Constant Contact
Overview
Constant Contact is a long-running email marketing platform with strong segmentation and reporting. AFI subscribes form submissions to a Constant Contact list, applying any tags you map. Connection is via OAuth: register your own Constant Contact application in the V3 developer portal, paste the resulting API Key and API Secret into AFI (the labels AFI uses on its settings page), and click Authorize.
Supported actions
- Subscribe To List (Free + Pro); add the contact to one or more chosen lists, populate first name / last name / company / phone / address fields, and apply tags.
AFI Pro adds richer field mapping for Constant Contact; more sender-plugin field types (phone, date, dropdown, hidden, custom fields) are exposed in the mapping panel, and your Constant Contact custom contact fields surface alongside the standard ones.
Quick reference
| Need to… | Do this |
|---|---|
| Subscribe a contact to a list | Create integration → Sender plugin → Constant Contact → Subscribe To List → pick the target list from the dropdown. |
| Send to multiple lists | Multi-select list IDs in the Lists field, or create one integration per list with the same Conditional Logic. |
| Tag new subscribers | Map tag names (comma-separated) in the Tags field; tags are created in Constant Contact if they don’t exist. |
| Capture phone, address, custom fields | Map the corresponding fields under the Contact section. |
| Re-pull the lists/tags dropdown | Click the refresh icon next to the dropdown in AFI to re-fetch from Constant Contact. |
Heads up: Constant Contact requires you to register your own OAuth app under your CC account; AFI doesn’t ship with a shared client. The OAuth callback URI shown in AFI > Settings > Constant Contact must be pasted exactly into the Redirect URI list in your Constant Contact app. The full setup walkthrough (with screenshots) is below.
Authentication
First, you need to connect your Constant Contact account by authorizing it on the plugin’s settings page.
Go to AFI > Settings > General where you’ll see a list of all the supported platforms. Find Constant Contact, turn it on, and click the Save Changes button at the bottom.
You’ll see a Constant Contact tab at the top. Click on it and follow the steps to complete the authorization process.
- Go to Constant Contact Developer Portal.
- Create an application, insert a suitable name.
- Select Authorization Code Flow and Implicit Flow.
- Select Rotating Refresh Tokens and click Create.
- Click on Edit to go to the app page. Copy the URL and save it to the redirect URI input box and click save.
- Generate API secret, then copy both API key and secret key from the app and paste in the Constant Contact tab input box.
- Save the Application.
- Click Authorize and complete the process.
If you have done everything properly, the Status will show as Connected.
Create New Integration
After saving your credentials on the settings page, you can begin creating a new integration. Access the New Integration page by clicking on Add New under the AFI menu.
Title
A default title with an auto-incremental number will be generated. However, you can rename it to a name that relates to the specific task. This will enable you to promptly identify the correct integration, particularly when multiple integrations are in place.
Trigger
Choose the desired sender form from the Form Provider dropdown, such as Contact Form 7, Gravity Form, or Elementor Pro Form, that you wish to link. Once selected, all forms constructed under that provider will be retrieved and automatically displayed in the Form/Task Name dropdown. Proceed to select the form that you intend to integrate.
Action
From the Platform dropdown, opt for Constant Contact. For users of the Pro version of this plugin, an additional choice of Constant Contact [PRO] will be available, offering enhanced functionality such as sending tags and customized fields. Both options have been provided to cater to technical and compatibility requirements. For Pro plugin users, it is recommended to select Constant Contact [PRO], and then proceed to select the Subscribe To List option from the Task dropdown.
Map Fields
The available Contact List will be automatically populated in the dropdown list. Select the appropriate one. On the left side, you will find Constant Contacts fields, while the form fields dropdown for the selected trigger form will be displayed on the right. Map the necessary fields, such as Email, First Name, Last Name, and any other pertinent fields. Skip any fields that are not required. If utilizing the Pro version, custom fields and an additional field for adding tags will also be visible on the page.
Save Integration
Upon completing the necessary steps, click on the Save Integration button, and you are all set. You can now begin testing.
Troubleshooting
Upon establishing the integration, once users fill out and submit the form, the plugin will trigger the process of transmitting the data to the designated platform. Additionally, a log will be saved, documenting what data was sent and the response received from the platform. If you encounter issues with the integration, the first step would be to review the logs. Navigate to the [direction]AFI > Log[/direction] menu and check the most recent logs. Assess the response data from Constant Contact and attempt to rectify any issues. If the issue persists, attach the log and send an email to su*****@************************om.local for further assistance.
Common issues & fixes
Constant Contact issues are usually one of: OAuth not authorised, redirect URI mismatch, or 409 conflicts on subscribers that already exist. Work through these in order:
- Re-authorise. CC OAuth tokens expire and need refresh. In AFI > Settings > Constant Contact, click Reconnect and step through the consent flow.
- Match the Redirect URI exactly. Copy the redirect URI from AFI’s Constant Contact settings page and paste it as-is into your Constant Contact app’s allowed Redirect URI list. Trailing slashes and protocol (http vs https) matter.
- Confirm the API Key / API Secret pair. Both labelled in AFI as “API Key” and “API Secret”; both come from the same registered Constant Contact app. Mixing values from different apps causes auth failures.
- Update plugin to v1.126.9 or later if you’re seeing repeated 409 Conflict responses on resubscribes; the fix is in current versions.
Specific symptoms
- 401 / invalid_token. Reconnect via AFI Settings.
- redirect_uri_mismatch on authorise. The URI in your CC app doesn’t exactly match AFI’s. Copy-paste verbatim from AFI.
- 409 Conflict. Constant Contact rejected a resubscribe of a previously-unsubscribed contact; this is by design. Confirm the contact’s subscription status in CC before retrying.
- Lists/tags dropdown empty. Click the refresh icon next to the dropdown in AFI; if still empty, confirm the OAuth scope grants List read.
- Custom fields not appearing. Pro is required for full custom-field mapping; click refresh in the field dropdown after creating new custom fields in CC.
Notes & caveats
- Bring-your-own OAuth app. You register a Constant Contact app under your own CC developer account; AFI doesn’t bundle credentials.
- Token refresh. CC OAuth refresh tokens are long-lived but can be invalidated by password resets or admin revocation; reconnect from AFI if writes start failing with 401.
- Compliance fields. Constant Contact enforces opt-in semantics; subscribers added through AFI inherit the list’s default permission setting. Use a double-opt-in list if your jurisdiction requires it.