How to Extract Emails from a Constant Contact Export
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Export and import options vary by plan, permissions and product version. Check the platform’s current help documentation if a menu or format differs. Use only contact data you are authorized to process; an extracted address is not proof of marketing consent.
Why Extract from a Constant Contact Export?
Constant Contact stores subscriber data in contact lists. Each list contains email addresses along with subscriber details such as names, phone numbers, custom fields, subscription status, source tracking and engagement data. There are several reasons you might need just the email addresses from this data.
Migrating to another platform. When switching from Constant Contact to a different email marketing service, you may need a clean list of email addresses to import. Some platforms accept a simple email-only list more reliably than a multi-column CSV with Constant Contact-specific fields like source, membership status and activity dates.
Consolidating lists across tools. If you use Constant Contact alongside a CRM, a form builder, or another email tool, extracting email addresses from each and running them through a deduplication step produces a single list of unique contacts across all your systems.
Comparing lists. You may want to identify which addresses exist in your Constant Contact account but not in another system, or vice versa. Starting with email-only lists from each source makes comparison straightforward.
Cleaning up after years of use. Long-running Constant Contact accounts accumulate multiple contact lists, segments and inactive contacts. Exporting and extracting produces a single view of every email address the account contains.
How to Export from Constant Contact
Constant Contact provides a built-in export function for contacts.
- Log in to Constant Contact and go to Contacts.
- Select the contact list you want to export, or select All Contacts to export everything.
- Click Export (the option may appear under a menu or as a button depending on your interface version).
- Choose the columns you want to include. The email address column is always included.
- Constant Contact generates a CSV file and either downloads it directly or emails you a download link.
If you have multiple contact lists, you can export them individually or export all contacts at once. Exporting individually is useful if you want to track which list each address came from.
The exported CSV file includes columns for email address, first name, last name, phone numbers, company, job title, source, lists, and any custom fields you have configured. The exact columns depend on what data you have collected and which columns you selected during export.
How to Extract the Email Addresses
- Go to bulkemailextractor.com.
- Select "Text and files."
- Upload the CSV file (or files, if you exported multiple lists). Up to 25 MB per file, 100 MB per batch.
- Click "Extract emails."
- Review the results. Duplicates are removed automatically, so if an address appears in more than one exported list, it will appear only once in the output.
- Download as TXT for a plain list, CSV for a single-column spreadsheet, or CSV with sources to see which export file each address came from.
Working with the Results
Identify contacts across multiple lists
If you export each Constant Contact list separately and upload all the CSV files in a single extraction, downloading as CSV with sources shows which list file each address appeared in. This helps you see which contacts exist in multiple lists.
Separate active from inactive
Constant Contact's export may include contacts with different statuses: active, unsubscribed, bounced, suspended and removed. If you export with the status column included, you can review the original CSV to note which addresses are active before working with the extracted list. The extracted email-only list does not carry status information.
If you want only active subscribers, filter the CSV in a spreadsheet application to show only active contacts before uploading it for extraction.
Combine with other lists
Upload your Constant Contact export alongside exports from other tools (Mailchimp, HubSpot, a CRM, a spreadsheet of event sign-ups) in a single extraction. Email Extractor deduplicates across all uploaded files, producing a single list of unique addresses from every source.
Prepare for migration
Before importing into a new email platform, review the extracted list. Constant Contact marks contacts that have bounced or been suspended. Importing those addresses into a new platform will likely generate bounces again, which can harm your sender reputation on the new platform. Consider excluding bounced contacts unless you have a specific reason to retry them.
Things to Know
Column headers are not extracted
CSV column headers like "Email Address" or "First Name" are text, not email addresses, so they do not appear in the extracted results. You do not need to remove them before uploading.
Names and other fields are not preserved
Email Extractor outputs email addresses only. Subscriber names, phone numbers, company names, custom fields and engagement data from the Constant Contact export are not carried over. If you need those fields in your new platform, import the original Constant Contact CSV directly rather than the extracted list.
Multiple contact lists
If your Constant Contact account has multiple contact lists, you can either export each list separately (useful for tracking which list an address belongs to) or export all contacts at once (simpler, and Deduplication creates a combined list of unique email addresses. Download CSV with sources and compare the source names to find addresses shared by the exports. Confirm subscription or membership status in the original records; matching addresses alone do not establish a current active membership.
Unsubscribed contacts
Constant Contact's export can include contacts who have unsubscribed. Be careful not to re-subscribe these contacts on another platform. Honouring unsubscribe requests is required under CAN-SPAM, GDPR, CASL and other regulations. If your export includes unsubscribed contacts, filter them out before using the list for email campaigns.
