Templates & Examples
Brand a ready-made lead magnet without rewriting it.
A pre-built diagnostic gives you a structure that already works. The work is deciding which three questions are yours, what the offer is called and where the last page sends people.
A prospect asked for a resource today, and there is nothing to send.
You have a services page, a proposal template and a folder of client notes. What you do not have is something you would put in front of a prospect who says, “is there something I can read before we speak?” So you write in a hurry, or you reply with an apology and a promise to send something later.
A ready-made diagnostic kit removes the blank page. You start from a structure that already works, add your offer name, replace the questions that are not yours and point the final page at a real next step. That is one working session, not a design project. Building a workbook from an empty canvas is a different job, and it is the one that gets postponed.
The free Consultant Diagnostic Launch Kit is built for a consultant with a defined service: a 10-page PDF, an editable Word file and plain text, plus a scorecard maker in the browser. This article covers the three changes that make it yours, and the parts you should leave alone.
Why free workbooks get downloaded and forgotten.
A generic checklist asks nothing about the reader's situation. It lists good practice, the reader nods, closes the tab and forgets it by Friday. A workbook that asks questions the reader cannot answer is worse: it makes them feel behind before they start.
A diagnostic behaves differently. It asks about the reader's own work in language they already use, then returns a small result they can act on. Your judgement shows in three places: which questions you ask, how the answers are read, and what you suggest next. The layout, the instructions and the scale can come from a template without weakening any of that.
The three edits that make a ready-made kit yours.
Treat the kit as a fixed structure with a small editing window. Three edits carry your judgement. Everything else stays as designed, so the scoring and the instructions still hold together.
1. The name
What the offer is called, on the cover, in the file name and in the email that sends it.
2. Three questions
The ones you always ask, in the reader's language, with the answer format unchanged.
3. The next step
One call to action on the last page, pointing at a page you control.
Change the offer name, not the structure.
Kits ship with a working title. Replace it with a name that says who the resource is for and what the reader ends up with. Two tests are usually enough:
- From the title alone, can a reader say whether it is for them?
- Does the name describe the reader's situation rather than your methodology?
Illustrative example: a fictional fractional CFO practice replaces “Business Health Check” with “Cash Runway Review for a 5–20 person business”. Both describe related work, but the second tells the right reader that the next ten minutes are for them.
Use the same name in four places: the cover, the file name, the email subject when you send it, and the page or email that offers it. A rename that only reaches the cover reads like a template.
Replace exactly three diagnostic questions.
Choose the three you ask in almost every first call — the ones where a different answer changes what you recommend. Your own notes are the best source. Read the last few call records, proposals or scoping emails and mark the questions that repeat.
Test each replacement before it goes in:
- It produces a decision, not a description.
- The reader can answer it without an hour of research.
- The answer changes what you would suggest next.
- It keeps the same answer format as the question it replaces.
The last test matters most. If the kit asks for a rating on a four-point scale, your replacement must also produce a rating on that scale. Otherwise the total no longer means what the instructions say it means.
“Which handover in your team has no named owner?” instead of “How mature is your process documentation?”
Both ask about process. The first gives the reader something to act on this week, and gives you something to open a call with.
Rewrite the closing call to action.
The last page should offer one next step for the reader whose answers show a gap. One, not three. Match the wording to the diagnosis: a 30-minute review suits an operations diagnostic, a short conversation about the next intake suits an HR one.
Three rules keep it honest. Point the link at a page you control, such as a contact or booking page, rather than a temporary campaign page. Test the link from the exported PDF, not from the editor. And make no promise about what will happen on the call.
What you must not alter.
The editing window is narrow on purpose. These parts carry the logic of the diagnostic, and a silent change to any of them produces a result that looks right and is not.
| Part of the kit | Change or keep | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Offer name, cover, file name | Change | It is the reader's first signal that the resource fits their situation. |
| Logo, colours, fonts, contact line | Change | Brand recognition helps. Keep text contrast and answer space intact. |
| Three diagnostic questions | Change | This is where your expertise sits. Keep the answer format. |
| Closing call to action and its link | Change | It should lead to your next step, not the template maker's. |
| Scoring rules, scale and weighting | Keep | The total only means something if the maths is unchanged. |
| Question count and section order | Keep | Scoring often depends on both. Adding a fourth question changes the result. |
| Reader instructions | Keep | They were written so the resource works without you in the room. |
| Definitions of tick boxes and rating labels | Keep | Rewording a label quietly changes how people answer. |
| Statements about what the resource is not, and source notes | Keep | They protect you and the reader. Check any claim you add with the Source & Claim Review Checklist. |
| Licence and attribution notices | Keep | The template's terms may require them. |
If you are unsure whether a change breaks the scoring, put it back. A diagnostic that returns a wrong result is worse than one that looks slightly generic.
