PDF Lead Magnet Generator

Generate professional PDF lead magnets (ebooks, checklists, cheatsheets) with consistent branding and high-quality typography.

Agent Integration

Which agents can use this skill:

Agent	Usage
drafting	When an idea has `lead_magnet` specified, can create companion PDF content
projection-blog	Reference lead magnets in blog CTAs
projection-newsletter	Include lead magnets in newsletter issues
editorial	Review lead magnet content quality

Primary usage: Manual invocation via generate.py script. Future: Dedicated lead-magnet agent for automated PDF creation from idea files.

When to Use Each Template

Template	Use For	Pages	Example
ebook	Long-form guides, multi-chapter content	5-30+	"The Complete Guide to Technical Due Diligence"
checklist	Actionable step-by-step lists	1-3	"First 90 Days as CTO Checklist"
cheatsheet	Quick reference, condensed info	1-2	"Build vs Buy Decision Framework"

How PDFs Are Created

The workflow: Markdown content → HTML (via templates) → PDF

code

your-content.md  →  template.html + CSS  →  weasyprint/pdfkit  →  output.pdf

What you control:

•Content: Write in Markdown with special syntax for callouts/checkboxes
•Structure: Use Markdown headings (H1, H2, H3) to define sections
•Page breaks: Use HTML tags or heading levels to force breaks
•Styling: Choose template type (ebook/checklist/cheatsheet), colours via CLI args

What the templates handle:

•Cover page (auto-generated from title/subtitle/author)
•Typography and spacing
•Callout box styling
•Page headers/footers
•Print-optimised CSS

Content Structure Guide

Markdown → PDF Mapping

Markdown	PDF Result
`# Heading 1`	Chapter title (forces page break in ebook)
`## Heading 2`	Section heading with accent border
`### Heading 3`	Subsection heading
`- [ ] Item`	Styled checkbox (empty)
`- [x] Item`	Styled checkbox (checked)
`::: tip ... :::`	Golden accent callout box
`::: warning ... :::`	Orange warning box
`::: key-takeaway ... :::`	Full-width dark box
`> Quote text`	Pull quote with accent styling
Tables	Styled tables with header row

Controlling Pages and Layout

1. Force a page break:

markdown

<div class="page-break-before">

## New Section

This starts on a fresh page.

</div>

2. Keep content together (don't split):

markdown

<div class="avoid-break">

This entire block stays on one page if possible.

- Item 1
- Item 2
- Item 3

</div>

3. Heading levels determine breaks:

•# H1 → Always starts new page (ebook template)
•## H2 → Stays with following content
•Callout boxes → Never split across pages

Example: Checklist Structure

markdown

# First 90 Days Checklist

Brief intro paragraph...

## Phase 1: Deep Listening (Weeks 1-4)

Your job is to understand, not to act.

- [ ] Schedule 1:1s with every direct report
- [ ] Shadow key meetings without contributing
- [ ] Read all post-mortems from last 12 months

::: tip
The moment you start offering opinions, people stop telling you the truth.
:::

## Phase 2: Mapping (Weeks 5-8)

<div class="page-break-before">

Now form your internal picture.

- [ ] Identify what's actually working
- [ ] Map the political landscape
- [ ] Document constraints that shaped decisions

</div>

::: warning
Don't share your conclusions yet — you're still learning.
:::

Example: Ebook Structure

markdown

# Chapter 1: The Problem

Opening hook that grabs attention...

## Why Most Teams Fail

Body content explaining the core issue...

::: key-takeaway
The single most important insight from this chapter.
:::

<div class="page-break-before">

# Chapter 2: The Framework

</div>

## Step 1: Assess

Detailed explanation...

## Step 2: Decide

More content...

Required Inputs (CLI Arguments)

bash

python generate.py \
  --template ebook        # ebook | checklist | cheatsheet
  --title "Title"         # Cover page title
  --subtitle "Subtitle"   # Cover page subtitle (optional)
  --author "Name"         # Default: Xavier Fuentes
  --content file.md       # Your Markdown content file
  --output output.pdf     # Where to save the PDF
  --brand-colour "#hex"   # Default: #0d2818 (Deep Jungle)
  --accent-colour "#hex"  # Default: #d4a05e (Golden Amber)
  --logo path/to/logo     # Optional logo file
  --debug                 # Save intermediate HTML for debugging

Generation Process

1. Prepare Content

Create a markdown file with your content:

markdown

# Section Title

Introduction paragraph...

