---
title: "Lead capture"
description: "Turning a reader into a contact: the three modes, what is collected, and where those contacts go."
updated: "2026-08-18"
verifiedAgainst:
  - packages/shared/src/lead-metadata.ts
  - packages/shared/src/index.ts
---

Lead capture is the mechanism that asks a reader for an email address.

## The three modes

<PropertyList>
  <Property name="off">
    Nothing is asked for anywhere.
  </Property>
  <Property name="cta">
    Readers are sent to your product rather than asked for an address. The right
    mode when your signup is the conversion.
  </Property>
  <Property name="email">
    Readers are asked for an address on the blog itself.
  </Property>
</PropertyList>

Mode is set for the Project, and individual Content Directions can turn lead
capture off for their own posts.

## What is captured

The address, and the context around it: which post, which call to action, and how
the reader arrived. That attribution is what makes lead data useful rather than a
list.

## Where leads go

Into the Project's lead list, visible in the workspace. See
[newsletter and leads](/growth/newsletter).

## Being careful

<Callout variant="warning" title="You are collecting personal data">
  An email address is personal data in most jurisdictions, and what you may do
  with it depends on where your readers are and what you told them when you asked.
  Blogged gives you the mechanism, the consent controls and the unsubscribe path.
  What is lawful for your audience is a question for you and your advisers, and
  this documentation is not legal advice.
</Callout>