MailerLite Lead Magnet Setup: Step-by-Step Guide

Your lead magnet is done. Now you need MailerLite to hand it out automatically, every time someone signs up, without you lifting a finger after today.

This guide walks through the complete MailerLite lead magnet setup: hosting your file, building the opt-in form, creating the automation that delivers it, writing the delivery email, and testing the whole flow before you send anyone to it. Per MailerLite’s pricing page, the free plan includes automations, embedded forms, and one landing page, so you can build this without paying for anything yet.

What You’ll Need

• A MailerLite account (the free plan covers up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 monthly emails, per MailerLite’s pricing page)
• Your lead magnet file, exported as a PDF, or a shareable link if it’s a video, Google Doc, or Notion page
• A file host if your lead magnet isn’t a PDF: Google Drive and Dropbox both work with a public share link
• About 30 to 45 minutes for the full setup

That’s everything. No paid plan required, no developer needed.

Step 1: Set Up Your MailerLite Account and Verify Your Sender

Go to mailerlite.com and sign up for the free plan.

If you already have an account, even one you haven’t touched in months, log in and skip ahead.

Before you do anything else: open Settings > Emails and signup forms and verify your sender email address. MailerLite sends your lead magnet from this address, and an unverified sender is one of the most common reasons a delivery email lands in spam instead of an inbox.

The free plan gives you:

• Embedded, popup, and inline signup forms
• One landing page (or “site”)
• Visual automation workflows, with a cap on how many you can run at once
• Campaign broadcasts to your full list

That covers everything this guide builds.

Step 2: Upload and Host Your Lead Magnet File

MailerLite’s email editor includes a file library, so you can upload your PDF directly and get a permanent hosted link. No third-party file host required.

To upload using MailerLite’s file library:

1. Open the Automations or Campaigns section (either works, since you’ll place the link inside an automation email)
2. Start building a new email and open the content editor
3. Add a Button or Link block
4. Click the link field and choose File from the upload options
5. Upload your PDF from your computer
6. MailerLite generates a hosted URL and attaches it to the button or link text
7. Rename the button text to something specific: “Download your checklist” outperforms a generic “Click here”

The hosted link doesn’t expire, so subscribers can come back to it later.

If your lead magnet isn’t a PDF:

For Notion pages, Google Docs, Canva presentations, or videos, use a public share link instead of a direct upload.

• Google Drive: Right-click the file > Share > Change to “Anyone with the link” > Copy link
• Dropbox: Open the file > Share > Create link
• Notion: Open the page > Share > Enable “Share to web” > Copy link
• Canva template: Click Share > Template link > Copy

Paste that link into your delivery email instead of a hosted file. The one tradeoff: anyone who has the link can open it, even without signing up through your form. For a solo creator’s first few hundred subscribers, that’s rarely a real problem.

Step 3: Build Your Opt-In Form

The form is what a visitor fills out to get your lead magnet. MailerLite gives you three form types on the free plan:

Start with two: an embedded form for your site and a landing page for a link you can drop in a social bio.

To create the embedded form:

1. Go to Forms in the main navigation
2. Click Create form > Embedded
3. Pick a template and edit the headline and button copy
4. Change the button from “Subscribe” to something specific to the offer: “Send me the guide” or “Get the checklist”
5. Open the Settings tab for the form
6. Under Success, choose what happens after someone submits, this is what triggers your automation and file delivery, so make sure a group is assigned here

That last setting connects the form to the automation you’ll build in Step 4. Skip it, and new subscribers join your list but never get the file.

Form copy that converts: lead with the outcome, not the format. “Stop guessing which lead magnet format fits your audience” pulls better than “Free PDF download.” For a deeper breakdown of what actually moves opt-in rates, see the lead magnet landing page guide.

Step 4: Create the Automation Workflow

The form captures the email. The automation is what actually sends the file.

MailerLite’s automation builder is visual: you set a trigger, then drag in steps underneath it. On the free plan you can run a capped number of automations at once, which is enough for a single lead magnet delivery sequence.

To build the automation:

1. Go to Automations in the main navigation
2. Click Create automation and start from a blank workflow
3. Set the trigger to Subscriber joins a group, then select the group tied to your form’s Success action from Step 3
4. Add an Email step directly under the trigger, this becomes your delivery email
5. Optionally add a short delay (a few minutes) before the email sends, so it doesn’t arrive at the exact same second as the subscriber’s confirmation

That single email step is enough to deliver a lead magnet. You can extend the same workflow later with a short welcome sequence, but the delivery step is the only one that has to work on day one.

Step 5: Write the Delivery Email

Open the email step you just added and write the email that actually hands over the file.

