How to Build Your First Email Funnel in GetResponse (Screenshot Walkthrough)

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Most small businesses do not need a bigger audience to make more sales. They need a simple path that turns a stranger into a subscriber, a subscriber into a reader, and a reader into a buyer, without someone hitting “send” by hand every day.

A GetResponse email funnel is exactly that path: a signup page, a free lead magnet, a welcome sequence and an offer, all connected so they run on their own. GetResponse bundles the pieces (lists, forms, landing pages, autoresponders, automation workflows and a dedicated Conversion funnel tool) inside one account, which makes it a practical place to build your first funnel.

This walkthrough follows GetResponse’s own help center articles and public feature pages, step by step, including which menu each task lives in and which plan you need. Screenshots show GetResponse’s public website pages.

In this guide:

• What a GetResponse email funnel is
• Plan your funnel before you open the app
• GetResponse pricing as of October 2026
• How to build a GetResponse email funnel in 7 steps
• Common first-funnel mistakes to avoid
• Is GetResponse right for your first funnel?
• Frequently asked questions

What a GetResponse email funnel is (and what it is not)

An email funnel is a sequence of steps that moves someone from “never heard of you” to “paying customer”. The classic beginner version has four parts: a reason to sign up (the lead magnet), a place to sign up (a landing page or form), a set of automatic emails that build trust, and an offer.

GetResponse describes its Conversion funnel feature as “your ultimate sales funnel software machine”. According to its help center, Conversion funnel “lets you manage and develop online sales” by combining existing features such as autoresponders, landing pages and webinars in one place.

The feature page lists four funnel types:

• Simple opt-in funnels to capture new leads on a landing page.
• Lead magnet funnels that offer valuable content in exchange for an email address.
• Sales funnels to promote, sell and deliver products online.
• Webinar funnels that use free or paid webinars to build relationships and revenue.

Here is the important part for beginners: you do not have to use the Conversion funnel tool to have a funnel. You can also wire the pieces together yourself with a list, a signup form, a landing page and an autoresponder series. That matters because, on the pricing page, “Sales funnels” appear in the Marketer plan and above, while landing pages, signup forms and autoresponders are on every paid plan.

This guide covers both routes.

Plan your funnel before you open the app

The fastest way to waste an afternoon in any email tool is to start building before you know what you are building. Before you log in, write down five things on one page:

1. Who the funnel is for. One audience, described in one sentence.
2. The lead magnet. A checklist, template, mini guide or short video that solves one small problem fast.
3. The welcome sequence. Three to five emails: deliver the freebie, share a quick win, tell your story, handle an objection, make the offer.
4. The offer. One paid product or service that is the natural next step after the freebie.
5. The goal metric. What “working” means, for example signups per week or sales from the sequence.

A content workspace makes this much easier, because the same plan feeds your landing page copy, email drafts and social posts. If you already plan content in Notion, our Content Creator Notion Template gives you a content calendar and idea bank you can use to draft lead magnet topics and email copy in one place. Agencies building funnels for clients can use the Marketing Agency Notion Template to track each client’s funnel assets, approvals and launch dates.

If you do not use Notion yet, you can start a free Notion workspace and keep your funnel plan, email drafts and results in one shared page.

GetResponse pricing as of October 2026

Pricing as of October 2026, taken from GetResponse’s official pricing page. All prices are net amounts in US dollars, and GetResponse notes that local taxes may apply. The billing toggle shows a “Yearly -18%” discount for annual payment.

Paid plans are priced by list size. GetResponse’s help center says plans start “at $19 per month for unlimited messages to up to 1,000 subscribers”, and monthly plans are “bracketed by list size”, so the price rises as your list grows.

Plan	Monthly billing	Annual billing (per month)	Funnel features that matter	Best for
Free	$0	$0	Up to 500 contacts, 2,500 newsletters per month, 1 published landing page, signup and contact forms	Testing the editor and collecting your first leads
Starter	$19	$15.58	Unlimited email sends, landing page builder, signup forms and popups, welcome email series, autoresponders, 1 custom automation workflow	A first lead magnet funnel built manually
Marketer (most popular)	$59	$48.38	Everything in Starter plus unlimited automation workflows, sales funnels, advanced segmentation, abandoned cart recovery, promo codes and revenue reports	Full sales funnels and multiple automations
Creator	$69	$56.58	Everything in Marketer plus webinars, website builder, course creator (up to 500 students) and premium newsletters	Course creators and webinar funnels
Enterprise	Custom pricing	Custom pricing	Everything in Creator plus dedicated IP, SMS marketing, transactional emails, single sign-on and priority support	Larger teams and high-volume senders

A few details worth knowing before you choose:

• Automation limits. Starter includes “1 custom automation workflow”. Marketer and above include unlimited workflows. Autoresponder series and welcome emails are available on every paid plan.
• AI limits. On Starter, the AI email generator, AI subject line generator and AI landing page creator are limited to 3 uses. Higher plans list them as unlimited.
• Landing pages. The pricing table lists landing pages as unlimited on all paid plans.
• Custom domain. Starter includes a free custom domain on yearly plans.

