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Delivering Lead Magnets with SureDash: A Step-by-Step Tutorial

Doug

Tech Stack Integrator

If you’re building a business using digital tech, you know how crucial lead magnets are for growing your audience. But how do you deliver that awesome freebie – like a workshop or a checklist – once someone signs up? In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through exactly how to use SureDash to deliver your lead magnets smoothly and professionally.

We’ll focus on setting up a free mini-workshop as our example. Think of a simple video page – we’ll use tools like Presto Player to host the video, SureMembers to handle access, SureForms for the opt-in, and OttoKit (formerly SureTriggers) to tie it all together.

Ready to dive in? Let’s get started!

Step 1: Create Your Workshop Space in SureDash

First things first, we need a dedicated “space” within your SureDash installation to house our lead magnet.

  1. Navigate to Your Spaces: Head over to your SureDash dashboard. I’m putting mine in my “Workshop” section, but you can organize yours however makes sense.
  2. Add a New Space: Click “Add a New Space.”
  3. Name Your Space: Give it a clear name. I’m calling mine “Workshop Lead Magnet,” but you should name yours something descriptive of the content, like “Free 5-Day Marketing Challenge” or “Downloadable Business Plan Template.”
  4. Choose “Single Post or Page”: For a simple lead magnet like this, a “Single Post or Page” is perfect. A full “Course” would be overkill, and a “Post Discussion” isn’t the right fit.
  5. Click Continue.

(Pro Tip: Think of SureDash spaces as dedicated containers for different types of content. Keeping them organized now will save you headaches later!)

Step 2: Build Your Workshop Page

Now SureDash asks for a page to use. We’re going to create one from scratch.

  1. Create New Page: Click the “Create New” button. This opens the familiar WordPress block editor right inside SureDash – super convenient!
  2. Add a Title: Give your page the same (or a similar) title, like “Workshop Lead Magnet.”
  3. Embed Your Video:
    • Add a new block and search for “Presto Player” (or whatever video player you prefer).
    • Select your video source (I’m using Vimeo for this example).
    • Paste in your video URL and add it.
  4. Add Resources (Optional but Recommended!):
    • Lead magnets are even better with a little extra value. Let’s add a “Lesson Resources” section. Since there isn’t a dedicated “resources” block (at least, not yet!), we’ll create our own using a paragraph block. Add an icon (like a download folder emoji) and some text, for example: “Download the Migration Checklist.” Hyperlink this text to your downloadable file (PDF, checklist, etc.). I’m just using a placeholder for now.
  5. Save and Publish: Click “Save” and then “Publish” to make your page live. Close the editor.
  6. Insert the Page: Back in SureDash, select your newly created page and click “Insert Selected Page.”

Step 3: Customize Your Space’s Appearance

Now that we’ve brought our page into SureDash, we can tweak how it looks within the platform.

  1. Add Images: Upload a “Thumbnail Image” and a “Banner Image.” SureDash provides recommended dimensions.
  2. Set Container Width: You can choose if the content inherits your default width, goes full-width, or uses a standard container. I initially tried “Full Width,” but it made the video huge. “Container Width Normal” looked better, though maybe a bit narrow. Play around with this to see what suits your content.
  3. Allow Comments (or Don’t): For a lead magnet, I recommend turning comments off to keep things clean and focused.
  4. Save Your Page.

Take a moment to view your page on the front end. Don’t stress too much about a “horrendous” banner like mine – the key is that your content is there and accessible.

Step 4: Protect Your Content with SureMembers

Right now, anyone logged into your SureDash can see this workshop. We need to restrict access so only those who sign up can view it. That’s where SureMembers comes in.

  1. Go to SureMembers: Navigate to the SureMembers section in your WordPress dashboard.
  2. Create an Access Group: We’ll create a new access group specifically for this lead magnet. This helps us track who signed up for what. Name it something like “Workshop Lead Magnet Access Group.”
  3. Define Protected Content: This is where you tell SureMembers what to protect.
    • Scroll down to “Specific Post/Pages/Etc.”
    • Search for the page you created earlier (e.g., “Workshop Lead Magnet”). Select it.
    • (Note: The UI might change, but you’re looking to protect the specific page linked to your SureDash space.)
  4. Set Unauthorized Access Message: What should people see if they don’t have access?
    • Choose “Show a Message.”
    • Write a clear message, like: “You do not have access to this workshop.”
    • Add a button that links to your sign-up page (we’ll make this soon). Label it “Sign Up Here” and add a placeholder link for now.
  5. Save Access Group.

