Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact

To begin developing an automation in ActiveCampaign, begin with a “trigger.” There are a number of methods you can set off an automation, including: When a tag is included When a contact registers for a list When a contact submits a form E-commerce and on-site options (offered in the “Pro” strategy) When the contact reaches a specific point in another automation.

From there, you can begin developing the actions in your automation. Some actions that are readily available in ActiveCampaign’s automations are: Send an email Notify a staff member Wait conditions If/then conditionals Split traffic for testing Skip to other parts of the automation Track objectives (The contact can avoid to the goal’s place in the automation.) Start or end another automation, or end the existing automation Post a webhook Subscribe or unsubscribe the contact to/from lists Update contact information Add and remove tags Add a note Lead scoring, SMS and site messages, and Facebook Customized Audience management are all “Pro” functions – Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact.

Contrast with ConvertKit‘s Automations, which are more restricted. On ConvertKit, you can set off an automation when: The contact submits a form The contact buys A tag is included to the contact A customized field is updated with a certain value From there, you can develop Conditions, to examine whether the contact has a particular tag or custom-made field value.

Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact

You can also produce Events, which are a bit like ActiveCampaign’s Objectives, however without the reporting. You can track an Occasion when: A tag is included or removed The contact buys A date takes place A custom-made field is upgraded with a certain worth You do not produce e-mails in ConvertKit’s Automations.

For more on how ActiveCampaign compares to ConvertKit, read my ConvertKit vs ActiveCampaign contrast. The primary way I develop my list is through an e-mail course. ActiveCampaign makes it simple for me to build my email course precisely how I want to construct it. Numerous online marketers develop very simple email sequences for their “email courses.” A contact indications up, and then that contact right away begins getting lessons.

It was easy to develop with ActiveCampaign, however difficult when I was with MailChimp. I do not do that technique. My e-mail course is by hand synced with this countdown timer on my site. You have to sign up by Friday night, and a new course starts each Monday morning. When I first attempted this approach, I was on MailChimp.

Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact

Here’s the automation I use to invite new trainees to my Design Pitfalls course. There’s a couple of things going on here: The automation sends out all contacts a “welcome e-mail (Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact).” The automation verifies that it’s not Friday. If it’s not Friday, the automation waits till it is Friday. At 11am, it sends a “pump up” email to get the students ready for next week’s course, and encourage them to share it with pals.

The contact will start getting lessons the following Monday morning. If it is Friday and after 7pm, the contact missed out on enrollment for next week’s class. They’ll get the pump up e-mail the following Friday early morning, and lessons the Monday after that. It was impossible for me to automate this with MailChimp.

When I run a webinar, I do not want to send the exact same email to everyone on my list. I wish to send them the appropriate e-mail for their level of engagement – Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact. Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact. Here’s the automation I utilize to promote an evergreen webinar: First it verifies that they have not currently bought the item I pitch in the webinar.

Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact

Then it sends out a series of emails to get them interested in the webinar, and to motivate them to register. If they register, they right away hit the “Objective” toward completion of the webinar, and the automation ends. If they do not sign up, they get contributed to an automation promoting a rebroadcast of the webinar. Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact.

This enables me to tailor my messaging, in other automations, based upon the contact’s engagement with the webinar. Here’s the WebinarJam integration panel: I can include tags based upon whether the contact signed up, attended, missed out on, or based upon the length of time they stayed in the webinar. These tags can then activate automations within ActiveCampaign.

It costs me cash, and it makes it more likely that my e-mails go to spam or Gmail’s promos tab. People who don’t open my e-mails make it harder for other e-mails to get to individuals who really want them! The “Pro” strategy of ActiveCampaign has actually lead scoring integrated in.

Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact

Here’s an automation I received from ActiveCampaign’s library of automations, which I utilize to tell which contacts aren’t engaging with my emails. When a contact subscribes, this automation includes a “0 days” tag. As time passes, it adds new tags for 7 days, one month, 60 days, etc Each time they open an e-mail, a separate automation eliminates them from this automation, gets rid of all of those tags, and begins this automation over again.

This automation can be frustrating in the beginning, and this is among those cases where I want ActiveCampaign had a more out-of-the-box service. However, since you can do anything with ActiveCampaign, often you have to construct things from scratch. ActiveCampaign has an alternative to erase non-active subscribers, which I don’t suggest.