What the Free plan includes

GetResponse’s Free plan page says you get space for “up to 500 contacts”, can “send 2,500 newsletters/mo” as one-time broadcasts, and can “build and publish 1 landing page”. Signup and contact forms are included. The same page’s FAQ also mentions up to 1,000 contacts during the first 14 days, so check the current numbers on the official Free plan page when you sign up.

For funnels specifically, the Free plan page says you can create and save drafts of automation assets, and that the 14-day trial lets you build and publish workflows. After the trial, premium features switch off. The page also notes that a GetResponse badge is added to messages sent from a Free account during the trial, and that landing page A/B tests are only available on paid accounts.

Our recommendation: use the Free plan or trial to build and test the funnel. Upgrade to Starter when you are ready to switch on a real welcome sequence, or to Marketer if you want the Conversion funnel sales funnel and more than one workflow.

How to build a GetResponse email funnel in 7 steps

Step 1: Create your GetResponse account

Go to the GetResponse website and choose “Sign up free” or “Start free trial”. The homepage says no credit card is required and you can cancel anytime.

Once you are in, do three setup tasks before building anything:

1. Confirm the email address you will send from. Use an address on your own domain, not a free webmail address, so your emails look professional.
2. Add your business name and postal address. Email laws in many countries require a physical address in marketing emails.
3. Upload your logo and brand colors, so landing pages and emails look consistent from day one.

Step 2: Build a list for the funnel

Every funnel needs a home for new subscribers. According to GetResponse’s help center, you create one like this:

1. Go to Contacts > Lists.
2. Click Create list.
3. Enter a name. Names must be unique, 3 to 64 characters, and cannot contain emojis or the characters / \ @ [ ].
4. Optionally click Copy existing list settings to reuse your From address, opt-in settings, confirmation email and language.
5. Click Create.

Name the list after the funnel, for example “Pricing checklist funnel”. If you later use the Conversion funnel wizard, note that GetResponse automatically creates a list with the same name as the funnel, so you may not need to create one by hand.

Step 3: Create your signup form or landing page

This is the front door of your funnel. You have two options, and many businesses use both.

Option A: a landing page. GetResponse’s landing page creator page promotes “200+ customizable predesigned templates”, a drag-and-drop editor and an AI Wizard that asks about your business and design preferences, then produces three layouts to choose from. You can publish on a GetResponse subdomain, connect your own domain, or buy one inside the tool.

A good lead magnet landing page has one headline that names the result, three bullets on what is inside the freebie, an image of the freebie, and a short form with one button. Remove the main navigation so there is only one thing to do on the page.

Option B: a signup form or popup on your website. GetResponse’s help center explains that you build these in Forms and popups. Open a form, click Edit design, then drag a Signup form element into your popup. In the right-hand panel, the settings that matter most for a funnel are:

• Fields: keep it to email and first name. Add consent fields if you need them.
• Success view: show a thank-you message, or redirect to a page where people can download the lead magnet.
• Subscription settings: pick your funnel list in the List dropdown, decide whether to turn on Send an opt-in confirmation email (double opt-in), and optionally turn on Add to an autoresponder cycle so new subscribers start your welcome sequence.
• reCAPTCHA: optional, but useful to block spam signups.

On the Free plan, keep the visit cap in mind. GetResponse’s landing page FAQ says Free accounts are limited to 1,000 unique visits per month across all landing pages, and paid plans remove that cap.

Step 4: Add your lead magnet

If your plan includes Conversion funnel, the lead magnet funnel wizard is the quickest way to connect the freebie, the signup page and the delivery page. GetResponse’s help center describes the process like this:

1. Go to Conversion funnel and click Create funnel.
2. Click Build a list, then select Lead Magnet Funnel.
3. Name the funnel.
4. Add a new lead magnet: enter a file name and description, upload a cover image (JPG, JPEG, PNG or GIF), then upload the file itself. Files can be up to 50 MB, and a zip file is recommended. Click Add and go to funnel. You can also pick a file you uploaded before.
5. Click Create a signup page, choose a template, design it and publish. An exit popup is included by default, and you can edit or delete it.
6. Click Create a download page, choose a template, and design the section that shows the download link. Publish it.