Keep it short:

Subject line: Here’s your [lead magnet name]

Email body:

Hi [First Name],

Here's what you signed up for:

[Download: Lead Magnet Name](YOUR_LINK_HERE)

[One sentence on what's inside and the specific result it helps them get.]

[Your name]

Swap YOUR_LINK_HERE for the hosted file link or share link from Step 2.

Three to five sentences is enough. The subscriber wants the file, not a newsletter. Put the download link near the top, not after three paragraphs of context.

Single opt-in vs. double opt-in: check your form’s confirmation setting. With double opt-in, a subscriber has to click a confirmation email before the automation runs. With single opt-in, the automation fires immediately after signup. Single opt-in typically means fewer people drop off before receiving the file; double opt-in builds a cleaner list over time. If you’re collecting emails from the EU, UK, or Canada, check that market’s consent requirements before choosing.

Step 6: Embed Your Form or Publish Your Landing Page

Your form and automation are built. Now put the form somewhere people can find it.

Option A: Embed the form on your site

1. In the form builder, click Publish
2. Copy the embed code (HTML or a platform-specific block for WordPress, Squarespace, and similar)
3. Paste it wherever you want the form to appear

Strong placement spots for a lead magnet form:

• Below the intro of your most-visited post
• On a dedicated resources page
• At the end of every post in your main content cluster
• In your site navigation as a “Free [resource]” link

For a full comparison of free tools and what each one’s free plan actually includes, see the free lead magnet tools guide.

Option B: Publish your MailerLite landing page

If you don’t have a website yet, or you want a link for a social bio, build the free plan’s included landing page instead:

1. Go to Sites or Landing pages in the main navigation
2. Click Create and pick a template
3. Edit the headline and subheadline to match your lead magnet
4. Connect the page’s form to the same group from Step 3
5. Click Publish

MailerLite gives you a hosted URL you can drop into any bio link, post, or QR code, and you can start sending traffic to it before your full site is live.

Step 7: Test the Complete Flow Before You Share It

Before you send anyone to your form, run through the entire experience yourself.

1. Open your form or landing page in an incognito browser window
2. Sign up with a personal email address you can access
3. If double opt-in is on, confirm the email arrives and click through
4. Confirm the automation email arrives with the download link
5. Click the link and check that the file opens or the page loads correctly
6. Check your MailerLite subscriber list to confirm you were added to the right group

Three specific things to check:

• File accessibility: open the link in an incognito window. If it asks you to log into a Google or Dropbox account first, the sharing settings aren’t public. Fix that before your form goes live.
• Mobile delivery: open the delivery email on your phone. Confirm the link or button is easy to tap and the file opens cleanly.
• Spam folder: if the delivery email landed in spam, go back and recheck your sender verification from Step 1. A custom sending domain, available per MailerLite’s domain authentication documentation, also improves inbox placement.

Once the test passes, your MailerLite lead magnet setup is live. Every new subscriber who fills out your form gets the file automatically, joins the right group, and is ready for whatever follow-up sequence you build next. For what to put in that sequence, the lead magnet follow-up emails guide covers the emails that turn a download into a customer relationship.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I set up a lead magnet in MailerLite?

Create a signup form, connect its “Success” action to a subscriber group, then build an automation triggered by that group with an email step containing your file’s download link. MailerLite’s free plan supports this entire flow, including embedded forms, one landing page, and automation workflows, at no cost.

Does MailerLite have a free plan for lead magnet delivery?

Yes. Per MailerLite’s pricing page, the free plan covers up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 monthly emails, and includes signup forms, one landing page, and automation workflows with a limited number of active automations and steps. That’s enough to run a single lead magnet delivery sequence at no cost.

Can I upload my PDF directly to MailerLite?

Yes. The email content editor includes a file upload option inside link and button blocks. Upload your PDF, and MailerLite generates a hosted link you attach to your delivery email’s download button. If your lead magnet isn’t a PDF, a public share link from Google Drive, Dropbox, or Notion works the same way.

Is MailerLite or ConvertKit better for a lead magnet?

Both handle lead magnet delivery on their free plans, but the free tiers differ: ConvertKit’s free plan supports more subscribers before you need to upgrade, per the ConvertKit lead magnet setup guide, while MailerLite’s free plan includes a landing page builder ConvertKit doesn’t offer at the free tier. If you already have a preferred platform, use it. This setup works the same on either.

What happens if I forget to connect my form to a group?

The subscriber joins your list, but the automation never fires, so they never receive the lead magnet. Always check the form’s “Success” setting after publishing, and run the test in Step 7 before sharing the form publicly, so you catch a missing group connection before a real subscriber does.

Keep Reading

• ConvertKit Lead Magnet Setup: Step-by-Step Guide
• Free Lead Magnet Tools That Actually Work
• Lead Magnet Follow-Up Emails: The Sequence That Converts Subscribers Into Buyers