October 19

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6+ Best List Building Software You Need to Have

By Hanson Cheng

October 19, 2022


  • minute read

It’s no secret that without a proper email list, no business can hope to succeed in its digital marketing efforts.

You need to use the best list building software available for curating a suitable email list. List building tools can enable your business to capture leads, make sales, and boost the bottom line. Without using these types of tools, gathering lead data can become tough.

But as usual, there is a wide range of list building tools available in the market. This means it can get confusing as to which one is best suited for your business. That’s why today I’m going to provide you with a list of the best email list building software available for use. I’ve tried to include all possible variants in the list so that you can make a suitable choice.

Let’s get started then.

What Is List Building Software?

Setting up a stunning website and getting visitors is only half the battle won. A majority of the traffic that your site gets soon joins the list of no-returns. These are potential customers that you lose forever. Thankfully, email list building software provides you a way to keep track of these visitors.

Put simply, list building software is a tool that allows you to capture email addresses from visitors to your website. Using these email capture tools, business owners can quickly grow their lead lists and reach out to a broad audience.

The best email capturing software provides a complete set of facilities that helps streamline your sales funnels. As a result, you can interact and engage with a large prospect base and increase the chances of getting suitable conversions. In fact, there are a large number of sales funnel builders that you can use together with list building tools.

What Is The Best List Building Software?

As I’ve already mentioned, there are many email list building tools in the market. This post will attempt to list the best email list building software that your business can use. It’s true that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to this problem, and the software you need depends on your business model and requirements.

With that in mind, I’ll be listing short overviews of six of the best email capture tools available. Along with that, I’ll focus on the significant features of each and also mention the pricing plans. I’ll cover the following tools in today’s post:

  • Thrive Leads
  • OptinMonster
  • Active Campaign
  • ConvertKit
  • Interact
  • Thrive Quiz Builder

So, let’s dive in without delaying any longer.

Overview

Thrive Leads is an email list building software that’s available as a WordPress plugin. Using it, you can persuade your website visitors to leave their email addresses on your site. The tool handles all technicalities needed to collect emails and add them to your lead list. Then you can follow up with them later and try to convert them into paying customers. 

It provides you with multiple opt-in form types, along with a drag-and-drop editor for easy customization. As a result, you don’t have to know any coding to get up and running with this software. The tool also contains a vast collection of templates that focus on conversion optimization. Using Thrive Leads, you stand to grow your business in leaps and bounds.

TOP FEATURES

  • Multiple opt-in form types that optimize conversions
  • Advanced A/B testing engine
  • Easy to use interface
  • Actionable reporting and insights
  • SmartLinks & SmartExit for boosting conversions
  • Pre-designed, eye-catching, responsive templates
  • Targeted form placement
  • Complete support for mobile-specific opt-in forms
  • Cross-browser compatibility

In short, as far as email list building tools go, Thrive Leads certainly covers all bases. Its forms are easy to design as well as deploy. Simultaneously, using its precision placement feature, you can place the opt-in form wherever you want on your webpage. It’s the one tool that covers all aspects of email list building.

Pricing

Thrive Leads pricing plans are tiered based on the number of licenses you buy. 1 license costs $67, 5 licenses cost $97, and 15 licenses cost $147. With every license, you get access to the full feature set, along with unlimited updates, for one year. 

In case you’re opting for the whole Thrive plugin pack, you can become a member at $19 per month. If you’re not satisfied with the results after using the product, you can get a full refund within the first 30-days.

Bottom Line

Thrive Leads can be the best email capturing software for small to medium online businesses that use WordPress websites.

Overview

The next list building tool that I have for you is OptinMonster, an extremely versatile software that integrates easily with multiple website platforms. Using it, your business can quickly grow its email lists, generate better leads, and achieve greater conversions.

