Constant Contact keeps unsubscribing new customers

[GeneK809]

I am so frustrated. My new customers keep getting their emails unsubscribed. They are not doing this themselves. They belong to my membership groups and need the info I am sending them. When they do not receive this info it causes chaos for all of us. I am sick of sending them emails to resubscribe. I am at my wits end. I use Shopify with Constant Contact. Is any one else having this issue?

[GeneK809]

Hello @GeneK809 ,

If you're noticing unusual unsubscribe activity, there's a few things to check:

1. Check with the contacts to see if they're forwarding the emails. Unsubscribe links in footers are coded for the original recipient, so if they forward it and the forwardee explicitly confirms the actual contact's email address on the unsubscription confirmation page, we're forced to honor it for legal and compliance reasons. If this is your situation, I'd recommend you strongly encourage your forwarding contacts to stop doing so in general. If there's others who want to receive your emails, they can subscribe directly to you.
2. Have the affected contacts check their email program's settings. Some email programs are set to automatically unsubscribe them from emails after X amount of deletions without opening, for example. The contact would want to check their email program settings to see if they have anything that'd auto-unsub them for any reason, and consider turning that off.
3. Check any programs you have connected with your Constant Contact account. If you're running an integration that syncs a contact database with your CTCT account, then it would also potentially have the ability to manage your lists. This includes deleting contacts from your CTCT account, unsubscribing them, changing contact details like name and physical address, and other such management. If you believe such a program has erroneously unsubscribed your contacts, it's recommended that you call general support, and request a transfer to the Tier 2 team for integration support and restoring the contacts. It's also recommended that you disconnect the affected integration from your account to prevent further erroneous contact permission changes.

In your situation, if the contact unsubbed from you previously in the past, then them getting imported again would keep them as unsubscribed, until they went through one of the three resubscription processes. If your Shopify is setup to require a contact explicitly confirm their desire for emails, and they don't click that, then they wouldn't import as a subscribed contact. 

[William_A]

Hello @GeneK809 ,

If you're noticing unusual unsubscribe activity, there's a few things to check:

1. Check with the contacts to see if they're forwarding the emails. Unsubscribe links in footers are coded for the original recipient, so if they forward it and the forwardee explicitly confirms the actual contact's email address on the unsubscription confirmation page, we're forced to honor it for legal and compliance reasons. If this is your situation, I'd recommend you strongly encourage your forwarding contacts to stop doing so in general. If there's others who want to receive your emails, they can subscribe directly to you.
2. Have the affected contacts check their email program's settings. Some email programs are set to automatically unsubscribe them from emails after X amount of deletions without opening, for example. The contact would want to check their email program settings to see if they have anything that'd auto-unsub them for any reason, and consider turning that off.
3. Check any programs you have connected with your Constant Contact account. If you're running an integration that syncs a contact database with your CTCT account, then it would also potentially have the ability to manage your lists. This includes deleting contacts from your CTCT account, unsubscribing them, changing contact details like name and physical address, and other such management. If you believe such a program has erroneously unsubscribed your contacts, it's recommended that you call general support, and request a transfer to the Tier 2 team for integration support and restoring the contacts. It's also recommended that you disconnect the affected integration from your account to prevent further erroneous contact permission changes.

In your situation, if the contact unsubbed from you previously in the past, then them getting imported again would keep them as unsubscribed, until they went through one of the three resubscription processes. If your Shopify is setup to require a contact explicitly confirm their desire for emails, and they don't click that, then they wouldn't import as a subscribed contact. 

[GeneK809]

This problem is still continuing. Are you saying Shopify is unsubscribing my new customers? 

I don't have time to keep looking up who is unsubscribed and then going through the process of getting them resubscribed. This service is really the worst program for new customer retention. I spend the money in advertising to get the new customer and Constant Contact immediately takes them away. 

[William_A]

If they've unsubscribed through Shopify, then Shopify would have them set as unsubscribed. If Shopify imports an unsubscribed contact, then it would result in the contact being considered unsubscribed in your Constant Contact account. This has to be done to ensure compliance with anti-spam laws. 

Please look through what I wrote in my original response, and check your unsubscribed contacts to see if they match those criteria. Ultimately, we have to honor an unsubscribe request, regardless of source - otherwise our ability to comply with anti-spam laws would also impacted. 

[GeneK809]

EVERY new customer that makes a purchase on Shopify is imported automatically as Unsubscribed in Constant Contact. Why would Shopify automatically unsubscribe contacts? I'm thinking they don't. If they do please tell me how I get them to stop that. 