Building it manually instead? Host the file somewhere you control, then set your form’s success view to redirect to a thank-you page with the download link. Repeat the link in your first welcome email, so people who close the tab can still get it.

Step 5: Set up the welcome autoresponder or automation workflow

This is where the funnel starts working while you sleep. GetResponse gives you two tools for it: autoresponders and automation workflows. You only need one of them for a first funnel.

Route 1: autoresponders (simplest). Autoresponders send emails on a fixed schedule based on the day someone joined. According to GetResponse’s help center, you create one in Menu > Autoresponders:

1. Click Create autoresponder and choose the AI email creator or build the message yourself.
2. Give the email an internal name and select your funnel list.
3. Set the cycle day. Day 0 is the day a contact subscribes, Day 1 is the day after, and so on.
4. Choose the timing: same time signed up, with a delay of, or exactly at a set time. Then select the days of the week it can go out.
5. Set the From and Reply-to addresses and the subject line.
6. Click Design message, build the email, then click Save and Publish.

One detail from the help center is easy to miss: if a contact’s scheduled day falls on a day you blocked, they get the message on the next allowed day. If your Day 0 email delivers the lead magnet, leave all seven days switched on so nobody waits.

If you used the lead magnet funnel wizard in Step 4, the welcome email lives inside the funnel. Click Send autoresponder, fill in the name, subject and sender details, then choose and design a template. Hover over the autoresponder and click Add another email to add follow-ups. The help center says a funnel can hold up to 64 autoresponders.

Route 2: an automation workflow (more flexible). Workflows react to behavior, not just time. GetResponse’s marketing automation page describes them as combinations of conditions, filters and actions, with templates for goals like “Nurture new signups”. The help center explains how to start from a template:

1. Go to Tools > Automation and open Manage workflows.
2. Click Create workflow.
3. Open the Welcome category. Other categories include Lead qualifying, Engagement and retention, Post-purchase, Abandoned cart, Online courses, Webinars and events, Sales promotions and Affiliate marketing.
4. Click Use template, fill in each element in the Properties tab, then click Save and publish.

The public page for the Welcome email workflow template shows how it is built: a “Subscribed via” trigger (any list and any signup method by default, which you can narrow to your funnel list), one or more “Send message” actions, and a final “Tag” action that marks the contact as welcomed.

That final tag is useful. Once someone is tagged as welcomed, you can start a second workflow for the offer, or exclude them from future welcome messages. Remember that Starter includes only one custom workflow, so if you plan several, Marketer is the better fit.

A simple five-email welcome sequence:

1. Day 0: deliver the lead magnet and say what to expect next.
2. Day 1: a quick win: one tip that helps people use the freebie.
3. Day 3: your story, or why you created this offer.
4. Day 5: answer the biggest objection to buying.
5. Day 7: the offer, with a clear link and a reason to act now.

Step 6: Add your sales page or offer email

Your funnel needs somewhere to send warm subscribers. For many small businesses, the offer email is enough at first: it links to a page where people can buy or book, such as your existing checkout, store or booking page.

If you are on Marketer or above and want GetResponse to handle the sale, use the Conversion funnel sales funnel. According to the help center:

1. Go to Conversion funnel > Create funnel and enter a name of at least 4 characters.
2. Select Sell a product and click Create funnel.
3. Choose Full sales funnel (collects contacts and emails them until they buy) or Quick sales funnel (sends visitors straight to your sales page).
4. Pick or create a store. You can create a GetResponse store with one currency or connect an existing one from Stripe, Shopify, Magento or an XML feed.
5. Add products. Product types include downloadable file, online course, service and physical product.
6. Connect a payment processor: PayPal (Business account), Stripe, PayU or Square.
7. Build the sales page from a template.

The feature page also lists order forms, abandoned order emails and one-click upsells. For a first funnel, focus on one product, one sales page and one clear offer email.

Step 7: Measure and improve

A funnel is never “done”. GetResponse’s help center says list building funnels show unique visitors, success rate and list growth in the funnel statistics. For every funnel, track a short set of numbers each week:

• Landing page conversion rate: signups divided by unique visitors.
• Welcome email open and click rates: especially the Day 0 delivery email.
• Offer email clicks: how many people visit the sales page.
• Sales from the funnel: Marketer and above include revenue reports on the pricing page.
• Unsubscribes: a sudden jump after one email tells you which message to rewrite.

