Building a sales funnel used to mean one of two things: hire a developer for thousands of dollars, or pay $97+/month for a funnel builder before you've made your first sale.
Not anymore. In this guide, I'll walk you through building a complete sales funnel on Systeme.io — from signup to live pages — without spending a single dollar. Everything I'll show you works on the free plan.
What You'll Build
By the end of this guide, you'll have a working funnel that:
- Captures leads with an opt-in page
- Delivers a lead magnet automatically
- Sends a welcome email sequence
- Upsells to a paid product (digital or physical)
This is the same funnel structure that drives real revenue for thousands of online businesses. The only difference is you're building it for free.
Step 1: Create Your Free Account
Head over to Systeme.io and sign up with your email address. No credit card required. The free plan gives you:
- 3 sales funnels
- 2,000 contacts
- Unlimited email sends
- 1 custom domain
- 0% transaction fees
Once you're logged in, you'll see the dashboard. Take a minute to familiarize yourself with the layout — everything is organized into Funnels, Emails, Contacts, Products, and Settings.
Step 2: Choose a Funnel Template
Systeme.io comes with pre-built funnel templates designed for specific goals. To create your first funnel:
- Click "Funnels" in the left sidebar
- Click "Create" (the green button)
- You'll see template options for different funnel types:
- Lead capture funnel — perfect for building your email list
- Sales funnel — for selling a product directly
- Webinar funnel — for registering attendees
- Course funnel — for selling online courses
For this guide, choose "Build an audience" (the lead capture template). Give your funnel a name like "My First Funnel" and select your custom domain.
Step 3: Customize Your Opt-In Page
This is the page where visitors enter their email address in exchange for your lead magnet (a free ebook, checklist, template, etc.).
- Click on the opt-in page step in your funnel
- You'll see a template loaded with placeholder content
- Click "Edit page" to open the drag-and-drop editor
The editor is intuitive — click any element to edit text, swap images, or change colors. Here's what to focus on:
- Headline: Make it benefit-driven. Instead of "Subscribe to my newsletter," try "Get my free 5-day email course on [your topic]."
- Sub-headline: One sentence explaining what they'll get and why it matters.
- Opt-in form: This is already connected to your contact list. Just make sure the button text is clear: "Send me the free guide!"
- Image: Add a mockup or cover image of your lead magnet to increase perceived value.
Save your changes when you're done.
Step 4: Set Up Your Thank-You Page
After someone enters their email, they should land on a thank-you page. This page does two things: confirms their subscription and presents your first offer.
- Click on the thank-you page step in your funnel
- Edit the page content:
- Thank them for subscribing
- Tell them to check their inbox for the lead magnet
- Present a low-cost "tripwire" offer (a $7–$27 product) to convert free subscribers into paying customers immediately
If you don't have a product yet, that's fine. You can use this page to invite them to book a call, join your community, or follow you on social media. The key is to give them a next step.
Step 5: Create Your Email Sequence
This is where Systeme.io really shines. Your email automation runs in the background, nurturing leads while you sleep.
- Go to Emails → Campaigns and create a new campaign
- Add your first email — the delivery email that sends the lead magnet
- Schedule a sequence of follow-up emails:
Email 1 (Immediate): Deliver the lead magnet + welcome message
Email 2 (Day 2): Share a quick win or valuable tip related to your topic
Email 3 (Day 4): Tell a story or case study that builds trust
Email 4 (Day 6): Introduce your paid offer with a clear call-to-action
Email 5 (Day 8): Address common objections and answer FAQs
Each email should feel personal, not promotional. The goal is to build a relationship, not just pitch a product.
Step 6: Connect Your Funnel to the Email Sequence
Now you need to make sure that when someone enters their email on the opt-in page, they're automatically added to your email sequence.
- Go back to your funnel
- Click on the opt-in page step
- Under "Settings" for the form, select your email campaign from the dropdown
- Save
That's it. When someone submits the form, they're tagged and enrolled in your sequence automatically.
Step 7: Add a Product (Optional but Recommended)
If you have something to sell — an ebook, a course, a template pack, a coaching session — set it up:
- Go to Products → Create a product
- Enter the name, price, and description
- Upload your digital file (if it's a downloadable product)
- Connect a payment gateway (Stripe or PayPal — both free to set up)
- Go back to your thank-you page and add a buy button linked to this product
Systeme.io charges 0% transaction fees, so you keep 100% of your revenue (minus standard Stripe/PayPal processing fees).
Step 8: Publish and Test
Before going live:
- Click "Publish" on each page in your funnel
- Open your funnel URL in an incognito window
- Test the entire flow: enter a dummy email, check that the thank-you page loads, verify the delivery email arrives
- If you set up a product, test the checkout flow with a $0 or low-price test purchase
Once everything works, you're live. Share your funnel link on social media, embed it in your blog posts, or run traffic to it with ads.
What Happens When You Outgrow the Free Plan?
The free plan supports 2,000 contacts and 3 funnels. When you hit those limits, upgrading to the Startup plan at $17/month gives you 5,000 contacts, 10 funnels, and 5 courses. The Unlimited plan at $97/month removes all caps.
The key insight: you only upgrade when you're already making money. Systeme.io's pricing model is designed so that your platform costs scale with your revenue, not before it.
Recap: Your Zero-Cost Funnel
In about 60–90 minutes, you've built:
✅ A lead capture page
✅ A thank-you page with an offer
✅ An automated 5-email sequence
✅ A product checkout flow
✅ All connected and working together
No developer. No $97/month subscription. No credit card on file.
If you're ready to build your first funnel, sign up for Systeme.io's free plan here and follow along with this guide. The whole setup takes less time than watching a movie.
Have questions about any step? Drop them in the comments and I'll help you troubleshoot.
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