How to set up a lead magnet in Kit (formerly ConvertKit), step-by-step

Growing an email list feels like it should be simple: create a freebie, add an opt-in form, deliver the freebie. But if you’ve tried to set it up in Kit (formerly ConvertKit) without a separate landing page tool, you’ve probably hit a wall. The interface is designed differently than you’d expect, and the right path isn’t always obvious.

This post walks you through the whole process: creating your form or landing page, delivering your freebie, and setting up the automation that ties it together. You don’t need a separate tool for any of this.

Create or choose your freebie

Before you set up the opt-in, you need the freebie itself. Something valuable your audience can download after signing up.

If you’re starting from scratch, check out my guide on how to create a fillable PDF workbook, my step-by-step guide to lead magnets, or my lead magnet ideas for coaches.

Set up your Kit account

Kit (affiliate link) offers a generous free plan for up to 10,000 subscribers. On the free plan, you can have one automation and one email sequence. You will need a domain-based email address (like yourname@yourdomain.com) to use Kit. Most domain or hosting providers let you set this up for free.

For a comparison with other tools, here’s how to set up a freebie in MailerLite.

Choose your opt-in form type

Kit gives you two options: embed a form on your website, or create a standalone landing page you can share as a link (even if you don’t have a live website yet).

Neither is universally “better.” It depends on your setup right now.

Set up your form or landing page

1. Go to Grow > Landing Pages & Forms.
2. Click Create New.

From here, you can choose between an embedded form (Option 1) or a landing page (Option 2).

Option 1: Create an embedded form

1. Select “Form”.
2. Choose “Inline” as the display style.
3. Pick a template (the “Clare” template is clean and simple).
4. Add a first name field if you want to collect names (click the plus (+) icon and make it required if needed).
5. Rearrange fields by dragging them with the three-line icon.
6. Edit the button text and color to match your branding.
7. Click Publish and copy the embed code to add the form to your website.

Option 2: Create a landing page

1. Select “Landing Page”.
2. Choose a template, then customize the background image, text, fonts, and colors.
3. Add a first name field if you want.
4. Change the button text and colors.

Deliver your freebie

Kit gives you two delivery methods. Pick whichever fits your needs.

Option 1: Deliver via incentive confirmation email

This is the email subscribers receive when they sign up. It’s your chance to confirm their email address and send them the freebie in one step.

1. Go to Settings > Incentive.
2. Update the subject line (something like “Your freebie is inside!” works).
3. Edit the email text (keep the confirm URL link, this is what verifies the subscriber).
4. Change the button text to “Download it now” or similar, and adjust the button color to match your brand.
5. Choose your delivery method:

• Redirect to a URL (for example, a private YouTube video, a custom thank you page, or a hosted file)
• Direct file download (for example, your PDF workbook)

1. You can enable auto-confirm for new subscribers so they don’t need to confirm their email. If you do, clean your list regularly to avoid deliverability issues.

Option 2: Deliver via automated welcome sequence

If you want to send multiple emails or a more detailed welcome sequence, set up an automated sequence instead. You’ll need to host your freebie somewhere since Kit doesn’t allow file uploads in sequences.

Host your freebie with Google Drive

1. Upload your freebie PDF to Google Drive.
2. Right-click the file > Share > set access to “Anyone with the link”.
3. Copy your unique sharing link.
4. Test the link in an incognito window to make sure it works.
5. For fillable PDFs, remind subscribers they need to download the file to their computer to use the fillable fields (browser preview won’t work for form fields).

Set up the welcome sequence

1. Turn off the Incentive email (go back to Settings > Incentive and disable it).
2. Go to Send > Sequences.
3. Create a new sequence.

• The first email should deliver your freebie.
• Set “Send email” to 0 days to send immediately after signup.

1. If your email template doesn’t have a button, click the plus (+) icon to add one.
2. Link the button to your hosted file (use the Google Drive link from above).
3. Add more emails to your sequence if you want to send follow-up content (tips, stories, introductions).

Connect the sequence with automation

1. Go to Automate > Visual Automations.
2. Click Add New automation > Start from scratch.
3. Set the trigger as “joins form” (or your landing page, or both if you created both).
4. Add an action: add the subscriber to your sequence (and add a tag if you want to organize your list).
5. Toggle the automation to Active.

Where to embed your form

If you created an embedded form, you can add it anywhere on your website: on a dedicated page, in a sidebar, in your header, or even on a sales page. Just copy the embed code from Kit and paste it into your website builder.

For most course creators, a dedicated landing page or a prominent spot on your homepage works best. Make sure it’s easy to find.

The lead magnet is the start of the funnel, not the whole thing

Once your form is live and your freebie is being delivered automatically, you’ve built one piece of your sales foundation. The bigger picture is a funnel that keeps selling your course steadily, not just a list that grows.

If you want to see how your lead magnet fits into a course funnel that sells on its own, grab my free guide: The Evergreen Funnel Fix. It walks through the 3 layers of a funnel that keeps working when you’re not actively promoting (your sales foundation, a social proof system, and sustainable marketing), and shows you what to look for in each one.

If you’d rather talk through your specific setup, a free Steady Sales Roadmap call is the other place to start.