Change one thing at a time. If the landing page converts poorly, test a new headline first. On paid plans, GetResponse offers A/B testing for landing pages, which makes this easier. If people sign up but do not open emails, work on subject lines and sender name. If they open but do not click, make the call to action clearer.

Common first-funnel mistakes to avoid

Most first funnels that underperform share a few fixable problems. Check yours against this list before you launch.

• A vague lead magnet. “Free newsletter” is not a reason to sign up. “The 10-point pricing checklist for freelancers” is.
• A lead magnet that does not match the offer. If the freebie is about Instagram and the product is about bookkeeping, the funnel breaks at the last step.
• Forgetting the double opt-in decision. Double opt-in usually means a cleaner list. Single opt-in means faster growth. Decide on purpose, in your form’s subscription settings.
• Never testing the funnel yourself. Sign up with a personal address, download the freebie, and read every email on your phone before you drive traffic.
• Outgrowing your plan without noticing. On Free, watch the contact limit and the landing page visit cap. On Starter, remember the single custom workflow.

Is GetResponse right for your first funnel?

GetResponse is a strong fit if you want lists, landing pages, forms, autoresponders, automation and a funnel builder in one account, instead of connecting three or four separate tools. Its homepage groups the product into list growth, communication, selling and content monetization, which covers the whole beginner funnel.

GetResponse is a good choice if you:

• Sell digital products, courses, coaching or services and want landing pages and email in one tool.
• Want guided funnel wizards rather than building every connection by hand.
• Plan to add webinars or courses later (Creator plan and above).

Look elsewhere, or start smaller, if you:

• Only need a plain monthly newsletter with no automation.
• Need complex sales funnels but cannot budget for Marketer, since sales funnels are not listed on Starter.

For most small businesses building their first lead magnet funnel, the practical path is: plan in Notion, build and test on the Free plan or the 14-day trial, then move to Starter or Marketer once real subscribers start arriving. You can open a free GetResponse account here and follow the steps above.

Frequently asked questions

Can I build a GetResponse email funnel on the Free plan?

You can start one. The Free plan page lists up to 500 contacts, 2,500 newsletters per month, one published landing page and signup forms. Automation assets can be drafted on Free, and the 14-day trial lets you publish workflows. For an always-on welcome sequence, plan to move to a paid plan.

Which GetResponse plan includes the Conversion funnel?

On the pricing page as of October 2026, “Sales funnels” are listed on Marketer, Creator and Enterprise, not on Starter. GetResponse’s funnel feature and help pages do not list plan availability for every funnel type, so check the current pricing page for list building and lead magnet funnels on your plan.

What is the difference between an autoresponder and a workflow?

Autoresponders send emails on a schedule based on the day someone subscribed (Day 0, Day 1 and so on). Automation workflows react to conditions and actions, such as subscribing via a specific form, clicking a link or receiving a tag. Autoresponders are simpler. Workflows are more flexible.

How many emails should my welcome sequence have?

Three to five is a sensible starting point for a first funnel: deliver the freebie, give a quick win, build trust, handle an objection and make the offer. GetResponse’s help center notes there is no cap on autoresponder messages per list, and a funnel can hold up to 64 autoresponders, but more is not automatically better.

Do I need my own website to use GetResponse funnels?

No. GetResponse landing pages can be published on a GetResponse subdomain, and the landing page creator page says you can also connect your own domain or buy one in the tool. A website helps for long-term credibility, but it is not required to launch.

Can I sell products directly through a GetResponse funnel?

Yes, with the sales funnel. The help center describes creating a GetResponse store or connecting Stripe, Shopify, Magento or an XML feed, adding products, and connecting PayPal, Stripe, PayU or Square to accept payments.

How much does GetResponse cost?

As of October 2026, the pricing page shows Starter from $19 per month, Marketer from $59 and Creator from $69 with monthly billing, or $15.58, $48.38 and $56.58 per month billed annually. Enterprise is custom priced. Prices rise with list size, so check the official pricing page for your contact count.

Start your first GetResponse email funnel today

Your first funnel does not need to be clever. It needs a useful freebie, a clean signup page, a short welcome sequence and one clear offer. Plan it on one page, build it in an afternoon, then improve it one change at a time.