Some subscribers don’t have actually tracking turned on, so their opens aren’t taped. Others still wish to be subscribed but have actually been hectic. Here’s my reactivation series: I send one e-mail asking if they still wish to be subscribed, and briefly discussing why I keep my email list tidy. In one week, I send them another email (if they already clicked the confirmation link in the previous e-mail, they’ve already been gotten rid of from the automation using a different automation) – Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact.

Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact

The automation then unsubscribes them. My e-mails also have a link to a form where they can enter their e-mail address to let me understand that they do not have tracking enabled. This form includes a tag that I utilize to filter those contacts out. Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact. I used to include this tag when they clicked a link, but when people do not have tracking on, it makes those links not work so reliably! I only send out a basic “do you still want my emails?” confirmation.

Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact

To begin building an automation in ActiveCampaign, begin with a “trigger.” There are a number of ways you can activate an automation, consisting of: When a tag is included When a contact registers for a list When a contact sends a form E-commerce and on-site choices (readily available in the “Pro” strategy) When the contact reaches a particular point in another automation.

From there, you can begin developing the actions in your automation. Some actions that are offered in ActiveCampaign’s automations are: Send out an e-mail Inform a team member Wait conditions If/then conditionals Split traffic for screening Avoid to other parts of the automation Track objectives (The contact can skip to the objective’s location in the automation.) Start or end another automation, or end the current automation Post a webhook Subscribe or unsubscribe the contact to/from lists Update contact information Include and remove tags Add a note Lead scoring, SMS and site messages, and Facebook Custom-made Audience management are all “Pro” functions – Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact.

Contrast with ConvertKit‘s Automations, which are more minimal. On ConvertKit, you can trigger an automation when: The contact sends a form The contact buys A tag is contributed to the contact A customized field is upgraded with a particular worth From there, you can produce Conditions, to check whether the contact has a specific tag or customized field worth.

Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact

You can likewise produce Events, which are a bit like ActiveCampaign’s Objectives, however without the reporting. You can track an Occasion when: A tag is added or removed The contact purchases A date takes place A customized field is updated with a particular value You do not produce e-mails in ConvertKit’s Automations.

For more on how ActiveCampaign compares to ConvertKit, read my ConvertKit vs ActiveCampaign contrast. The main method I build my list is through an e-mail course. ActiveCampaign makes it easy for me to construct my e-mail course precisely how I wish to construct it. Numerous online marketers construct very easy email sequences for their “email courses.” A contact register, and then that contact instantly begins getting lessons.

It was easy to develop with ActiveCampaign, but impossible when I was with MailChimp. I don’t do that approach. My email course is manually synced with this countdown timer on my website. You have to register by Friday night, and a new course begins each Monday morning. When I first attempted this methodology, I was on MailChimp.

Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact

Here’s the automation I use to invite new trainees to my Style Pitfalls course. There’s a couple of things going on here: The automation sends all contacts a “welcome e-mail (Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact).” The automation validates that it’s not Friday. If it’s not Friday, the automation waits till it is Friday. At 11am, it sends out a “pump up” e-mail to get the trainees ready for next week’s course, and motivate them to share it with pals.

The contact will start getting lessons the following Monday morning. If it is Friday and after 7pm, the contact missed out on registration for next week’s class. They’ll get the pump up email the following Friday morning, and lessons the Monday after that. It was difficult for me to automate this with MailChimp.

When I run a webinar, I do not want to send the very same email to everyone on my list. I wish to send them the proper e-mail for their level of engagement – Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact. Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact. Here’s the automation I utilize to promote an evergreen webinar: First it verifies that they have not currently bought the product I pitch in the webinar.

Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact

Then it sends a series of emails to get them thinking about the webinar, and to encourage them to sign up. If they register, they right away struck the “Goal” toward the end of the webinar, and the automation ends. If they do not sign up, they get included to an automation promoting a rebroadcast of the webinar. Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact.

This allows me to customize my messaging, in other automations, based upon the contact’s engagement with the webinar. Here’s the WebinarJam combination panel: I can add tags based upon whether the contact signed up, attended, missed out on, or based upon how long they remained in the webinar. These tags can then trigger automations within ActiveCampaign.

It costs me money, and it makes it most likely that my e-mails go to spam or Gmail’s promos tab. Individuals who do not open my e-mails make it harder for other emails to get to the individuals who actually want them! The “Pro” strategy of ActiveCampaign has actually lead scoring integrated in.

Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact

Here’s an automation I got from ActiveCampaign’s library of automations, which I utilize to inform which contacts aren’t engaging with my e-mails. When a contact subscribes, this automation adds a “0 days” tag. As time passes, it includes new tags for 7 days, one month, 60 days, etc Each time they open an e-mail, a different automation removes them from this automation, removes all of those tags, and starts this automation over once again.

This automation can be overwhelming in the beginning, and this is one of those cases where I wish ActiveCampaign had a more out-of-the-box solution. But, because you can do anything with ActiveCampaign, sometimes you have to construct things from scratch. ActiveCampaign has an option to delete non-active customers, which I do not suggest.

Some subscribers don’t have tracking turned on, so their opens aren’t taped. Others still wish to be subscribed but have been hectic. Here’s my reactivation sequence: I send out one e-mail asking if they still desire to be subscribed, and briefly describing why I keep my email list tidy. In one week, I send them another e-mail (if they already clicked on the confirmation link in the previous email, they’ve currently been eliminated from the automation using a different automation) – Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact.

Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact

The automation then unsubscribes them. My emails likewise have a link to a kind where they can enter their email address to let me know that they don’t have tracking enabled. This type includes a tag that I use to filter those contacts out. Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact. I utilized to include this tag when they clicked on a link, but when people don’t have tracking on, it makes those links not work so dependably! I just send a basic “do you still desire my e-mails?” confirmation.

Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact

You can also see whether the completion rate has actually increased or decreased, the length of time it takes for contacts to reach that goal, and you can browse all contacts to see who did and didn’t reach the objective. ActiveCampaign’s Message Variables is my favorite function. It conserves me a lot of time and effort, and neither MailChimp nor ConvertKit (upgrade: 9/2020 ConvertKit now has ” bits”) has a similar function.

Let’s state you have the first name of only a few of your contacts, which is the case with my list. I normally do not need a first name to register to my list, but often I get a first name, such as when someone buys a product. Wouldn’t it be good to welcome your contacts by name, in the events when you have it? You can do this, however it’s troublesome.

I’m likewise filtering for generic terms added by other systems, such as a dash, or “Guest.” If they have a very first name, I state “Hey,” and after that their very first name. If they don’t, I simply state “Hey there,” (Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact). By building a Message Variable in ActiveCampaign, I can quickly change my welcoming according to whether I have the contact’s given name.

Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact

I produced a variable that’s just %greeting-hey%. If I have the contact’s name, it appears in the e-mail. If I do not have the contact’s name, it defaults to “Hey,”. Where Message Variables really save me a great deal of time is by allowing me utilize the exact same automation over and over again for my webinars, and I can rapidly change out all of the details.

Here vary for a webinar I run called “Bust Through Creative Blocks.” You can see I have a bunch of different variables here, such as the date and time of the webinar, the rate of the item, deal terms, voucher code, and more. Each time I run a new webinar, I can alter each of these variables to match any schedule changes or offer changes.

And here it remains in an e-mail. This message variable allows me to easily alter out a countdown timer. I did discuss earlier that one of the cons of ActiveCampaign is their email modifying experience. I switched from MailChimp, and MailChimp occurs to have the very best e-mail modifying experience. I actually like to send basic e-mails.

Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact

I have actually discovered that really hard to do with ActiveCampaign. For some time, I was editing emails in ActiveCampaign’s hybrid editor, which is rather clunky. For a very long time, I utilized ActiveCampaign’s hybrid HTML and WYSIWYG editor, which was triggered by a fundamental design template I produced. The user interface for the HTML editor appears like it was pulled from some totally free open-source job. Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact.

However, adding images is a little bit of a task. You have to select them from a file internet browser. There’s no drag and drop alternative. ActiveCampaign’s HTML email editor requires that you compose completely in HTML. The option to this, if you desire to have control over the HTML, is to modify pure HTML, with a sneak peek on the side.

Adding images to ActiveCampaign’s rich full-screen editor is a cumbersome experience. You need different text boxes for above and below the image. Lately I have actually started utilizing ActiveCampaign’s rich text editor. They have some good design templates, however I still want to send the simplest e-mail possible. They do have some plain-looking e-mails, however they have some degree of minimal format, which you can’t remove – Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact.

Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact

However, with some adjustments, I can make my email quite fundamental. I can make it immediately take up the entire window, and I can fine-tune the typography to be somewhat bigger, and have a little bit more prominent. The most frustrating part of ActiveCampaign’s abundant text editor is including images. Imagine you have actually just typed out a fantastic e-mail. Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact.

