How to Move From Constant Contact to Benchmark Email (Without Losing Your Contacts or Your Designs)

Key Takeaways

• Only two things need to move: your contacts and your templates. Contacts travel as a CSV file, and templates come over by copying and pasting their HTML.
• Constant Contact has no one-click import. Plan on uploading contacts via CSV and spending a few minutes copying and pasting each template.
• Include the email permission status field in your export. It isn’t selected by default, and it’s how you’ll keep unsubscribed contacts off every send in Benchmark.
• Templates need a View as Webpage link to transfer. Copy the page source from that browser version and paste it into Benchmark’s custom HTML editor. You can rebuild emails without one in the drag-and-drop builder.
• Automations and past reports don’t transfer. Download any reports you want to keep before closing your Constant Contact account.
• Delete Constant Contact’s footer when you paste. Benchmark adds a compliant footer to every campaign automatically.
• You can send right away. A shared sending domain covers you while your own domain finishes verifying.
• Everything in this guide works on the Free plan, which covers up to 500 contacts and 2,500 emails a month.

 

Switching email platforms sounds like a project. You have years of contacts in Constant Contact, a few emails you’d happily send again, and no spare afternoon to rebuild any of it.

The move is smaller than it looks. Two things need to come with you: your contacts and your email templates, and both should travel light: contacts as a CSV file, templates copied and pasted. Everything else is a quick setup on the Benchmark Email side.

This guide covers what transfers, what doesn’t, the exact steps for each, and what to check before your first send.

What comes with you, and what doesn’t

Before you touch anything, it helps to know what you’re moving. Constant Contact lets you export your contacts as a CSV file, and you can open any email with a View as Webpage link in a browser and copy its HTML. That’s everything you need to move.

From Constant Contact	Moves to Benchmark?	How
Contacts (email, name, custom fields)	Yes	CSV export, then import
Emails with a View as Webpage link	Yes	Copy the page source, paste into the custom HTML editor
Emails without a View as Webpage link	No	Constant Contact doesn’t expose their code, so rebuild them in the drag-and-drop builder
Automations	No	The new Benchmark Email is built around campaigns rather than automated journeys
Past reports and engagement history	No	Download any reports you want to keep before you close your account

 

There is no one-click import from Constant Contact, so plan on a CSV upload for contacts and some copy-and-paste for templates. And if your Constant Contact account leans heavily on automated workflows, read the automations row twice before you move. Benchmark keeps email marketing simple on purpose, so it focuses on campaigns, segmentation, and reports rather than a workflow builder.

What you need: a Constant Contact login, a Benchmark Email account (the free plan works), and a lil’ treat for a job well done.

Step 1: Move your contacts

Start with contacts, because everything else depends on them. The whole process is one export and one import.

Export from Constant Contact

1. In Constant Contact, go to Contacts

2. Select the contacts you want to export. Check the box to select everyone, or filter by list, segment, or tag first

3. Click Actions, then Export selection

4. Choose the fields to include (email address, first name, last name, and any custom fields you use), then click Export

5. When the download pop-up appears, choose CSV. The file also stays on the Import and Export Activity page for seven days

One field worth adding before you click Export: the email permission status. It isn’t selected by default, and it shows who has unsubscribed. You’ll want that in a minute.

Import into Benchmark Email

1. In Benchmark, go to Contacts and select Import Contacts

2. Upload the CSV from Constant Contact

3. Match the columns (email, first name, last name, and any custom fields) to Benchmark contact fields. Benchmark detects most columns automatically, so this is usually a quick check rather than a chore

4. Choose which list the contacts should land in and add a tag if you want to remember where they came from (something like “from-constant-contact” works)

5. Review and confirm the import

6. Import your unsubscribed contacts separately, into a list of their own, and mark them as unsubscribed on upload

That last step matters. Benchmark then knows who opted out in Constant Contact and keeps them off every send, so nobody who unsubscribed hears from you by accident. Use the email permission status column to split your file into subscribed and unsubscribed before you upload.

If any rows get skipped, Benchmark gives you a downloadable file showing which ones and why, so you can fix them and re-import just those.

One tidy-up worth doing while you’re here: if you have several Constant Contact lists or segments, import them into one Benchmark list and use tags to tell them apart when you import your list. You can have up to 100 lists, but most accounts run more easily with fewer.

Step 2: Move your email templates

To move your email templates from Constant Contact to Benchmark, you’ll need to click the View as Webpage link. Open that version in a browser, and the HTML is right there.

So the first question for each email is: does it have a View as Webpage link? If yes, follow the steps below. If no, you have two options. Make a copy of the email in Constant Contact and add the View as Webpage link in a text block, or rebuild the email in Benchmark’s drag-and-drop builder.

