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Constant Contact's Events feature is the one area where it genuinely outpaces Mailchimp and Klaviyo. Built-in registration pages, RSVP tracking, and attendee segmentation make it a real choice for local businesses, nonprofits, and event-led brands. Here's how to use it right.
Who this is forLocal businesses running classes/workshops, nonprofits hosting fundraisers/galas, restaurants doing tastings, churches running events, and any SMB where events drive a meaningful portion of revenue. If you're using Eventbrite or paid event tools and considering consolidating, this fixes the gap.
What you'll need
Step 1
Campaigns → Events → Create Event. Title, date/time, location, description, capacity.
Campaigns → Events → Create Event.
Title: clear and value-led. "Annual Charity Gala — Save the date" beats "Our Event."
Date/Time: confirm timezone. Constant Contact defaults to your account timezone but events with remote attendees need explicit TZ.
Location: physical address (use a real one, not just venue name) OR virtual (Zoom/Google Meet link).
Description: 2-3 paragraphs covering: what attendees will get, who should come, what to bring/prepare. Lead with attendee benefit, not event mechanics.
Capacity: set a real limit if seats are constrained. Helps with urgency messaging and prevents overbooking.
Tickets: choose free RSVP, paid ticket, or multiple tiers. Constant Contact supports up to 5 ticket types per event on Standard+.
Step 2
Events → Registration Page tab. Hero, description, registration form. Keep form to 3-4 fields max.
On the event → Registration Page tab.
Hero image: 1200x600px event-relevant photo or branded graphic. Compressed under 200KB.
Headline: same as event title or stronger value prop.
Form fields: First Name, Last Name, Email (required). Add Dietary Restrictions ONLY if relevant. Every extra field drops registration 5-10%.
Custom fields: add event-specific data (T-shirt size for races, donation amount for fundraisers, breakout session preference for conferences).
Confirmation page: configure post-registration experience. Default is a built-in 'Thanks for registering' page — customize with venue logistics, parking, what to bring.
Save and preview on desktop AND mobile.
Step 3
For paid events: Events → Tickets → Add ticket types. Standard, VIP, Early Bird, Member, etc.
On the event → Tickets tab.
For free events: leave the default "Free RSVP" ticket only.
For paid events: add up to 5 ticket types. Common structure: Early Bird ($X, expires 30 days before event), Standard ($X+25%), VIP ($X+100% with extras).
For nonprofits: add a "Donor ticket" tier with embedded donation. Use a "Member discount" tier with promo code.
Payment processing: Constant Contact integrates with Stripe and PayPal. Connect your processor in Account Settings.
Tax/fees: configure tax rate if applicable. Service fees can be passed to the attendee or absorbed.
Sales window: open and close dates per ticket type. Early Bird closes 30 days out; Standard closes 24 hours before event start.
Step 4
Build 4 campaigns: announcement, mid-promo, last-call, day-of. Target Newsletter list, exclude Inactive 180d.
Campaign 1 — Announcement (T-30 days): announce the event with hero image, key value prop, registration link. Target Newsletter list (filter Engaged 90d).
Campaign 2 — Mid-promo (T-14 days): social proof (past attendee quotes), agenda details, FAQ. Target same list, exclude anyone who already registered.
Campaign 3 — Last call (T-3 days): urgency — "Only X seats left." Target Engaged 30d + everyone who opened Campaign 2.
Campaign 4 — Day-of reminder (T-24 hours): venue, parking, what to bring, weather. Target REGISTERED attendees only.
Each campaign: link to the Constant Contact event registration page. Track clicks-to-registration as your conversion metric.
Schedule all 4 campaigns at once. Adjust based on event size + lead time (longer lead = more campaigns).
Step 5
Events → Reminders → set up 2-3 automated reminder emails to registered attendees.
On the event → Reminders tab.
Reminder 1 (T-7 days before event): "We're looking forward to seeing you next week." Include venue details, what to bring, ANY pre-work.
Reminder 2 (T-24 hours): "See you tomorrow!" Include parking, check-in process, contact for last-minute changes.
Reminder 3 (T-2 hours, virtual events only): "Event starts at 2pm — here's your join link."
These send AUTOMATICALLY to all registered attendees — no need to manually pull lists. Updates if registrations change.
For paid tickets: include the receipt + ticket QR code (Constant Contact auto-generates).
Step 6
Events → Follow-up → 2-3 emails. Thank attendees, send materials, ask for feedback, soft sell on next event.
Set up post-event follow-up in two places: tag attendees automatically + build an automation triggered by that tag.
On the event → Settings → Tag attendees with "attended:[event-name-2026]" on event date.
Build an automation: Trigger = tag added "attended:[event-name-2026]."
Email 1 (1 day after event): "Thanks for coming." Include event photos, slides/recording link (if applicable), highlight reel.
Email 2 (3 days after event): "Loved seeing you — would you share feedback?" Link to a Constant Contact survey (next tutorial).
Email 3 (7 days after event): "Save the date for our next [type] event" OR "Here's 10% off as a thank-you."
