You keep your newsletter subscribers in an Excel sheet or in Outlook Contacts. Every unsubscribe, bounced address and new sign-up means editing that list by hand. MailList King is built to take that chore off you. It runs on your own Windows PC and handles the list for you.
Quick facts
- Platforms: Windows 11, 10, 8, 7 and Vista
- Price: the product is sold in three editions, priced at $99.50, $199.50 and $899.50 USD. The Personal Edition is the lowest-priced one at $99.50.
- Trial: a free evaluation version is available
- Vendor: Xequte Software
What MailList King does
It gives you the core of a mailing list server on your desktop. It reads the messages that arrive in your email software or mail server, such as subscribes, unsubscribes and undeliverable reports. It then sends back acknowledgments, confirmations and your own personalized messages. A step-by-step guide walks you through setup.
Key features
Subscribes, unsubscribes and bounces handled automatically
The program processes subscribe and unsubscribe messages, bounced message reports, read receipts and forms submitted from your web site. You don't add and remove people yourself.
Four ways to send your mailings
- A multi-threaded, multi-server SMTP engine
- A built-in internal SMTP server, so you don't need your ISP's mail server
- Integration with your email software
- Amazon Simple Email Service for bulk sending
Double opt-in and confirmations
You can require members to confirm their subscribe or unsubscribe requests. You can also send welcome messages and birthday messages.
Personalized HTML and plain-text messages
Messages can use the recipient's name, company, address, your own custom fields or conditional text. You can build them from HTML stationery and templates. You can also use messages created in Microsoft Word or an HTML editor. A plain text body is included for older email software.
Scheduled, staggered and campaign sending
You can send to everyone at once, in staggered batches that keep to your ISP's sending limits, or at a scheduled date. Campaigns deliver a series of messages with automatic cancelling and resending.
Import, export and Outlook sync
You can import and export contacts as text, CSV, Excel and Access files. You can also pull them from other databases through ADO or ODBC. The list can synchronize with Outlook Contacts.
Member history, tracking and address checks
Each member has a full history covering subscription activity, contact history and messages sent and received. Reports show group membership and activity. You can see who reads your mailings and how often. Address verification checks that the addresses in your list are valid.
Extras: discussion groups, SMS and mail merge
Discussion groups let members send to the list. You can deliver personalized SMS messages to mobile phones. You can also mail-merge letters and postal labels to a printer.
Who it's for
It suits you if you run a list for a web site, a product or an organization. It also suits you if you want the list stored on your own PC rather than on a hosted service. It is a good fit if you now manage subscribers by hand in Excel or Outlook Contacts. The database supports hundreds of thousands of group members.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Handles subscribes, unsubscribes and bounces automatically
- Works with Outlook, Gmail and direct mail servers
- A free evaluation lets you try it first
- One-time prices rather than a monthly fee
Cons
- Windows only, with no web or Mac version
- The lowest-priced edition costs $99.50, and the higher editions cost much more
- You manage the sending setup yourself, such as SMTP servers and ISP limits
FAQs
Do I need to be technical to use it?
No. A step-by-step guide helps you set it up in minutes.
Does it work with Gmail and Outlook?
Yes. It integrates with popular email software such as Outlook and Gmail. It can also connect directly to your mail servers.
Do I need my ISP's mail server to send?
No. It includes an internal SMTP server. You can also use its multi-server SMTP engine or Amazon Simple Email Service.
Can I try it before buying?
Yes. A free evaluation version is available.
Can subscribers confirm their sign-up?
Yes. Double opt-in is optional, and you can require confirmation for both subscribing and unsubscribing.
System requirements
MailList King runs on Windows 11, 10, 8, 7 and Vista.