OptinMonster’s intelligent targeting features allow you to target visitors and reach out to them on a personal level. Using multiple triggers and form types, this tool lets you take advantage of codeless opt-in form creation and management. So, you can capture visitors and gather email leads without any worry or hassle.

TOP FEATURES

  • Easy-to-use drag and drop form builder focused on conversion optimization
  • Multiple campaign types for maximum engagement
  • Visitor behavior based smart triggers
  • Seamless integration with a wide range of digital marketing tools
  • Mobile friendly optimizations
  • Precision targeting based on device, site, page, and even location
  • Ad-block detection feature
  • Real-time behavior automation
  • A/B testing facilities
  • Comprehensive conversion analytics

OptinMonster occupies a prime position in the list of best email capture tools due to the above features. Its easy-to-use features such as gamified wheels and geolocation targeting offer maximum flexibility. No wonder then that OptinMonster powers over a million websites the world over and helps in capturing customer data.

Pricing

OptinMonster pricing plans are divided into four tiers. The Basic plan is billed annually at $9 per month, while the Plus plan comes at $19 per month. I recommend you opt for the most popular Pro plan at $29 per month. 

And in case your business is scaling up, then the Growth plan at $49 per month is the best option. If you’re not satisfied with the product, you can also get a 100% refund within 14-days. So, your investment is protected whether you like the product or not.

Bottom Line

For all small and online businesses looking to scale up fast, OptinMonster provides a highly affordable solution to the lead capture problem.

Overview

ActiveCampaign is one of the few list building tools that go beyond just email. The platform provides facilities for complete customer experience automation and management. Its features span email marketing as well as CRM tools that can help with comprehensive marketing automation. 

The platform provides access to over 300 business platforms, such as Salesforce, WordPress, and Shopify. The focus of this tool lies in giving you back your time through effective process automation. However, that’s not the only respect where it shines, as I’ve explained below.

TOP FEATURES

  • Support for multiple languages
  • Focus on providing an effortless customer experience
  • Provisions for email list segmentation
  • Dynamic and predictive content capabilities
  • Ability to conduct A/B testing based campaigns
  • Affordable pricing plans
  • Easy implementation and migration
  • Free online training and support
  • Sales automation capabilities
  • Provisions for advanced reporting
  • Precise site activity tracking

Apart from the above, this email list building software provides access to a wide range of pre-built automation “recipes”. These can integrate with software tools used in multiple industries. In a nutshell, ActiveCampaign empowers your business with omnichannel marketing capabilities.

Pricing

Coming to ActiveCampaign pricing, the platform offers a simple four-tier plan starting with the Lite plan at $9 per month. If you’re looking to upgrade, you can opt for either the Plus and Professional plans starting at $49 and $129 per month, respectively. For larger enterprises, there’s the Enterprise plan beginning from $229 per month. All plans are billed yearly.

Bottom Line

ActiveCampaign is one of the few tools that go over and above standard email capturing software and is ideal for digital, B2B as well as eCommerce businesses of all sizes.

Overview

ConvertKit is an email marketing and list building software that focuses on giving content creators complete freedom. Its powerful yet simple visual automation builder helps you create targeted forms and landing pages for collecting email addresses and growing your email lists. 

This way, you always have enough leads in the pipeline for your sales team to work with. CovertKit effectively competes with other email marketing tools and lets your business gather actionable customer data. For a better idea, please read this Clickfunnels vs. ConvertKit comparison.

TOP FEATURES

  • Email marketing for building audience relationships
  • Free landing page creator
  • eCommerce integration
  • Professional email designer tool
  • Email sign-up forms and automation
  • Creator Pro features
  • Free platform migration facilities
  • Live weekly trainings
  • An interactive community of creators
  • Flexible pricing based on the number of subscribers

On top of the above, ConvertKit also provides your business with capabilities for advanced analytics and ROI tracking, creation of drip campaigns, and even customer segmentation. All these features let you monetize your email lists effectively and without hassle.