## Subsection

Content with **bold** and *italic* formatting.

::: tip
This is a tip callout box.
:::

::: warning
This is a warning callout box.
:::

::: key-takeaway
This is a key takeaway box.
:::

- [ ] Checklist item one
- [ ] Checklist item two
- [x] Completed item

2. Generate PDF

bash

python .claude/skills/pdf-leadmagnet/scripts/generate.py \
  --template ebook \
  --title "Your Title" \
  --subtitle "Your Subtitle" \
  --author "Xavier Fuentes" \
  --brand-colour "#1a1a2e" \
  --accent-colour "#e94560" \
  --content content.md \
  --output output/my-leadmagnet.pdf

3. Output

PDFs are generated to the specified output path. Default naming convention:

•{slug}-leadmagnet.pdf (e.g., first-90-days-checklist.pdf)

Output location: content/assets/ for production files.

Brand Reference

See docs/guides/brand-guide.md for the full Mad Monkey Club visual system.

Default colours (jungle palette):

Colour	Hex	Usage
Deep Jungle	`#0d2818`	Cover backgrounds, headers
Forest	`#1a3c34`	Secondary backgrounds
Golden Amber	`#d4a05e`	Accents, CTAs, highlights
Warm White	`#faf9f7`	Page backgrounds

Typography: Sora (headings) + Source Sans 3 (body)

Override via CLI args: --brand-colour "#hex" --accent-colour "#hex"

Template Features

All Templates Include

•Professional cover page with title, subtitle, author
•Consistent header/footer with page numbers
•Styled callout boxes (tip, warning, note, key-takeaway)
•Custom checkbox styling for checklists
•Pull quote styling
•Code block formatting
•Page break controls

Ebook Template

•Multi-page support with automatic pagination
•Table of contents (optional)
•Chapter dividers
•Welcome/intro section template
•CTA section at the end

Checklist Template

•Large, prominent checkboxes
•Step numbering with visual hierarchy
•Compact single/double-page layout
•Space for notes

Cheatsheet Template

•Dense information layout
•Multi-column support
•Quick reference tables
•Condensed typography

Page Break Control

Use these classes in your content:

html

<div class="page-break-before">
  Content that starts on a new page
</div>

<div class="page-break-after">
  Content followed by a page break
</div>

<div class="avoid-break">
  Content that should stay together
</div>

Setup

Quick Setup (using virtual environment)

bash

# Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate

# Install Python dependencies
pip install -r .claude/skills/pdf-leadmagnet/requirements.txt

# Install wkhtmltopdf (recommended PDF engine)
brew install wkhtmltopdf

Dependencies

The generate script tries multiple PDF engines in order:

•pdfkit (wkhtmltopdf) — Best CSS support, recommended
•weasyprint — Good fallback, pure Python

Required Python packages (in requirements.txt):

•markdown — Markdown to HTML conversion
•jinja2 — Template rendering
•pdfkit — PDF generation (requires wkhtmltopdf)

Install the recommended option:

bash

# macOS
brew install wkhtmltopdf
pip install markdown jinja2 pdfkit

# Or use weasyprint (no system deps)
pip install markdown jinja2 weasyprint

Context Files

•context/design-principles.md — Visual design guidelines
•context/typography.md — Font pairings and sizing rules
•context/structure.md — Content structure patterns

Examples

Generate a Checklist

bash

python .claude/skills/pdf-leadmagnet/scripts/generate.py \
  --template checklist \
  --title "First 90 Days as CTO" \
  --subtitle "A Restraint-First Checklist" \
  --content first-90-days-checklist.md \
  --output content/assets/first-90-days-checklist.pdf

Generate an Ebook

bash

python .claude/skills/pdf-leadmagnet/scripts/generate.py \
  --template ebook \
  --title "Build vs Buy" \
  --subtitle "A Decision Framework for Technical Leaders" \
  --content build-vs-buy-guide.md \
  --output content/assets/build-vs-buy-framework.pdf