Facebook lead ads into your list

When you run lead ads on Facebook or Instagram (Meta calls them instant forms), the email someone submits can land in your list here within seconds and trigger your email sequence — no daily trip to Ads Manager to download a file.

You need one connector service in the middle (Zapier, Make or ManyChat). That is not busywork: pulling leads from Meta directly requires Meta Business Verification and App Review, and these three passed it long ago — you are borrowing their pass.

Pick a connector

Service	Best for	Note
Make (formerly Integromat)	Just want the leads, cheaply	Facebook Lead Ads works on the free plan
Zapier	Already using Zapier	Facebook Lead Ads is a paid-plan app there
ManyChat	Already using it for comment automation	Do it in the same flow, no extra vendor

The setup is identical in all three; only the screens differ. Plan contents change, so check the current terms when you sign up.

1. Create a form here

Go to Site content → Forms and add a form, e.g. “FB lead ads”. Keep Email and Name only — other questions on your ad form (phone, company) are not stored in the list here; those answers stay on Meta's side.

Set two things:

• Tags: e.g. fb-ads. That is how you later tell “these came from ads” and mail only them.
• Sequence: under Email → Sequences, create one triggered by that tag. The first email should go out within minutes.

2. Generate the key

Back in the forms list, click Embed code on that form, scroll to Server integration (ManyChat / Zapier / n8n), click Generate key, then Copy. You get the submit URL, the key and a JSON example.

The key exempts server-side submissions from the per-IP rate limit (connector services share outbound IPs across all their customers, so without it a scaling ad campaign gets blocked). Details on the FB / IG comment auto-reply page.

3. Configure the connector

Trigger: choose Facebook Lead Ads → authorise your Facebook account → pick the Page and the instant form.

It will ask for ad-management and lead-retrieval permissions. Those are for that service, and unrelated to this platform.

Action: choose Webhook / HTTP / External Request and fill in:

Field	Value
Method	POST
URL	the submit URL you copied (https://your-domain/api/f/submit/FORM_ID)
Headers	Content-Type: application/json X-Form-Key: YOUR_KEY
Body	{ "email": "{{email}}", "name": "{{full_name}}" }

Replace {{email}} and {{full_name}} with the service's own variables — insert them by clicking the field in its UI rather than typing. Meta's standard field names are email and full_name.

4. Test

Use Meta's Lead Ads Testing Tool to send a fake lead, or submit the instant form preview once. Then check two places here:

1. Forms → View submissions should show the entry immediately
2. Email → Subscribers should show the same address with your tag on it

If nothing arrives, it is almost always a URL missing https://, a body that isn't valid JSON, or a variable that wasn't actually picked (so it posts an empty string).

Why it's worth it

The most expensive thing about lead ads is silence after the form. Interest peaks the moment someone submits; if your first email lands the next day, many have forgotten what they signed up for. Connected, the first email goes out in minutes and the sequence takes it from there — so your ad spend buys more than a spreadsheet.

FAQ

What about leads I already collected? Download the CSV from Meta Business Suite's instant forms and drop it into Subscribers → Import. We recognise Meta's headers (email, full_name) as they are. ⚠️ Meta keeps leads for 90 days only.

What if the same person submits twice? The list de-duplicates by email, billable contacts are not double-counted, and sequences are not re-sent.

Do I need Meta app review for this? No. The connector service did that; you are only authorising them to read your own leads.

Do Instagram lead ads work too? Yes, same setup — IG leads sit under the Page you linked.

Can I capture phone numbers? The list here stores email and name only. Phone numbers stay in Meta's lead data; use the CSV download if you need them.