Copy the HTML from Constant Contact

 

1. In Constant Contact, go to Campaigns

2. Click the name of the email you want to bring over, open the preview, and click the View as Webpage link

3.

On the browser page that opens, right-click an empty area and choose View Page Source, or press Ctrl+U (Windows) or Cmd+Option+U (Mac)

4. On the page of code that opens, press Ctrl+A (Windows) or Cmd+A (Mac) to select everything, then copy it

Paste it into Benchmark Email

1. In Benchmark, go to Emails and click Create Email
2. Choose Custom HTML as the design type
3. Select Start from Scratch and paste the code
4. Delete Constant Contact’s footer from the code, including its unsubscribe link and mailing address. Benchmark adds a compliant footer with your company name, address, and unsubscribe link to every campaign automatically, so you’d end up with two
5. Check your links. Some may route through Constant Contact’s click tracking, so swap in your original URLs and clicks will show up in your Benchmark email reports
6. Check the live preview in both desktop and mobile views
7. Click Send Test and open it on your phone
8. Click Save & Next to keep going, or Save & Exit to come back later

Repeat for each email you want to keep. Three or four is typical; most people find they only use a couple.

The pasted email should look the same as it did in Constant Contact, but always send that test. Custom code can render slightly differently from one inbox to the next, and two minutes of checking beats sending a correction email.

Don’t love your Constant Contact templates? Benchmark’s drag-and-drop builder includes ready-made templates for newsletters, product launches, and promotions, and rebuilding from a template usually takes less time than debugging old code.

Step 3: Set up for your first send

Moving your contacts and templates is the bulk of the work, but a few final touches are needed before you make a clean switch.

Verify your sending domain

Inbox providers want proof that Benchmark is allowed to send on your behalf. In Benchmark, that’s usually a single NS record: the platform detects your DNS provider and gives you instructions written for it. If your provider doesn’t allow NS records, we also support setting up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Not sure what any of that means? Our (human) support team will walk you through it over chat or phone.

You don’t have to wait on verification to send, either. Benchmark provides a shared sending domain so you can send your first campaign right away while your own domain finishes verifying.

Swap your sign-up forms

Any Constant Contact form on your website will keep feeding your old account. Build a replacement with Benchmark’s drag-and-drop form builder, connect it to the list you just imported, and paste the embed code wherever the old form lived. It works on WordPress, Shopify, Wix, or anything that accepts HTML.

Send something small first

Pick a campaign you’d send anyway and send it to the people who opened your last few Constant Contact emails, then everyone else. It’s a gentle way to start on a new platform, and the real-time activity feed lets you watch opens and clicks come in as they happen. If the numbers look like what you saw in Constant Contact, you’re done. Cancel the old account once you’re confident everything is in place.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my Constant Contact templates migrate automatically? 

No. For each email, open its View as Webpage version in a browser, copy the page source, and paste it into Benchmark’s custom HTML editor. It takes a couple of minutes per template.

Why can’t I copy the HTML from inside Constant Contact? 

Constant Contact doesn’t offer a way to copy or export email code from its editors, and copying an email built in its Custom Code editor converts it to the drag-and-drop editor. The View as Webpage link is the workaround. If an email doesn’t have one, rebuild it in Benchmark’s drag-and-drop builder.

Will my templates look identical? 

They should, but preview and send a test before you use one in a live campaign. Custom code can render differently across email clients.

Do I have to move contacts manually? 

CSV export and import is the standard method, and we recommend it. Benchmark also has a Zapier integration that can create and update contacts from other apps, which is handy for keeping new sign-ups in sync, but it isn’t a replacement for the initial import.

What file format does Constant Contact export? 

CSV or Excel. Pick CSV, which is what Benchmark’s import tool accepts.

Will I lose my unsubscribes? 

No. Import your unsubscribed contacts as their own list and mark them as unsubscribed on upload. Benchmark then keeps them off every send, so nobody who opted out in Constant Contact accidentally hears from you.

Do I need a paid plan to do any of this? 

No. Everything in this guide is on every plan, including Free: the custom HTML editor, contact import, sign-up forms, and domain authentication. Free covers up to 500 contacts and 2,500 emails a month, so plenty of accounts can move over and start sending without paying anything. Paid plans raise those limits, add list verification, and let you remove Benchmark branding. Live chat and phone support with real people is available 24/7 if you ever need help.

Ready to move? Create your free Benchmark Email account and start by importing your contacts. If you get stuck on any step, our support team is a chat or phone call away.