You can’t just add an image to a block of text. Rather, you need to develop 2 blocks of text: one for before the image, and one for after the image. If you’ve made any formatting modifications, you’ll have to keep an eye on those to stay constant. That’s one thing to deal with when you want to include one image, but when you want to include a number of, it ends up being a huge chore.

They even have a basic mage editor where you can crop the image – Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact. MailChimp’s editor is the finest I have actually seen in all of the email marketing platforms I have actually tried. You have access to the underlying code, so you can create a genuinely plain e-mail, offered you make a fundamental design template first.

Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact

MailChimp’s integrated image editor is extremely powerful. You can resize, crop, and add customized text to your images. I miss out on MailChimp’s email-editing experience (Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact). It would save me a little time to have that exact same experience on ActiveCampaign. However the highly-customizable automations I can construct on ActiveCampaign more than offset that potential time cost savings.

ConvertKit’s email editing experience is very plain, however easy to browse. Their design templates are restricted, which is great with me, however their e-mail modifying experience is somewhat much easier because you can create inline images, and you can create a totally plain e-mail, and even edit the underlying HTML. If you wish to make some quick edits to some emails in an automation, with ActiveCampaign, it’s cumbersome.

I’ll click on an e-mail, and it takes me to the editor for that email. Keep in mind that I can’t even Command + Click to open it in another tab. Whether they meant to or not, ActiveCampaign has handicapped Command + Click from the automation editor. If I wanted to change back and forth in between numerous emails, I would intuitively be inclined open the exact same automation in numerous tabs, then open the particular emails from each of those tabs.

Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact

In the Automations area, there’s a “Manage Messages” location. From here, you can see all of the messages in each of your automations. You can edit every one, or you can Command + Click to open each in a new tab to more easily modify your whole sequence. Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact. Contrast that with ConvertKit’s Series.

Again, it would conserve me a lot of time to have ConvertKit’s automation e-mail editing experience on ActiveCampaign – Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact. However selecting an e-mail marketing platform resembles selecting a spouse. ActiveCampaign offsets it with their Message Variables, more robust automations, and advanced division. Mentioning division, another factor I changed from MailChimp to ActiveCampaign was that MailChimp has actually restricted segmentation options.

You can integrate attributes with an AND/OR operator, and you can mix and match those groups of traits with another AND/OR operator. With MailChimp, you can just segment by AND/OR, however MailChimp’s Pro plan permits more advanced segmenting, for an extra $199 a month. In my look for the best e-mail marketing platform, I saw lots of others, some of which I’ve already mentioned.

Active Campaign Vs Constant Contact

ConvertKit. If I weren’t on ActiveCampaign, I would most likely be utilizing ConvertKit. Their automations are much simpler to develop, though they aren’t as flexible as ActiveCampaign’s, and their divisions choices aren’t as advanced either. They likewise don’t have goal tracking, or Message Variables. MailChimp. You already know that I switched from MailChimp to ActiveCampaign.

Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact

You can also see whether the completion rate has actually increased or reduced, the length of time it takes for contacts to reach that goal, and you can search all contacts to see who did and didn’t reach the goal. ActiveCampaign’s Message Variables is my favorite function. It conserves me a load of time and effort, and neither MailChimp nor ConvertKit (upgrade: 9/2020 ConvertKit now has ” snippets”) has a similar function.

Let’s say you have the given name of only a few of your contacts, which is the case with my list. I usually don’t need a very first name to register to my list, however often I get a given name, such as when somebody purchases an item. Would not it be good to welcome your contacts by name, in the cases when you have it? You can do this, but it’s troublesome.

I’m also filtering for generic terms included by other systems, such as a dash, or “Guest.” If they have a first name, I say “Hey,” and then their given name. If they don’t, I simply say “Hey there,” (Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact). By building a Message Variable in ActiveCampaign, I can easily alter my greeting according to whether I have the contact’s first name.

Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact

I created a variable that’s simply %greeting-hey%. If I have the contact’s name, it appears in the e-mail. If I do not have the contact’s name, it defaults to “Hey,”. Where Message Variables actually save me a lot of time is by allowing me utilize the same automation over and over again for my webinars, and I can rapidly change out all of the details.

Here vary for a webinar I run called “Bust Through Creative Blocks.” You can see I have a bunch of various variables here, such as the date and time of the webinar, the rate of the item, offer terms, coupon code, and more. Each time I run a brand-new webinar, I can alter each of these variables to match any schedule changes or offer modifications.