Use a lead magnet design template without moving the structure.
Design work should change how the kit looks, not how it reads. Build a short brand record first — two fonts, two or three colours, the logo and a contact line — then apply it everywhere rather than styling pages one at a time.
- Headings stay in the same order and hierarchy.
- Answer boxes keep their original size, even if the new font is smaller.
- Text contrast stays strong on coloured panels and form labels.
- No decoration sits behind instructions or answer fields.
Canva's own Pro page lists a Brand Kit among the features of its paid plan and says the free plan covers the basics, which is a reasonable starting point if you already work in Canva. That is the vendor's description of its plans, not a test result; check the current page before you choose.
If you run several client brands, keep one brand record per client and apply it the same way each time. A pale brand colour that works on a banner may be too faint for body text or a form border, so check the elements you actually use.
The lead magnet PDF template is the file your reader actually opens.
“Lead magnet PDF template” can mean two things: the design file you edit, and the PDF that lands in the reader's inbox. Judge the second one. Open the exported file on a desktop and on a phone, and check four things:
- The title page and instructions read in the right order.
- Every link opens the destination named in its label.
- Answer space is comfortable at a readable zoom on a phone.
- The file opens quickly on a mobile connection.
If you later add fillable fields, test that entries save, close and reopen in the viewers your readers use, and share only the access instructions you have checked. The diagnostic kit's PDF has no form fields, so a printed or typed-into copy is the expected route.
Check the licence before you send a branded kit.
A free lead magnet template is free in the sense that you did not pay for the layout. It is not automatically free to rebrand, resell or hand to a client, and the terms differ between tools.
Canva's Content License Agreement shows how specific this gets. Licences are issued per piece of content when you export a design; Pro Content is licensed for a single Canva Design under what the agreement calls a One Design Use License, so using the same item in a second design needs a new licence; and a design containing Canva content may be transferred to a client only on conditions, including a written agreement that the client's use is only their own and follows the agreement, with you remaining responsible for compliance. Retrieved 20 October 2026.
That is a summary of published terms, not legal advice. Read the agreement on the day you publish, and ask a qualified adviser if an agency is branding the file for a client.
Check a template's files and commercial licence and see what to check in lead magnet template packs.
Before you send: a ten-minute check.
- The offer name matches on the cover, the file name and the email.
- Three questions are yours, and each keeps the original answer format.
- The closing call to action points at a page you control.
- The scoring instructions are untouched.
- Colours and fonts come from a brand record, with contrast checked.
- Links work from the exported PDF on a phone.
- Any claim you added has been checked and, where needed, revised.
If you want the wider workflow around the kit — the brief, the claim review and the promotion copy — our own product, the Lead Magnet Workflow Pack, sets that out. It is $79 one time with a full refund within 30 days, and you do not need it to use the free kit.
Questions consultants ask before using a template.
Can a ready-made lead magnet still sound like me?
It can, if the three edits are genuinely yours. The offer name, the three questions and the closing call to action carry the voice. If the finished file sounds like everyone else, the questions are probably still the template's.
Will a diagnostic attract freebie-seekers instead of clients?
A diagnostic asks about a problem you already solve, so a reader who recognises the questions is closer to being a client. That is a filter, not a guarantee. The questions do the work; no resource can promise who will download it.
Is a free lead magnet template really free?
The file may cost nothing. The real cost is the time to fit it to your niche, and the terms may limit commercial or client use. Read the licence on the day you publish.
Do I need design software?
No. The Consultant Diagnostic Launch Kit comes as a PDF, an editable Word file and plain text, plus a scorecard maker in the browser. If you do design a cover, work from a short brand record rather than styling pages one at a time.
Can I use Canva templates for client work?
That depends on the current terms. Canva's Content License Agreement issues licences per export, limits Pro Content to a single design, and sets conditions on transferring a design to a client. Read the agreement and ask a qualified adviser about your situation.
Sources & editorial notes
- Consultant Diagnostic Launch Kit: 10-page PDF, editable Word and plain text, plus a browser scorecard maker, published at /consultant-diagnostic-kit. Free; email to download.
- Canva Pro, retrieved 20 October 2026. Used for the statement that a Brand Kit is a feature of the paid plan.
- Canva Content License Agreement, retrieved 20 October 2026. Used for the licence issued on export, the One Design Use License for Pro Content, and the conditions for transferring a design to a client.
- Lead Magnet Brief Builder, version 2, published at /free-starter-kit; Source & Claim Review Checklist, version 1, published at /resources/source-review-checklist.
- Examples are illustrative. No product has been tested for this site, and no affiliate relationship is active.
Examples are illustrative. See our Editorial Policy, Review Methodology and Affiliate Disclosure.
Fit the structure to your offer before you design a cover.
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