates and call to action buttons but this was very easy to learn and extremely helpful for advertising. 

Once I started mastering the operations of the website I am now reading your articles and participating in webinars on how to monitor and track the people who have interacted with my emails or social posts by checking your analytics.

One marketing email I made using templates from Constant Contact is here : https://conta.cc/3wfD4A3

I am proud of this because I did two variations one for our clients and one for our real estate network show casing where local fireworks will be held for the 4th of July 2021. Our company would love to win this and use the $100 credit towards productive advertising. 😊 🙏

[PegC24]

Great campaign.  I like the buttons asking people to leave a review.  Will definitely have to add that to our campaigns!

[AlbertKaufman]

Wow, what I had to learn when I was first starting out?  Everything. I knew nothing about marketing. Now, I'm teaching people how to do marketing for the past 13 years - thanks to Constant Contact! 

[YvetteS947]

I was totally new to Constant Contact two years ago and will admit it's been an off and on struggle for me since I am technology challenged.  Overall, the system is easy and explanatory but at times has taken quite a bit of time to complete a simple email to include pictures (from other people and devices) which is probably due more to my level of technology 😊.   My use of Constant Contact is for a small start up church which I use to communicate by email to members to keep them abreast of services, events, etc.  It has served us well.  Thanks for making this service available.  

[PegC24]

I feel your pain regarding the pictures!!  I take pictures with my cell phone and then send them to myself via email in order to get them on my laptop!!  I end up with sooooo many duplicates!  When I send a campaign out (scheduled for the first of the month, no matter what day of the week), the next day I copy that campaign into a new one and edit it on and off all month in anticipation of the next campaign.  By copying it, I maintaining the formatting AND reminding myself of exactly what I said the previous month.  

Good luck.

[MartezS6]

Thank you for the advice. This has helped our first campaign with Constant Contact. Look forward to more tidbits as we become more familiar with the program and taking our business to the next level.

[PegC24]

We just started using Constant Contact in the last six months or so.  It has been relatively easy, once we snooped around, and did the offered training.  The person we worked with was great and helped us set up our "Campaigns."  We have been limiting it to once a month but in August, we are doing our first "Special Announcement."  (https://app.constantcontact.com/pages/campaigns/email#/edit/activity/02ec035e-9e73-4653-b2f8-9bd8fa4...)

As soon as I send out the current monthly campaign, I copy it for the next month's campaign.  It helps remind me of what I had already said, keeps the formatting and all the contact information in place!!!

I also think being able to schedule the "resend" at the same time as the original "send," is great.  

We are a small locally owned yarn shop in Northeast Ohio and learned through the pandemic that it was vital to stay in touch with our customers and keep our website clean and neat.  We switched from another company partially because the lack of support didn't serve our needs.  Thanks so much for helping us update, clean-up and revitalize our communications and marketing!

[Paul_Friedman]

I am a complete novice at bulk emails, html, and email design. Except for those slight deficiencies and my inability to tpye and speel, I am well prepared to manage my organization's newsletter. What I have learned so far:

1. Responsive hyphenation is impossible without access to the underlying code.
2. The inability to use small caps is a PITA, Again, this needs access to the underlying code.
3. The fact that lists do not use hanging indents for the first line is also a PITA. Ditto, the inability to space them "properly."
4. Use of straight quotation marks also bothers me.

The above list could be greatly expanded. What it really means is that I need to convince The Powers That Be to upgrade our plan on Constant Comment (sic) — am I the only one who keeps calling this Constant Comment? Of course, that also means I need to learn CSS, HTML, ad nauseum.

The complaints in the list are not really complaints but rather the beginning of a long list of my limitations. CC has really helped me get started. I never realized how difficult it was to produce emails which allowed Outlook, Gmail, AOL <gag>, etc. all produce something looking close to what I attended. CC has been a godsend for that reason alone. The use of tags is a wonderfully simple way to segment my recipients. 

I still need to figure out how to choose images that add to rather than distract from the contents of the newsletters. I also need help figuring out when to use which and when to use that. Until then, I will simply alternate at random.

Lots to figure out but I'd be much further away from my goals without Constant Contact. One thing I did know is that I need an editor and a proofreader. 

For those desiring a look at a very simple newbie-produced newsletter:  https://conta.cc/3iOwUlw

[ReginaR42]

Hello,

When I first started I realized that I had to plan out my Constant Contact email before starting. That way I could vary the items.  I use the same basic format every month and send out an email on or near the 1st of the month. I like to include a variety of items, such as a quote that's applicable, the upcoming webinars (we do a free one each month), any future upcoming events, a video, a story, and other basic information.

Some of my newsletters are longer than others, but basically I keep them short.  If I have a longer article, I type the primary info in the newsletter and then also give a link where they can read the whole article if they desire. I like using a variety of colors to separate the items - and I've gotten good responses/comments on doing this.

https://app.constantcontact.com/pages/campaigns/email-details/details/activity/d705bd1a-4e76-4bbe-8f...

Cheers,

Regina Richards

tcb.info@dyslexia-ca.org

[RodneyM628]

As a new user I'm starting from scratch.  Will be relying on the support of my adviser for technical help and support.

Working on my first email campaign to increase my sales.  Was trying it on my own with little success, now hopefuly Constant Contact will improve the look and the results.

Thanks,