And here it is in an e-mail. This message variable enables me to easily alter out a countdown timer. I did mention earlier that a person of the cons of ActiveCampaign is their e-mail modifying experience. I switched from MailChimp, and MailChimp takes place to have the very best email editing experience. I truly like to send easy emails.

Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact

I have actually found that really difficult to do with ActiveCampaign. For awhile, I was modifying emails in ActiveCampaign’s hybrid editor, which is quite cumbersome. For a long period of time, I used ActiveCampaign’s hybrid HTML and WYSIWYG editor, which was set off by a fundamental template I produced. The interface for the HTML editor looks like it was pulled from some totally free open-source project. Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact.

However, including images is a little bit of a chore. You have to pick them from a file browser. There’s no drag and drop option. ActiveCampaign’s HTML e-mail editor requires that you compose entirely in HTML. The alternative to this, if you want to have control over the HTML, is to modify pure HTML, with a sneak peek on the side.

Including images to ActiveCampaign’s rich full-screen editor is a cumbersome experience. You need separate text boxes for above and listed below the image. Lately I have begun using ActiveCampaign’s rich full-screen editor. They have some great design templates, but I still wish to send the plainest email possible. They do have some plain-looking emails, but they have some degree of minimal format, which you can’t get rid of – Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact.

Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact

However, with some adjustments, I can make my email quite fundamental. I can make it immediately take up the entire window, and I can modify the typography to be a little larger, and have a little more prominent. The most frustrating part of ActiveCampaign’s abundant text editor is adding images. Imagine you’ve simply typed out an excellent e-mail. Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact.

You can’t merely add an image to a block of text. Instead, you need to create two blocks of text: one for prior to the image, and one for after the image. If you have actually made any format changes, you’ll have to keep an eye on those to remain consistent. That’s one thing to handle when you wish to include one image, however when you wish to add several, it ends up being a huge chore.

They even have a fundamental mage editor where you can crop the image – Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact. MailChimp’s editor is the best I’ve seen in all of the email marketing platforms I’ve tried. You have access to the underlying code, so you can create a truly plain e-mail, offered you make a fundamental template initially.

Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact

MailChimp’s built-in image editor is extremely effective. You can resize, crop, and include custom-made text to your images. I miss out on MailChimp’s email-editing experience (Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact). It would save me a little time to have that very same experience on ActiveCampaign. However the highly-customizable automations I can construct on ActiveCampaign more than offset that prospective time savings.

ConvertKit’s e-mail modifying experience is very plain, however simple to browse. Their design templates are limited, which is fine with me, however their email modifying experience is slightly easier because you can produce inline images, and you can create a completely plain email, and even edit the underlying HTML. If you wish to make some quick edits to some e-mails in an automation, with ActiveCampaign, it’s cumbersome.

I’ll click on an e-mail, and it takes me to the editor for that e-mail. Keep in mind that I can’t even Command + Click to open it in another tab. Whether they suggested to or not, ActiveCampaign has disabled Command + Click from the automation editor. If I desired to switch back and forth in between various e-mails, I would intuitively be inclined open the very same automation in various tabs, then open the respective e-mails from each of those tabs.

Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact

In the Automations area, there’s a “Handle Messages” area. From here, you can see all of the messages in each of your automations. You can edit every one, or you can Command + Click to open each in a new tab to more easily edit your whole series. Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact. Contrast that with ConvertKit’s Series.

Once again, it would save me a lot of time to have ConvertKit’s automation email modifying experience on ActiveCampaign – Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact. However selecting an e-mail marketing platform is like picking a partner. ActiveCampaign offsets it with their Message Variables, more robust automations, and advanced segmentation. Mentioning division, another reason I switched from MailChimp to ActiveCampaign was that MailChimp has limited division choices.

You can integrate qualities with an AND/OR operator, and you can blend and match those groups of qualities with another AND/OR operator. With MailChimp, you can only sector by AND/OR, nevertheless MailChimp’s Pro plan enables more advanced segmenting, for an additional $199 a month. In my search for the perfect email marketing platform, I saw numerous others, a few of which I have actually already discussed.

Active Campaign Vs. Constant Contact

ConvertKit. If I weren’t on ActiveCampaign, I would probably be utilizing ConvertKit. Their automations are a lot easier to construct, though they aren’t as versatile as ActiveCampaign’s, and their segmentations options aren’t as advanced either. They likewise don’t have goal tracking, or Message Variables. MailChimp. You currently know that I changed from MailChimp to ActiveCampaign.