Step 5: Create Your Sign-Up Form with SureForms

We need a way for people to actually sign up! You can use almost any form builder that integrates with Automator (like HighLevel forms), but we’ll use SureForms for this example.

  1. Go to SureForms: Open SureForms in your dashboard.
  2. Create a New Form: Start from scratch or use a template. We’ll build a simple one.
  3. Name Your Form: “Workshop Lead Magnet Form.”
  4. Add Fields:
    • Add a “Name” field (label it “First Name” and make it required).
    • Add an “Email” field (this will be required by default).
  5. Style Your Form (Optional): SureForms has styling options; customize the button text to something like “Sign Up for the Free Workshop.”
  6. Set Up Confirmation/Redirect: What happens after someone submits?
    • Go to “Form Confirmation.”
    • Choose “Redirect.”
    • Set the redirect to go to your SureDash portal page.
    • (Important UX Note: We’ll revisit this redirect later, as it can cause issues if your portal is private.)
  7. Publish/Save Your Form. You can embed this form on any page you like using its shortcode.

Step 6: Automate Access with OttoKit

This is where the magic happens! We’ll use OttoKit (formerly SureTriggers) to connect our form to SureMembers, automatically granting access when someone signs up.

  1. Create a New Workflow: In OttoKit, create a new workflow from scratch.
  2. Set the Trigger:
    • Choose “SureForms” as the app.
    • Select “Form Submit” as the trigger event.
    • Connect to your website and choose the form you made.
    • Fetch Test Data: You’ll need to submit your form once to pull in sample data. You can use the “Instant Form Page” for easy testing.
  3. Add Action 1: Create/Update WordPress User:
    • This is crucial! Since we’re using WordPress, users need an account to be granted access.
    • Add a “WordPress” action.
    • Choose “Create or Update User.”
    • Configure:
      • Username: Map this to the Email field from your form.
      • Email: Map this to the Email field.
      • First Name: Map this to the First Name field.
      • Password: Leave blank to auto-generate a password (this is usually the simplest).
      • Role: Set this to “Subscriber” (or a custom role if you’ve set one up).
      • Existing User: Leave “Force Update” unchecked unless you have a specific reason.
    • Test this action.
  4. Add Action 2: Add to SureMembers Access Group:
    • Add a “SureMembers” action.
    • Choose “Add to an Access Group.”
    • Configure:
      • Select your website.
      • User Email: Map this to the Email field from your form.
      • Access Group: Select your “lead magnet” group.
    • Test this action.
  5. Publish Your Workflow!

Step 7: Test the End-to-End User Experience

Now for the moment of truth – let’s test the whole process from a user’s perspective.

  1. Sign Up: Fill out your SureForm.
  2. The Redirect & Login: Remember we set the form to redirect to the SureDash portal? If your portal is set to private (which many are), new users will hit a login screen.
    • This isn’t ideal! A much better user experience is to redirect to a custom “Thank You” page. This page should tell users:
      • To check their email for their login details (since WordPress sends this when an account is created).
      • Provide a link to the login page for existing users.
  3. Log In: For our test, check your email (or use the password if you know it) and log in with the email address as the username.
  4. Check Access: Once logged in, navigate to your workshop space. You should not see a padlock, meaning you have access! Click in, and you should see your workshop content.
  5. Test Restricted Access (Optional): You can manually revoke access in SureMembers for your test user and refresh the portal. You should now see the “You do not have access” message you configured earlier.

Why Use SureDash for Lead Magnets?

You’ve done it! You now have an automated system for delivering lead magnets using the power of SureDash and its companion tools.

This approach offers several benefits:

  • Curated Experience: It provides a dedicated, branded space for your free content.
  • Upsell Opportunities: It introduces new users to your ecosystem, showing them other freebies or even premium products you offer.
  • Builds Your List & Community: It gets people into your world, making it easier to build relationships and eventually offer paid products.

While there are a few steps involved, setting up this system creates a professional and efficient way to grow your business with lead magnets.