How to improve gain of class A amplifier
In order to look at the output levels, ignore the coupling capacitor and consider what happens when the transistor goes from full on to full off. In the first circuit, full on will ground the load. Full off will allow a load voltage of (4/104) x 12, since the load will form a voltage divider with the load. This is about 0.46 volts AC. Now try the second. With the transistor on, output and the emitter resistor are in parallel, with an effective resistance of (4 x 100)/(4 + 100) or 3.846. This gives an output voltage of .02094 volts. With the transistor off, output voltage is .02178. So the most the second circuit can possibly put out is .84 mV AC.

So your underlying problem is simply that your 2.2k collector resistor allows so little current into the load that the load power never gets very large.