The basic library is included in all Constant Contact accounts.  It has space for up to five images and five pdf documents to be used in your emails.  The Library+ feature is an add-on ($5/month) and offers much more space for your images and documents as well as access to the stock image gallery.

When should you upgrade?  If your subscribers are unlikely to go back to old emails you have sent, and you don’t need many images in your newsletter, then the basic Library will probably do just fine.  However, if you have a very visual product or service to sell, and your newsletters are timeless, you may want to upgrade.

Using the Library+ is similar to using the basic Library.  From within your email, place your cursor where you want to put an image, click the “image” icon, and choose the image to use. Once you have selected the image, you can add a link to the image, adjust the size, and select whether the image will appear on the left or right side of the column.  The difference is that there are more images to choose from in the Library+.  Select the Stock Images tab to choose from hundreds of images, or use your own.  You can also organize images (your own as well as stock images you have moved to your Library+) into folders.

Uploading new images is also easy – simply click on the Library and click on the “upload new image” button, browse to the location on your computer where you store your images, and click on insert.

PDF documents are handled in a similar manner, except that you are uploading and inserting a document instead of an image.  A PDF document can be inserted in to your email as a link.  When a reader clicks on the link they are taken to the PDF document online.

If you are considering upgrading to the Library+ and want to discuss the options, contact me.