What will your customer have in front of them after using your resource?
An answered question? A packing list? A first draft they can adapt? Name that finished output before deciding to make a PDF, video or workbook.
A lead magnet is a resource offered to prospective customers. If you have already chosen a resource as your funnel's next step, this guide helps you decide what it should contain and how someone will use it. The goal is a complete, useful first task. Page count is a production choice.
The craft-market example below is fictional. It is a planning exercise, not a customer result or a tested ClickFunnels AI build.
Describe the task without naming the format
Write down who will use the resource, what they need to finish and what they already know. “A new market seller needs a PDF” decides the container before explaining the need. “A new market seller needs to work out what to pack for their allocated table” gives you something to design around.
GOV.UK's guidance on identifying user needs starts with people's tasks and cautions against defining a need around an assumed solution. Apply that principle here: establish the job before choosing its format.
Use three short notes:
- Finished output: what the reader will have or be able to do.
- Starting inputs: the information, materials or decisions they must bring.
- Use setting: where and how they are likely to work through it.
Treat an unverified use setting as an assumption to check. A seller preparing at a kitchen table and a seller consulting a phone beside a packed car may need different versions of the same information.
Match the resource to the work
The names below describe different jobs. A PDF can contain several of them, so choosing a file type does not settle the design.
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| Resource | Useful when the reader needs to | What you must supply | A sign the format is a poor fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Checklist | Confirm known steps or items | Specific checks, a sensible order and any conditions | The reader cannot decide what each check means |
| Worksheet | Apply their own information to a decision | Prompts, a completed example and a usable output | It asks for information the reader cannot obtain |
| Template | Produce something with a repeatable structure | An editable starting point and clear replacement instructions | Most of the example must be deleted before it fits |
| Annotated walkthrough | See how a process or judgment works | A worked sequence with explanations of important choices | The reader mainly needs a quick reference while doing the task |
| Short reference guide | Look up distinctions or instructions | Clear sections, definitions and relevant examples | The reader finishes reading but still lacks a way to do the promised task |
These are design choices, not a ranking of conversion performance. A checklist can be enough for an experienced reader. A beginner may need a worked example before the same checklist becomes usable.
Choose one primary job. Add a supporting element when the task needs it: a short example inside a worksheet, for instance. Avoid assembling five formats simply because each sounds valuable.
Check the conditions of use
Before committing, walk through the practical requirements. Can the reader type into it, print it, copy it into familiar software or use it without sound? Does a template require an account or a paid application? State those requirements before someone requests access.
A video may demonstrate a physical sequence well, but its information also needs appropriate alternatives. W3C's audio and video accessibility guidance covers captions, transcripts, descriptions of visual information and accessible players. Include that work in the production plan when choosing video.
For a text resource, use meaningful headings, understandable instructions and readable examples. Test the actual file on the devices and tools you expect readers to use. A filename ending in .pdf or .txt does not establish that every reader can use its contents.
Work through a fictional market-seller example
Imagine a craft tutor preparing a resource for someone attending their first indoor market. The promised output is a packing plan matched to the seller's allocated table and the organiser's rules.
The reader must bring the organiser's information and their own product list. The resource cannot supply an unknown table size, invent an electrical permission or decide venue rules.
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| Candidate | What it helps with | What remains unresolved | Decision for this example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Generic packing checklist | Remembering common items | Which items fit the allocation and rules | Use as a supporting section |
| Planning worksheet | Connecting event details to a packing decision | Missing organiser information | Choose as the primary resource; allow unknowns |
| Booth-styling video | Seeing a display arrangement | Whether that arrangement fits this event | Leave out of this first resource |
The selected worksheet has three sections: event details, item decisions and questions to settle. Here is a small filled example. Every detail is invented.
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| Input | Fictional answer | Packing decision |
|---|---|---|
| Allocated table | 180 cm wide; seller has a measured display sketch | Pack the items shown on that sketch |
| Power | Organiser says no power is available | Leave the plug-in lamp out of this plan |
| Extra display behind the table | Permission not stated | Ask the organiser before adding it to the packing list |
“Ask the organiser” is a useful output. Forcing a confident answer would hide unfinished work. The resource helps the reader distinguish ready-to-pack items from unresolved decisions; it does not certify the setup or guarantee sales.
Cut scope without breaking the task
Now define what belongs in the first version. For the market resource, include an event-information section, one completed example, a blank item-decision table and a final packing list. Explain how to carry unresolved questions forward.
Leave product pricing, promotion schedules and a full display-design course for separate resources. They may matter to the business, but they are not needed to complete this packing plan.
Use this test for each section: If it disappears, can the reader still complete the promised output? Keep necessary explanation. Remove an extra chapter when its only purpose is making the download look larger.
Also ask whether the resource stands on its own. If the reader must book a call to obtain a missing instruction, the resource's promise needs revision. A relevant optional service can follow a completed task; it should be clear what the resource itself provides.
Make one sample before producing the whole resource
Create a single representative section with real instructions and a fictional completed example. Work through it using the stated starting inputs. Mark any step that requires you to explain something the resource has omitted.
Then ask a likely reader to try that section with an appropriate example. Notice where they need help, what information they lack and whether the output is usable. Use that observation to revise the format or instructions. It does not establish demand, conversion lift or the quality of the eventual delivery process.
Use the resource-format worksheet to record your choice. It includes the fictional comparison, a reusable candidate table, a scope boundary and a sample-use record. Finish with one decision: produce the sample, revise the task or resolve a missing input.
For a ClickFunnels AI project, bring that resource brief to the agent guide, subject to its workflow and access requirements. Public guidance and a completed worksheet do not grant builder access, create the resource, configure delivery or publish a funnel. First, make the resource useful enough to keep its own promise.