Constant Contact vs. Eventbrite

Constant Contact is an excellent tool for sending out flyers and newsletters. However, I feel the content's appearance is typically all the same. When I receive an email from Constant Contact, I can immediately identify it - the templates usually all look the same. When sending out communications with images, it is easy to use Constant Contact and link webpages. However, the email layout is always vertical and can get very lengthy. I prefer a more flip-book approach with options to flip the page.

Incentivized

We're a nonprofit organization so we have a very lean time, labor, and money so the super easy self-explanatory nature makes it easy for our team to admin an event. The simple UI [of Eventbrite] keeps our focus on the event and avoids any headache-inducing tech hurdles. There're just enough user roles to handle multi-staffer admin. A less appropriate situation is an event that is huge in complexity with a custom workflow and processing which Eventbrite's not built to handle in-house such as multi-step registration, multiple item and category all-select options during registration, multi-event type (not just physical or ticket but virtual goods tracking), more HootSuite-like social media refinery, etc.

Incentivized

• Market segmentation is great: my main segmentation is by region because that's how our sales team is divided.
• Lists: making customized email lists is easy and intuitive; the custom fields allow some flexibility in case our fields don't exactly line up with Constant Contact's.
• Campaigns: creating campaigns is quick and simple. I especially appreciate the 'resend to non-openers' option. I am constantly using this feature.
• Subject line generator: I like using the recommended subject lines. I'm able to plug in their recommended ideas, or sometimes, this feature helps me generate my own ideas.

• Event management--providing a detailed description of the event (date, time, place) plus details of the event (speakers, topic, sponsors, etc.)
• Registrations--provides enough details about people who register, and tools to manage those registrations (add people manually who didn't pre-register, cancel orders, check-in of attendees)
• Event promotion--events created using Eventbrite can be found by searching Eventbrite for local events

Incentivized

• It would be nice if we had more customizable options for emails - like moving around pictures and text boxes, rather than a set spot for everything to go.
• I would like it if multiple people could work on a document at one time. So if I'm in charge of graphics, I can get those updated while someone else is entering content, etc.

Incentivized

• I'd like to see Eventbrite add more customization to the event page layout. It would be nice to be able to differentiate our event through more specific design.
• I've had occasional problems with email formatting in the Eventbrite email builder. It would be nice to have a slightly more trustworthy builder.
• Other than those two things, I think Eventbrite does exactly what it needs to do.

Incentivized

There is no doubt that we are going to renew Constant Contact. We have not just invested a lot of time in learning and creating a great looking product but we have developed a strong database of information that allows us to track how we are doing for each newsletter. This supports our goals of creating products that residents desire and are excited to receive.

Excellent platform and easy to use to create events. Eventbrite sets the standard for simple, effective and safe ticketing platforms. Our customers trust Eventbrite and we've always done well when we use this platform for ticketing. They have recently updated some of the virtual connectivity tools which make it even easier to set up and promote virtual events.

Incentivized

There is always room for improvement. I don't know how they test their systems, but they should invite not-so computer savvy people to test it. If I, as an expert have problems, they need to think like the technophobe. Since I've used Constant Contact in the past as part of my former employment, I have not viewed any of the tutorials and just jumped in to work on my client's newsletter. With that said, I found some areas easy and some a bit cumbersome

Great platform with so many incredible features. It streamlines workflow, communication, messaging, and analyzing data. I know of no other platform that can do what Eventbrite can do for the price or user-friendliness. They also offer great support for new users and integrate well with other platforms (i.e., social media and Sched).

Incentivized

No major problems in sending out the email campaigns and accessing the analytics

Incentivized

The system seemed quite slow sometimes. Specifically, there was sometimes a delay in sends if it was during a high traffic period. There were time-outs when uploading new code for an email, and a lag in reporting analytics which was sometimes as long as 72 hours

I think the overall support for Constant Contact has always been incredible; I have nothing negative to say. Our customer support representative was attentive, easy to understand, and very knowledgeable. I never felt like I wasn't a priority of his and my issues, while very small, were fixed in a very short time frame.

I haven't yet needed to contact customer support, but the information provided next to the various features has been exceptionally helpful. This info is located just to the right of most options, and it provides answers to frequently asked questions. At this point, that information has been enough to keep me from having to contact anyone.

Incentivized

Implementation is very easy for someone who wants to send out the “batch and blast” type newsletters. If you want to use their templates with no customizations, the product works fine. However, the more customizations you get into involving link color, etc, that’s where things can get tricky for someone who may not be familiar with coding

Just jump in, don't over thinking it, doing it will net the very few basic questions you'll have. There's not much complexity so one doesn't need to plan as if moving a canal. It's as simple as can be.

Incentivized

Constant Contact is much more intuitive for people who are not tech-savvy. Also, while sendgrid offered more options in it's drag and drop interface, it displayed differently across different email clients, which made it very cumbersome to use. It also took much longer to upload contact lists and it was harder to manage existing contacts. Performance in sendgrid was much slower as well, and the Preview feature was quite buggy. Our team initially chose sendgrid because of the integration options that it's API offered, but we ultimately switched to Constant Contact because it was much easier to build campaigns and better suited our requirements.

My "go to" for event registration has always been Constant Contact because they don't charge additional processing fees above the standard transaction. If it's a more basic event where I just need to capture name, email, and payment, I'll continue to use Constant Contact over Eventbrite. However, if it's more complex and requires marketing, I would choose Eventbrite.

Incentivized

Very reliable in sending email campaigns and controlling the recipients so that no contact is sent the same email more than once, even if they are on a resent list

Incentivized

• I have had nothing but positive impacts from using Constant Contact.
• The church is large, and there are many subgroups and axillary groups within the church. Setting up specific groups based on responsibility, interest, member goals, and service needs allows me to send information quickly, saving valuable time for other tasks.
• Constant Contact allows leadership to stay personally engaged with the members I work with, without over-taxing my time. It feels so seamless.

Incentivized

• A dedicated URL for each event has been easy to use for tying events to editorial content, promotion and marketing.
• For ticketed events, it has been an easy -to-use system without requiring a lot of training on a complicated technology. It is also competitively priced for transaction management.
• Whether we have discovered any Eventbrite users via the Eventbrite site promotion, we appreciate it as a recommendation of our event for like-minded event attendees.

Incentivized