How to Use Advanced Lead Generation Techniques in Thrive Architect

In this article, you’ll learn how to use advanced techniques with the Lead Generation element in Thrive Architect. These techniques go beyond basic form setup and cover tagging, automation, multi-step opt-ins, third-party form integration, and more.

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Each section below covers a specific advanced technique with step-by-step instructions you can apply to your existing Lead Generation forms.

Answer-Based Tagging

Answer-based tagging lets you automatically assign tags to subscribers in your email service based on the answers they select in your form fields. This is powerful for segmenting your audience based on their interests, preferences, or needs.

How It Works

When a visitor selects a specific option in a Dropdown, Radio, or Checkbox field, the corresponding tag is sent to your email service along with the form submission. You can then use these tags to trigger automations, send targeted emails, or segment your lists.

Setup Steps

1. Select the Lead Generation element on the canvas.
2. Make sure you have an API Connection configured to your email service.
3. Add a Dropdown, Radio, or Checkbox field to your form.
4. Click the settings icon next to the field.
5. Click Manage Options to open the options editor.
6. For each option, set the Value to match a tag name in your email service.
7. Under Field mapping, map the field to the tag or custom field in your email service.

Tip: Create the tags in your email service first, then match the option values in your form exactly. Some services are case-sensitive, so ensure the tag names match precisely.

Sending Responses as Tags

While answer-based tagging works with predefined options, you can also send free-text form responses as tags to your email service. This allows you to dynamically create tags based on whatever the visitor types into the form.

Setup Steps

1. Select the Lead Generation element.
2. Open the API Connection settings for your connected email service.
3. Locate the field mapping section.
4. Map your text or custom field to the Tags field in your email service.
5. When a visitor submits the form, whatever they entered in that field will be sent as a tag.

Important: Not all email services support dynamic tag creation from form submissions. Check your email service’s documentation to confirm that new tags can be created automatically via their API.

Smart Complete

Smart Complete is a feature that automatically pre-fills form fields for returning visitors who have previously submitted a form on your site. This reduces friction and improves conversion rates by eliminating the need for visitors to re-enter information they have already provided.

How to Enable Smart Complete

1. Select the Lead Generation element on the canvas.
2. In the left sidebar, look for the Smart Complete option.
3. Toggle Smart Complete to On.
4. Save your page.

How It Works

When Smart Complete is enabled, Thrive Architect stores a cookie on the visitor’s browser after their first form submission. On subsequent visits, any Lead Generation form with Smart Complete enabled will automatically populate matching fields (name, email, phone, etc.) using the stored data.

Note: Smart Complete relies on browser cookies. If the visitor clears their cookies or uses a different browser, the form fields will not be pre-filled.

Lead Details in Notification Email

By default, when a form is submitted, the site administrator receives a notification email. You can customize this notification to include all the details the visitor entered in the form.

Setup Steps

1. Select the Lead Generation element.
2. Open the form’s connection or after-submission settings.
3. Enable the Send notification email option (if available).
4. In the notification email configuration, enable Include lead details.
5. The notification email will now contain all form field values submitted by the visitor.

This is especially useful for forms that collect detailed information (e.g., application forms, inquiry forms) where you need to review each submission manually.

Tip: You can customize the notification email recipient address so that form submissions are sent to a specific team member or department rather than the default WordPress admin email.

Google Drive Folder URL for File Uploads

When using the File Upload field, you can configure uploaded files to be stored in a Google Drive folder instead of (or in addition to) your WordPress server.

Setup Steps

1. Create a shared folder in Google Drive where you want uploads to be stored.
2. Copy the folder’s share URL.
3. In the Lead Generation element settings, navigate to the File Upload field configuration.
4. Enter the Google Drive Folder URL in the designated field.
5. Uploaded files will be sent to the specified Google Drive folder.

Important: The Google Drive folder must have appropriate sharing permissions set so that the upload process can write to it. Follow the specific setup instructions for your Google Drive integration to configure authentication correctly.

Automation with Non-Mandatory Email

In most lead generation forms, the email field is required. However, there are scenarios where you may want to collect form data without requiring an email address—for example, feedback forms, internal surveys, or anonymous polls.

How to Set Up a Form Without a Required Email

1. Select the Lead Generation element.
2. Click the settings icon next to the Email field.
3. Toggle the Required option to Off.
4. Optionally, remove the email field entirely if you do not need to collect email addresses at all.

Note: If the email field is not required or is removed, you will not be able to use an API connection to send data to most email marketing services (since they require an email address to create a subscriber). Use a Webhook connection instead to send the form data to a custom endpoint, Zapier, or other automation tool that can handle submissions without an email address.