And so here I am. Now going through the embarrassment of having to individually email EVERY new hard earned customer and ask them to resubscribe.  

I signed up and pay for this service so that I could send out emails to people in my organization (less than 1000). This service is giving me a head ache. 

[Nick_S]

Hi @GeneK809,

I looked into this Shopify issue further and then spoke with our advanced support team and it looks like there might be a light at the end of this tunnel. They're investigating an issue that sounds a lot like this and want to review your account and should be able to manually reset the affected contacts thus far. If you'd like them to manually reset the affected contacts, please send an email to social_support(at)constantcontact(dot)com with your username, a reference to this Community thread, and confirmation you'd like the contacts permission reset and I'll be able to forward the case to the advanced team and they will follow up!

In the meantime, they've asked that you disconnect the integration for now while they investigate and export the contacts from Shopify manually if needed.

[PatriciaW78]

I am having exactly this problem with a small community and I have been going back and forth with Shopify and no one is helping.  I just had all 10 of my new hard fought customers unsubscribed by Shopify last night!!!!   I need you to fix this too

[PatriciaW78]

NICK_S - please get back to me - I might be the 'other one' that you are investigating.  I just started a major campaign at 3pm yesterday and everyone who responds is getting auto-unsubscribed.  I need those contacts back - this is a campaign that was 6 months in the making and so much money spent.  This is just so wrong.  One person spent $3500 for an online class and was auto unsubscribed and she is so furious as I can't email her.

[PatriciaW78]

Nick -

I spoke this morning to phone technical support and the person was very resistant to anything.  Without knowledge she was insistent that it is not Constant Contacts problem and that the only way I can get my contacts back is by going through each person and emailing them and begging them to resubscribe.

You supply us with an integration.  That integration is BROKEN.  It is up to you to work with Shopify to fix it and then provide restitution to the companies who you have harmed by resubscribing our contacts.

If I understand from the woman that I was speaking to - my only other recourse is to download all my contacts, subscribed and unsubscribed and go off to and open a new account and close my accounts with Constant Contact.  I have been a Constant Contact All Star for now about 15 years.  I am more than furious - you are harming my business.  I have sent proof in this morning that (1) eight people bought a product, half of which is delivered as an online course product using constant contact (2) within minutes of the purchase, constant contact+shopify unsubscribed them from my mailing list and (3) that 6 of 8 of them have subscribe marked on there shopify account.  That is a BUG.  

Is that correct???  Are you going to do nothing?  I am not getting responses from Constant Contact and I can't wait around - I need to run my business and you have spent 6 months since my first complaint not fixing it and my longest and more valuable customers are being unsubscribed weekly 

Tricia Nguyen

[Caitlin_M]

Hi @PatriciaW78. I spoke with a member of our support team and they are going to work further with you regarding the unsubscribed contacts. 

[PatriciaN41]

Caitlin,

I certainly hope so.  But I have heard absolutely crickets - nothing at all.  I have sent you screen shots of the people buying items in my shopify shop only to be unsubscribed minutes later by the constant contact system and yet their shopify accounts say "subscribed".  

I would like someone to email me.  I went through my contacts list today and noted so many people who have spent thousands of dollars (like $12K! on classes and traveling to Europe on tours and have been students for over 15 years and yet were unsubscribed after purchases in January or Feb).  

I expect to hear from someone today or tomorrow.  Your business is to make our lists grow - not disable our best customers from being contacted.  That seems like something you would action on faster.

Tricia

[GeneK809]

I received an email from CC saying my Unsubscribed emails have been resubscribed. 

However my latest new customer over the weekend was immediately Unsubscribed. 

This issue has not been resolved. 

[PatriciaW78]

GeneK809 - I managed to get through to level 2 technical service by being extra calm and deliberate with the regular phone customer service on Friday late afternoon.  At that point the issue you and I are both reporting was JUST being lifted to ticket status and was being seen as a technical issue with the integration between shopify and constant contact.  I provided the engineer with screen shots of the unsubscribes in constant contact report, them in the shopify sales, and their accounts to show they were still showing in shopify as accepting marketing.  Also a .cvs of my shopify accounts for when they solve the issue so they can reinstate all the bogus unsubscribes (they have developed a script).  You should call and beg to get to the next level of tech service and talk to them direct and try to provide similar data so they can find the bug.