Guide 7 of 7 in Level 4: Run it as an ad

How to run Facebook lead ads and download the leads

To run Facebook lead ads with Blackbox (blackbox.plus), click + in the Inbox, choose New Campaign and pick Get leads as the goal. Under Lead destination, click Native form, so people fill in Meta’s own form inside the ad instead of visiting your website. Paste your privacy policy link, which Meta requires, then choose the questions: full name, email and phone to start, plus company, job title or a question of your own. Plan the rest as for any campaign, with who sees it, the ads and the budget, then draft it, approve it and start it. Each time Blackbox syncs the ad account, new sign-ups land on the Leads page in the left menu, newest first, with name, email, phone and where they came from. Search them by name, email or company, and click Export CSV to download them all, with a column for each question. Only forms made in Blackbox are listed.

You'll need
Time
About 8 minutes 12 steps Updated
You'll end with
A Meta lead ad collecting sign-ups, and its leads downloaded as a CSV file
Do it in Blackbox Open the Inbox, after you sign in
Example
Meta’s own form in the ad, and every sign-up in one list

How to run Facebook lead ads and download the leads in Blackbox

  1. Step 1:Open New Campaign

    In the Inbox, click the + button, then New Campaign.

    You'll see: New campaign for your brand, on Preset.

    Open this in Blackbox

  2. Step 2:Pick Get leads

    Under What it should get you, click Get leads.

    You'll see: Lead destination under the goals, with Website and Native form.

  3. Step 3:Pick the native form

    Under Lead destination, click Native form.

    You'll see: The form’s settings, starting with Privacy policy URL.

  4. Step 4:Add your privacy policy

    Paste the address of your privacy page into Privacy policy URL.

    You'll see: Your link in the box, and the red Required line gone.

  5. Step 5:Write the form’s words

    Fill in Headline, Intro text and Thank-you message, or leave them empty.

    You'll see: Your words in each box.

  6. Step 6:Choose the questions

    Under Form fields, keep Full name, Email and Phone, or click Add field for another.

    You'll see: One row per question, each with a Required box.

  7. Step 7:Plan the rest

    Click Continue, then set who sees it, the ads and the budget as for any campaign.

    You'll see: Review, with What the draft creates, marked All paused.

  8. Step 8:Draft it

    Click Draft the campaign.

    You'll see: Your brand’s thread, open on the Campaign proposal.

  9. Step 9:Approve and start it

    On the proposal, click Approve & create, then Start ads.

    You'll see: The card marked Running, with the day it is on.

  10. Step 10:Open Leads

    Click Leads in the left menu.

    You'll see: Each lead with when it came in, name, email, phone and Meta.

    Open this in Blackbox

  11. Step 11:Find a lead

    Type a name, email or company into the search box.

    You'll see: Only the leads that match.

  12. Step 12:Download them

    Click Export CSV.

    You'll see: A file named leads- and the date, with one row per lead.

Good to know

  • Blackbox fetches new leads each time it syncs the ad account, about every hour. Sync now, on the ad account’s page under Data, fetches them sooner.
  • Only forms made in Blackbox are read. A form you made in Meta Ads Manager doesn’t show here.
  • Website sends people to your landing page instead; their sign-ups happen on your site, not on the Leads page.
  • A live post can’t carry the form. Use a Studio post or a blank creative.
  • The table shows name, email, phone, company and job title. Answers to your own questions are in the CSV, one column each.
  • The CSV holds every lead that matches the search, with times in UTC.
  • Everyone in the workspace can see and download the leads, for every brand.

If something doesn't work

Leads says No leads yet

Leads appear after someone fills in the form and the ad account next syncs. To fetch them now, open the ad account on the Data page and click Sync now.

I don’t see Lead destination

It shows once Get leads is picked and Meta Ads is on under Where it runs. Pick both, and it appears under the goals.

It says Required — Meta/LinkedIn need a privacy policy URL

Meta won’t make the form without one. Paste the full address of your privacy page, starting with https://.

Review blocks a live post with Live post · lead form

A post running as posted has no form. Remove it on Creative and add a Studio post or a blank one, or switch Lead destination to Website.

My own question isn’t in the table

The table shows the standard fields only. Click Export CSV: each of your questions has its own column there.

Stuck at any step? Send us a message and we'll do it with you on a call. All of Level 4: Run it as an ad