Kit (ConvertKit) Tutorial for Course Creators: Build a Lead Magnet Form from Start to Finish
Follow this tutorial to take your freebie document and use Kit to place it in the hands of your future customers.
Welcome to the full step-by-step tutorial for how to take your lead generation tool and get it into the hands of your future clients! Throughout this post I’ll include images that directly reference different steps on Kit’s website to help you through the process.
Let’s get started and get your freebie out the door! ✨ Here is an overview of the steps we will complete together:
- Create a Kit Account
- Create a Form
- Style the Form
- Write Your Success Message
- Create Your Incentive Email
- Direct to Download
- Preview the Form
- Publish the Form
- Add the Form Code To Your Website
Create a Kit Account
If you haven’t already, your very first step is to create an account with an Email Marketing Platform (aka the place that helps you distribute your lead generation tool). I personally use and recommend Kit (formerly ConvertKit). If you’d like to try it out for free, I’d very much appreciate it if you used my affiliate link! 🫶
Create a Form
Once you have your account set up, it’s time to create your freebie form!
Navigate to the top bar of the website and click the “Grow” button. Choose “Landing Pages & Forms” from the dropdown menu.
Click the “Create New” button.
You’ll be prompted to choose how you will gather subscribers. For this tutorial, we are creating a form instead of a landing page.
The next screen asks you to choose what type of form to create - choose inline. This will allow us to place our form on the page we design for our website.
Kit offers a variety of form styles. For this tutorial, we will choose the simplest form available. This is called the “Clare” form.
Rename the form to something descriptive that will help you properly distinguish between multiple forms later. I typically label forms with where the form will live and the name of the specific freebie. Example: “Page Form: Spring Seasonal Fruit Checklist”
Style the Form
Our next task is to style the form! If you are working with a designer for your website, you will want to connect with them to determine the styles of your inputs and buttons. You’ll want to make sure that the inputs and buttons on your website closely match those on your Kit forms.
This form comes equipped with an email input field and a subscribe button. I suggest adding an additional input field so that subscribers can input their first name. Click the plus icon to add a field.
Along the right side of the screen, click the dropdown for Custom Field. Choose “First Name”. Feel free to change the text in the field labeled Custom Field Label. I leave it as “First Name”.
Hover your mouse in between the input fields. You’ll see 3 horizontal lines pop up. Click, hold, and drag those three lines to move the First Name input field to the front.
The First Name input field should be on the left, and the Email Address input field should be on the right.
Click into one of the input fields. The right side of the screen should read “General Styles > Custom Field”. Use the controls to adjust the font color, border color, border radius, and font weight of the input fields. Again, make sure to closely match the styles of input fields that already appear on your website.
Click the button on the form. A flashing cursor should appear. Rename the button to whatever you’d like. You could keep it as “Subscribe” or change it to something like, “Submit,” “Download,” or “Get Checklist”.
Use the controls on the right side of the screen to style the button’s font color, border color, border radius, and font weight. Now is a good time to hit the Save button before moving on.
Write Your Success Message
Now we’re getting into setting up what happens after someone clicks the submit button. Click the settings button to get started.
A window will pop up with a variety of options. Start with the General tab (what you should see when the window appears). Keep the default setting to show a success message after someone subscribes, rather than directing to an external page. Update the message to match your brand voice.
Create Your Incentive Email
Click on “Incentive” to open the incentive settings. Keep the box checked for “Send Incentive Email”. Click the Edit Email Contents button.
Another window will pop up, showing your incentive email. Edit the subject line and email contents. If you need help writing your incentive email, check out this blog post to help guide you. Keep the bottom line as is (where it says unsubscribe, update your profile, and the address).
Click inside the Confirm Your Subscription button to edit the text and open the button settings along the right side of the screen. Ensure that the from address shows the email that you want to appear in the “from” section of your email.
In the URL section on the right side of the screen, click the button that looks like a lightning bolt. This will bring up the link automation settings.
Choose the Tag option and an input/dropdown will appear. Type in a tag name that is associated with your freebie and hit enter. Make sure it is descriptive enough that you can distinguish it from other freebies.
Continue along the settings on the right side of the screen to make your button look exactly how you’d like. There are general settings, text settings, and border settings.
Click save to save your incentive email. You’ll be directed back to the Form Settings window. Leave the “Auto-Confirm New Subscribers” option unchecked.
Direct to Download
Under “After confirming redirect to:” click the Download button. Click the Choose a File button and upload your freebie pdf. Click Save to save and exit this window.
Remove Branding (Optional)
If you have a paid subscription with Kit, you are able to remove Kit branding from your form. To do so, click on the “Built with Kit” text. Along the right side of the screen, uncheck the box that says “Show ‘Built with Kit’ Badge”.
Preview the Form
Click on the Preview button at the top right to see what your form looks like.
Your preview should reflect all of the changes you made to the colors, borders, text. etc.
Publish the Form
Click that Publish button! Your form is now ready to head to your website!
Add the Form Code To Your Website
After you publish, a window will pop up that shows different options for embedding the form you just created. Based on your website or your designer’s preference, choose the best option for your use case. I prefer using the Javascript code because each time you update the form on Kit, it’ll automatically update on your site!
Copy this code and hand it off to your designer or add it to your website.
You did it! You created a Kit account, made a form, added your incentive email, uploaded your lead generation tool, and published your form for use on your website! AMAZING WORK!!
Wondering what’s next? Here are some other blog posts that will lead you down the path of creating a successful lead magnet:
Lead Magnet Delivery 101: An Opt-In Sequence for Course Creators - What to Include
Grow Your Email List: 8 Lead Generation Freebies for Course Creators
How to Create a Freebie - A Tutorial for Course Creators
6 Subtle Freebie Mistakes That Even 7-Figure Course Creators Still Make
How to Write an Incentive Email: Deliver Your Freebie and Boost Confirmation Rates
How to Write a Welcome Email for Your Newsletter: Nail Your First Impression and Increase Open Rates
Citation for images: [Kit form creation sequence]. (n.d.). https://app.kit.com/
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