Assigning WordPress User Roles from Form Submissions

The Lead Generation element can automatically create a WordPress user account when a visitor submits a form. This is useful for membership sites, course platforms, and community sites where you want to grant site access as part of the sign-up process.

Setup Steps

1. Select the Lead Generation element.
2. In the left sidebar, find the Consent section.
3. Enable the Create WordPress account option.
4. Choose the WordPress user role to assign to new accounts (e.g., Subscriber, Customer, Student).
5. The form will now create a WordPress account using the visitor’s name and email address upon submission.

Warning: Enabling this option means every form submission will create a new WordPress user. Make sure your form includes appropriate validation and spam prevention (such as reCAPTCHA) to prevent bot-generated accounts from cluttering your user database.

How It Integrates with Thrive Apprentice

When used in combination with Thrive Apprentice, creating a WordPress account through the Lead Generation form allows you to automatically grant course access. Use Thrive Automator to trigger an enrollment action when a new user is created with a specific role or tag.

Creating a 2-Step Opt-in

A 2-step opt-in is a conversion technique where visitors first click a button or link, which then opens a lightbox (popup) containing the opt-in form. This approach often converts better than displaying the form directly on the page because the act of clicking creates a micro-commitment.

Setup Steps

1. Add a Button element to your page where you want the opt-in trigger to appear.
2. Add a Lead Generation element inside a Lightbox (popup). To create a lightbox, go to the Thrive Architect editor toolbar and click the Lightbox icon to create a new lightbox.
3. Configure the Lead Generation element inside the lightbox with your desired fields, connection, and after-submission behavior.
4. Select the Button element on your page.
5. In the Button settings, find the Animation & Action or Click Action options.
6. Set the click action to Open Lightbox.
7. Select the lightbox that contains your Lead Generation form.
8. Save and preview your page.

When a visitor clicks the button, the lightbox will open with the opt-in form. After submission, the lightbox can close automatically, redirect to a thank-you page, or display a success message.

Tip: Use compelling button text like “Get Instant Access” or “Download the Free Guide” to maximize the click-through rate on your 2-step opt-in.

Integrating Gravity Forms with Thrive Architect

If you use Gravity Forms for complex form functionality (conditional logic, multi-page forms, payment integration), you can embed a Gravity Forms form directly within your Thrive Architect page using a shortcode.

Setup Steps

1. Create and configure your form in the Gravity Forms plugin (Forms > All Forms in your WordPress dashboard).
2. Copy the Gravity Forms shortcode for your form (e.g., [gravityform id="1" title="true"]).
3. Open your page in the Thrive Architect editor.
4. Add a WordPress Content element or a Custom HTML element to your page.
5. Paste the Gravity Forms shortcode into the element.
6. Save and preview your page to see the Gravity Forms form rendered within your Thrive Architect layout.

Note: Gravity Forms embedded via shortcode will use Gravity Forms’ own styling, not Thrive Architect’s form styling. You may need to add custom CSS to match the form’s appearance with the rest of your page design.

Creating an Application Form

An application form is a complex multi-field form used for collecting detailed information from applicants—such as job applications, program enrollments, or partnership inquiries.

How to Build an Application Form

1. Add a Lead Generation element to your page.
2. Add the following fields as needed:
   • Text fields for name, email, phone number, and job title
   • Textarea for a cover letter or “Why should we accept you?” response
   • Dropdown or Radio fields for role selection, experience level, or program choice
   • File Upload for resume, portfolio, or supporting document attachments
   • URL for portfolio or LinkedIn profile links
   • GDPR Consent for data processing consent
3. Configure each field’s Label, Placeholder, and Required settings.
4. Set up a Webhook connection to send form data to your applicant tracking system, or use an API connection to send it to your email service with appropriate tags.
5. Configure the after-submission behavior to show a confirmation message or redirect to a “Thank you for applying” page.

Tip: For application forms with many fields, consider organizing them using multiple Content Boxes or Columns within the Lead Generation element area. This creates visual groupings (e.g., “Personal Information,” “Experience,” “Documents”) that make the form easier to complete.

Related Resources

• Lead Generation Overview: How to Use the Lead Generation Element — Adding forms, connection types, and layout options
• Custom Fields: How to Configure Lead Generation Custom Fields — Complete reference for all field types
• Lightboxes: How to Set Up Page Events and Lightboxes — Create lightboxes for 2-step opt-ins
• Contact Form Migration: How to Migrate from the Contact Form Element — Replace deprecated Contact Form with Lead Generation

That’s it! You’ve successfully learned how to use advanced Lead Generation techniques in Thrive Architect. From tagging subscribers based on form answers to building multi-step opt-ins and complex application forms, these techniques will help you capture more leads and automate your marketing workflows.