Email staging

How the staging process works and how it affects your email campaign send times while in list review

Constant Contact's overall email delivery rates can be hurt if your emails receive high bounce rates or spam complaints. That's why we sometimes use "staging" as part of our list review process. It allows us to test, or keep an eye on, your list's performance before we let the entire mailing go out.

Not everyone who has a list review will be staged, but new or larger lists that are being emailed for the first time are likely to go through the process.

• What happens during staging?
• How long does it take?
• What will the result be?

What happens in staging?

When your list is being staged, Constant Contact releases small portions of your mailing at a time and then watches the resulting bounce rate and spam complaints. By letting these emails go out slowly and following the tracking statistics, we can prevent or handle the damaging effects of mailings that produce high bounce rates or spam complaints.

How long does it take?

A staged email is generally sent to your contact list within 24-48 hours, depending on the email's results. There are times, however, when this process may take longer. The decision to release all of your email communication is up to the Constant Contact Compliance Team.

What will the result be?

Depending on how the staging goes, the results for your email may be one of three things:

• Performance is good - If your email's spam complaints and bounce rates are within Constant Contact's guidelines, Constant Contact generally releases the email to everyone on your list within 24 to 48 hours.
• Performance is borderline - If your email receives higher than normal spam complaints or bounce rates, Constant Contact may choose to continue letting out the email incrementally. Oftentimes, this may take longer than the normal 24-48 hours. The total time required to release the entire email depends on how many complaints you received and the size of your contact list. When this email finishes sending completely, you may be asked to call a Constant Contact Support Representative. They'll review your list and give you suggestions to reduce complaints and improve performance.
• Performance is unacceptable - If your email receives an unacceptable amount of spam complaints or bounces, Constant Contact may end the staging and stop the mailing altogether. If this happens, you're informed via email. You'll also be asked to call an account review team member to discuss any actions that need to be taken. If the situation warrants it, the Compliance Team may also cancel an account outright.

Questions?