Pricing

As far as ConvertKit pricing plans are concerned, I’ve already mentioned that the tool offers plans based on the number of subscribers. The Free plan offers a zero cost per month plan for up to 1000 subscribers. You can opt for the creator plan at $29 per month or the Creator Pro plan at $59 per month for more features. And if you’re opting to pay yearly, you get two months of service for free.

Bottom Line

ConvertKit is best suited for independent content creators such as bloggers and freelancers who’d like to grow their subscriber bases exponentially in a short time span.

Overview

Often, just asking your visitors for their emails might appear as too blunt an approach. That’s why it’s best to offer them something in return. Interact Quiz Maker is an email list building software that’s meant to do just that.

The tool allows you to create interactive quizzes for capturing lead data. This way, not only do you get to grow your email list but also get help with audience segmentation. Since its inception in 2013, the service has helped collect over eight million leads.

TOP FEATURES

  • Capability to create personality, assessment, and scored quizzes
  • Over eight hundred quiz templates to select from
  • Extremely customizable
  • Complete control over colors and styles
  • Ability to add branching logic to quizzes
  • Codeless, drag-and-drop builder
  • Multiple question types, such as Image Questions
  • Conversion focused, customizable opt-in forms
  • Fully integrable with major email marketing systems
  • Fully GDPR compliant and registered with Privacy Shield Framework
  • Conversion tracking across Facebook and Google
  • Detailed analytics features
  • Fully responsive for cross-device compatibility

Interact provides detailed analytics facilities on all quiz performances in the form of a visual funnel. This email capture tool even has survey style analytics that allow you to see results individually. This way, you can get detailed insights into how users interact with your quizzes and segregate them.

Pricing

Interact pricing plans are spread across four levels, the lowest being the forever Free plan at $0 per month. Up next, you have the Lite, Growth, and Pro plans at $29, $89, and $209 per month. In case you’re paying annually, you get the benefit of saving 40% over monthly payments. All paid plans come with a 14-day free trial.

Bottom Line

If you’re looking for an email capturing software that provides value to all customers while collecting emails, Interact is the one for you.

Overview

I started the list with a Thrive product, so it’s only natural that I end with one too. This time, I have the Thrive Quiz Builder WordPress plugin for you. This is one of the few list building tools that ensure complete engagement.

Using this plugin, you have the power to create professional and stunning quizzes in a matter of minutes. And you get all this and more in a simple, codeless, drag-and-drop interface that’s usable by anyone.

TOP FEATURES

  • Easy-to-use and straightforward drag-and-drop interface
  • Ability to build quizzes with zero coding experience
  • Create branching logic based on questions answered
  • Provision for creating text as well as image-based questions
  • Highly shareable badge creation tool
  • Detailed user insights and analytics
  • Easy audience segmentation based on quiz answers and interests
  • Options for providing dynamic content according to user preferences
  • A/B testing options for email lead capture opt-in forms
  • Multiple quiz types
  • Ready to use quiz templates

Thrive Quiz Builder also provides options for assigning weights to questions and creating opt-in gates. Further, all quizzes created using this email capturing software are entirely mobile-friendly. And you can control all this from the comfort of the Quiz Dashboard, which allows you to keep watch on all quizzes and related stats.

Pricing

Thrive Quiz Builder pricing is straightforward: you can buy one or five licenses for $67 or $97, respectively. You can install the plugin on one or five websites at the same time. You’ll also get one year of unlimited support and even a 30-days money-back guarantee. However, if you decide to become a Thrive member for $19 per month paid annually, you get access to 25 licenses.

Bottom Line

As far as email collection tools go, Thrive Quiz Builder provides a simple, intuitive, and highly engaging method to capture lead data for all sizes of online businesses.

Top Features Of List Building Software

The following are some top features to look for when choosing the right list building software for your business.

