Link to a document in your email

Share a document that you've uploaded to your Library with your contacts via an email text link, button, or clickable image

If you've uploaded a document to your Library, you can easily link to it within your email. You can either create a text link, button, or clickable image to best fit your template design. Accepted document types that can be hosted in your Library include Word documents (.docx), Excel spreadsheets (.xlsx), PowerPoint presentations (.ppt), and PDFs. Keep in mind that edits cannot be made to the document after it’s been uploaded to your Library.

• Information regarding linking versus attaching
• Create a text link
• Create a button
• Create a clickable image

Did you know? Your document doesn't have to be uploaded to your Library to link to it from an email. You can host the document on your own website or on a third-party service such as Google Drive or Dropbox. Simply copy the URL from whichever source you chose and then insert it into your email as a text link or button. For example, you can link to a shared Google Document or Sheet, or link to a Dropbox file.

Information regarding linking versus attaching

When sending an email to a co-worker or friend and you'd like to include a document, you normally add it to the email as an attachment. So you may be wondering why including documents in your Constant Contact email doesn't follow the same process.

Hosting your document online, either within your Library or on your website or third-party service, and then linking to it from within your email, is beneficial in the following ways:

• Improved deliverability - Attaching documents to your email can trigger spam filters, which will impact your deliverability. Additionally, we do not recommend using an image of the PDF as your entire email, as this can cause your email to be caught in spam filters.
• Access to tracking information - By linking to the document, you can review your click reporting and see how many contacts have viewed the document.

Create a text link

Creating a text link is most effective when the document you want to link to is not the primary call-to-action in your email.

1. Highlight the text you want to link your document to, then click the link icon and select Document from the drop-down. 
   Note: If your document is hosted on your website, copy the document's URL and select Web Page instead to insert the link.
   
   
    
2. (Optional) Edit the text you want to display as the link.
3. Select a document from your Library. If you haven't uploaded your document yet, click Upload New Document to add it to your Library.
   Note: If you have a large number of documents and you're having trouble finding the one you're looking for, use the search bar to filter by document name or click "Uploaded" to sort your documents by upload date.
4. Click Insert.
   
   
    

Create a button

If the document is the most important part of the email, and you want your readers to access it, use a call-to-action button to make it stand out. 

1. ​If there isn't already one, insert a Button block into your template.
2. Click on the button to open the panel on the left. Click the link icon and select Document from the drop-down.
   Note: If your document is hosted on your website, copy the document's URL, and select Web Page instead to insert the link.
   
    
    
3. Edit the text you want to display on the button.
4. Select a document from your Library. If you haven't uploaded your document yet, click Upload New Document to add it to your Library.
   Note: If you have a large number of documents and you're having trouble finding the one you're looking for, use the search bar to filter by document name or click "Uploaded" to sort your documents by upload date.
5. Click Insert.
   
   

Create a clickable image

Image links aren't as obvious that they're clickable as text links or buttons. When using image links of documents, adding a caption that says "Click to enlarge" can be a helpful cue for your readers.
 

Time saver: When you upload a PDF to your Library, a thumbnail image of the first page is automatically created at the same time! This saves you the steps of creating a screenshot of your document and uploading it to your Library. If your document is multi-page and you want to insert a linked thumbnail of each page, then you'll need to upload each page of the document separately to your Library.

If you don't want to use the first page as the clickable thumbnail, you can take a screenshot of a different page in your document to use instead. Once you have the screenshot, use an image editing program, such as MS Paint (Windows) or Preview (Mac), to prepare your image for uploading to the Library. When you're ready, upload both the document and the thumbnail to the Library.
 

1. Click the Images tab.
2. Drag your thumbnail image into your template. Use the guideline to help you find the right placement.
   
   
    
3. Click on the image to open the panel on the left, then click the link icon and select Document from the drop-down.
   
   
    
4. Select a document from your Library. If you haven't uploaded your document yet, click Upload New Document to add it to your Library.
   Note: If you have a large number of documents and you're having trouble finding the one you're looking for, use the search bar to filter by document name or click "Uploaded" to sort your documents by upload date.
5. Click Insert. 
   
   
    

Any links we provide from non-Constant Contact sites or information about non-Constant Contact products or services are provided as a courtesy and should not be construed as an endorsement by Constant Contact.

Questions?