Deliver a PDF freebie automatically when someone joins

Short answer

Open your Kit Form or Landing Page, click Settings in the top toolbar, then open the Confirmation Email tab. Keep Send confirmation email on, leave Auto-confirm new subscribers unchecked (that's double opt-in), and under After confirming redirect to choose Download and upload your PDF. When someone clicks the confirm button in that email, the file downloads.

How Kit delivers the file

Kit doesn't attach the PDF to an email. It sends a confirmation email (Kit also calls it the incentive email) with a button. Clicking that button confirms the subscriber and delivers what you chose: a file download, or a page you pick (such as a thank-you page that hosts the file). So the freebie only arrives for people who confirm. That describes the confirmation flow; it is not a guarantee that every confirmed address is genuine.

Steps

Open the form or landing page. Open the Kit Form or Landing Page people will sign up through (or create one).
Open the confirmation email settings. Click Settings in the toolbar across the top of the builder, then the Confirmation Email tab.
Keep the email on. Leave Send confirmation email checked. Turning it off also turns off double opt-in, and there'd be no email to deliver the file.
Keep double opt-in. Leave Auto-confirm new subscribers unchecked. Kit strongly recommends double opt-in.
Set the confirmation-button download. Under After confirming redirect to, select Download, click Choose a file, wait for the upload to finish, and save.
Write the email. Click Edit Email Contents. Change the sender, subject, and body so it says what they're getting ("Confirm and your checklist downloads instantly"). Personalization tags work in the body but not in the subject line. Click Save.
Save and publish the form. If you changed anything else on the form or landing page, click Save near the top right, then Publish.
Test it as a stranger. Sign up with a fresh address (an email alias works), confirm, and make sure the PDF downloads on both phone and desktop. Use the checklist below.

Choose a download or a thank-you page

Choose a download or a thank-you page
	Download (file in Kit)	Redirect to a page you own
Setup	Fastest: upload and done	Host the PDF yourself and link it from the page
Phones	Opens in the phone's PDF viewer	You control what they see first (next step, offer, how-to)
Updating the file	Upload a new file in the same setting; future emails use it	Replace the file on your page
Best for	A single PDF, launching today	Several files, or when you want to say more than "here it is"

If you don't choose either, Kit sends people to its default confirmation page at app.kit.com/confirm-subscription, which you can't edit.

Pre-launch test checklist

Before you share the form

Signed up with a new address that has never been on the list
The confirmation email arrived (check spam and Promotions)
The subject line makes sense without personalization
Clicking the button downloaded the right, latest PDF
It opens on a phone, not just on desktop
The test subscriber now shows as confirmed in Kit
Deleted the test subscriber so they don't skew your numbers

0 of 7 done. Ticks are saved only in this browser.

What breaks

"I never got it." Usually the confirmation email landed in spam, or the person never clicked confirm. Sending from a free-mail address (Gmail, Yahoo) and a weak sender reputation are common causes. Kit has troubleshooting guides for both the email and the download.
Old file still going out. Re-upload under Download in the same Confirmation Email settings and save. Every form or landing page has its own setting, so update each one that uses the file.
Auto-confirm on, freebie off. If you turn on auto-confirm, people are confirmed whether or not they click. Test that the file is still delivered the way you expect.

Starting a list?

Kit's free plan includes forms, landing pages, and this confirmation-email delivery.

Open Kit vendor link

Sources

Kit Help Center: The Confirmation Email (updated July 30, 2026; checked Nov 7, 2026)
Kit Help Center: Troubleshooting confirmation downloads (linked from the article above)
Kit pricing: opt-in incentives and plan features (read November 7, 2026)

Published November 7, 2026. Sources last read November 7, 2026. Send a correction.