Ease Of Use

The best email list building tool will be easy to use, even if you don't have coding skills. With a drag and drop editor, anyone can create beautiful sign up forms and landing pages. And with a similar drag and drop builder, you can quickly create custom contact forms without coding skills.

A/B Testing

With A/B testing, you can test different versions of your sign up forms and landing pages to see which performs better.

This is a great way to improve your conversion rate and get more leads.

Detailed Analytics

You can see how many people have visited your landing pages and completed the sign up forms using detailed analytics. You can also see reports such as generated leads-per-click, conversion rate, and more.

Segmentation

With segmentation, you can target specific groups of people with your marketing campaigns.

Using the right pop ups along with a drag and drop interface, you can easily segment your list and send targeted messages to different groups.

Integrations

From integrations with exit intent pop ups to make use of the right contact details and help you capture leads, to connecting with other marketing tools like web page builders, the best list building software will have you covered.

List Import/Export

You should be able to import and export your list of email subscribers easily.

This way, you can keep your list in one place and use it with other marketing tools like sign up forms, email marketing platforms, and more.

Mailing List Management

The best mailing list management tools will help you collect contact details, create sign up forms, and capture email addresses.

With these tools, you can easily manage your list of email subscribers and keep track of their contact information.

Autoresponders

Autoresponders are a great way to follow up with your leads.

With autoresponders, you can send automatic emails to your leads after they sign up for your list.

And with advanced features like automation and triggered messages, you can take your autoresponder game to the next level.

Lead Capture Forms

Lead capture forms are an essential part of any list building strategy.

You can collect email addresses, opt-in forms, contact information, and lead capture forms.

And with the right opt-in form, you can increase your conversion rate and get more leads.

Landing Pages

Landing pages are a great way to generate leads and get people to sign up for your list.

With the right slide-ins, popups, and lead capture forms, you can quickly create high-converting landing pages that will help you grow your list.

List Building Software - FAQ

What Are The Biggest Email List Building Efforts Leverages You Can Take Advantage Of?

There are many list building strategies that you can use to grow your email list. Some of the most effective include creating specific landing pages with lead capture forms, using pop-ups or exit intent forms on key pages of your website, and offering incentives like ebooks or white papers in exchange for contact information. You can quickly build up a large and engaged email list by taking advantage of these efforts.

What Is An Inline Form Inline Forms And What Are Its Advantages As A Lead Generation Tool?

An inline form is a type of lead generation tool that allows you to embed a form directly into your website's content. This can be advantageous because it allows you to capture leads without interrupting the user's experience on your site. Additionally, using an inline form and email marketing services can help you nurture leads and convert them into customers.

Does Having Interactive Content Help Get People On Your List?

There's no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the best software for you will largely depend on your specific needs and goals. However, interactive content (such as sign-up widgets offered by email marketing platforms) can be a great way to get people on your list. By providing valuable content that users want to engage with, you can encourage them to sign up and become subscribers.

Once you have a large enough list, you can start using it as a powerful tool for marketing, sales, and other business operations. Many different software options can help with list building, so be sure to research and compare various solutions before settling on one.

Wrapping Up

With that, I come to the end of my selection of the best list building software. Using these tools, any online business can create stunning and intuitive opt-in forms for capturing email data.

Naturally, not all the above tools are similar in terms of features and pricing. To understand which email list building software is more suited for you, I recommend focusing on your website structure and current email list status. It is also important to analyze customer behavior to understand what kind of opt-in form they are more likely to engage with.

Whichever one you choose to go with, remember to A/B test multiple aspects before settling on the final opt-in structure. This way, you can ensure that your business gets the exact leads and conversions it deserves.

Last Updated on October 19, 2022 by Hanson Cheng

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Hanson Cheng

About the author

Living in Bali with my Fiancee and puppy, (Alina and Pickles).
Scaling online businesses and sharing lessons learned on this website and in our email newsletter.

Always happy to hear from you, so find me on Instagram if you want to say hi!

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