For no-shows: separate tag "registered-no-show:[event-name]" and a separate follow-up: "Sorry we missed you — here's the recording" (virtual) or "Catch the next one" (physical).
Step 7
Reports → Events → registration conversion, attendance rate, post-event survey response.
Reports → Events → click the event.
Track: registration conversion (registrations / promo email clicks), attendance rate (attended / registered), post-event survey response rate.
Healthy benchmarks: registration conversion 8-15% for free events / 2-5% for paid; attendance rate 60-80% for free / 80-95% for paid; survey response 15-30%.
Tag all registered attendees + actual attendees + no-shows with distinct tags. These become powerful segments for future event marketing.
After 30 days: re-engage attendees from THIS event for the NEXT event. Past attendees convert 3-5x better than cold list.
Common mistakes
Too many form fields on the registration page
What goes wrong: 5+ fields at registration drops conversion 30-50%. On a 1,000-person promo with 8% conversion, that's 40-80 fewer registrations. For paid events at $50/ticket, that's $2K-4K in lost revenue per event.
How to avoid: Capture Name + Email at registration. Capture dietary, T-shirt size, etc. via a follow-up email 2 weeks pre-event. Better data and higher conversion.
Single promo campaign instead of 4-campaign sequence
What goes wrong: Single send captures 30-40% of recoverable registrations. A 4-campaign sequence (announce + mid-promo + last-call + day-of) captures 80%+ — a 2x lift on the same list.
How to avoid: Build 4 promo campaigns at T-30, T-14, T-3, T-24h. Schedule them all at once. Exclude already-registered from later sends.
No reminders for registered attendees
What goes wrong: Without reminders, attendance rate drops to 40-50% for free events (people forget). Reminders lift attendance to 70-85%. On a 100-person event, that's 25-35 missed attendees — and for paid events, lost upsell + word-of-mouth revenue.
How to avoid: Events → Reminders tab → configure T-7, T-24h, T-2h (virtual) reminders. Auto-sends to registrants without manual work.
No post-event follow-up to attendees OR no-shows
What goes wrong: Post-event silence kills re-engagement. Attendees who got a follow-up + recap + soft next-event ask convert 3-5x better for the next event. Skipping follow-up means every event starts cold marketing again. Lost lifetime value: $50-200 per attendee for repeating events.
How to avoid: Build a post-event automation triggered by attendance tag. 3 emails over 7 days: thanks, feedback ask, next-event soft sell. Separate flow for no-shows.
Promoting only to your full Newsletter list (including 180-day inactives)
What goes wrong: Sending event promo to 180-day inactives spikes complaint rate (they don't remember signing up). Deliverability damage across the whole list. Registration conversion stays low because inactives don't engage.
How to avoid: Promote events to Engaged 90d segment. Exclude Inactive 180d. Run inactives through re-engagement automation separately.
Not tagging registered vs attended separately
What goes wrong: Operator can't tell who actually showed up vs who only registered. Future event targeting includes no-shows in 'past attendees' campaigns, diluting conversion. Loyalty programs built on attendance miss the mark.
How to avoid: Tag attendees with "attended:[event-name]" on the event date. Tag no-shows with "registered-no-show:[event-name]". Two separate tags enables separate follow-up flows + accurate future targeting.
Recap
Done — what's next
How to set up a Constant Contact account from scratch (sender verification, auth, compliance)
Read the next tutorial
Hand it off
Events done right are a flywheel — past attendees convert 3-5x better on the next event. A specialist who's run 30+ events will set up registration, ticket tiers, promo campaigns, reminders, and post-event follow-up in 6-10 hours per event. Typical engagement is $500-1,000 per event at $14-16/hr.
See specialist rates
Constant Contact Events for free/paid events under 200 attendees where you already manage email in Constant Contact. Tighter integration with your list + email follow-up. Eventbrite for larger events (500+), public discovery (Eventbrite has its own audience), complex ticketing (assigned seats), or when you don't want to manage email in the same tool.
Yes — Standard plan and above. Integrates with Stripe and PayPal. Constant Contact charges 0% platform fees (you pay processor fees only — typically 2.9% + $0.30 via Stripe). That's competitive with Eventbrite (which charges 3.5% + $1.59 service fee on top).
Yes — set the capacity limit and Constant Contact auto-creates a waitlist once full. Waitlisted attendees get an automatic email when a spot opens. Useful for free events with high demand or premium ticket tiers.
Manually only — paste the Zoom join link into the event description + the T-2h reminder. There's no native Zoom integration that auto-creates meetings or captures attendance in Zoom back to Constant Contact. For automated Zoom integration, use Zapier as a bridge.
Events → click the event → Attendees tab → Export. CSV with all registered attendees + custom fields. Use for: name badges, dietary lists, check-in sheets, post-event marketing imports to other tools.
Yes — Standard+ supports multi-ticket cart. A single registrant can buy 2 VIP + 3 Standard tickets in one transaction. Each individual gets their own ticket + reminder emails. Good for group registrations and family sign-ups.
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