Gated Content Secret Leaked: As A Marketer, You Should Know!

Imagine a weighted balance scale: on one side is lead generation; the other, brand visibility. As a content marketer, your role is to leverage both gated and ungated content to achieve a harmonious balance between these two objectives.

When users land on your website, gated content greets them with a CTA or pop-up, offering access to valuable content in exchange for their information. This could mean providing an email address to download a content offer — a strategy designed to generate leads for your business.

What is Gated Content?

Gated content is any material that viewers can only access after providing their information. In essence, it’s content placed behind a form. Businesses use this approach to generate leads and, eventually, drive sales.

An important distinction to make is that gated content for inbound marketing purposes is free and isn’t concealed behind a paywall. Users must submit their personal information — not payment details — to unlock the content.

You may wonder, “Why would I hide my content from my audience?”

Typically, the aim of gated content is lead generation. Gated content isn’t suited for brand awareness or visibility initiatives because its hidden nature limits traffic potential.

Below, we’ll delve into the advantages and disadvantages of gated versus ungated content.

Gated content is usually shielded by a paywall, allowing publishers to mandate user sign-ups or payments for access.

Gated Content: What Marketers Need to Understand

Gated content is designed to generate leads that can be nurtured into prospects, while ungated content focuses on increasing traffic and enhancing audience trust.

Both types of content play a crucial role in your content marketing strategy, provided you strike the right balance to align with your business goals.

After reviewing this list, you might be asking yourself, “How do I determine whether to gate my content?”

The answer depends on your priorities — are you aiming for brand visibility or lead generation?

Additionally, consider the format of the content. Longer-form content, such as an ebook, is ideal for gated content, whereas shorter-form content, like blog posts, tends to perform better when left ungated.

Once you’ve made the decision to create gated content, you’re likely wondering how to begin. Below, we’ll explore some best practices to guide you.

Best Practices for Gated Content

1. Create content tailored to each stage of the buyer’s journey.
2. Conduct a competitive analysis.
3. Offer a compelling incentive.
4. Design a strong landing page.
5. Segment your audience effectively.
6. Analyze performance metrics.

1. Create content tailored to each stage of the buyer’s journey.

As prospects move through the buyer’s journey, they pass through three key stages: awareness, consideration, and decision.

Each stage requires content that resonates with their current mindset. For example, someone in the awareness stage might be interested in downloading an ebook, while a prospect in the decision stage may prefer a product demo or webinar.

By aligning your gated content with the specific stage of the buyer’s journey, you increase the likelihood of conversion.

2. Conduct a competitive analysis.

After brainstorming content ideas for each stage of the buyer’s journey, it’s essential to perform a competitive analysis.

During this process, research the types of content your competitors are offering and identify what is gated versus ungated. This will help you determine which content formats hold enough value to justify gating.

3. Offer a compelling incentive.

As an inbound marketer, delivering value should always be your top priority. Your gated content shouldn’t be a simple blog post—it needs to provide actionable and highly valuable insights.

Equally important, the content must be relevant to your audience. When your gated content delivers true value, it motivates users to complete the form and share their contact information.

4. Design a strong landing page.

When users click on a CTA for a content offer, they’re typically directed to a landing page. A best practice for gated content is to create a well-optimized landing page that prioritizes user experience and privacy.

Depending on your CMS, the technical steps for gating content may vary. However, most landing pages include a form where visitors can input their details in exchange for the content. Ensure the form is straightforward, easy to use, and mobile-friendly.

5. Segment your audience effectively.

Once users download your gated content and provide their email addresses, it’s crucial to segment your email lists.

Segmentation allows you to craft targeted and effective email marketing campaigns. It also enables you to send nurturing emails that guide leads toward becoming prospects.

6. Analyze performance metrics.

After gating a piece of content, track conversions and measure analytics to evaluate its success.

Measuring results is vital for any marketing strategy, as it provides insights into audience behavior and helps refine your content marketing approach.

Now that you’re familiar with best practices for creating gated content, let’s explore the types of content and examples to see how this works in action.

Gated Content: What Marketers Need to Explore#

There are numerous ways to create landing pages for gated content — here are five of the most common types of content that businesses choose to gate.

White Papers, Case Studies, and Other Reports

White papers, case studies, and other reports are excellent examples of gated content because they deliver targeted value to your audience.

A white paper is an authoritative, in-depth report on a specific topic; case studies focus on a particular use case; and other reports may not fit neatly into either category but still adopt a text-heavy, longer-form format.

These content types can position your brand as an industry expert. When you’re seen as a trusted authority, people are more inclined to engage with your content — leading to more downloads and conversions.

Typically, these offers consist of long-form content that is both interesting and valuable to your audience, like this example from IMO Health about high-quality medical data and research.

Ebooks

Another popular form of gated content is the ebook. Unlike a white paper, an ebook is usually a shorter guide focused on a specific topic.

Ebooks can also help establish your brand authority and build trust with your audience. They are commonly used during the awareness and consideration stages of the buyer’s journey.

IMO Health, for instance, offers multiple gated ebooks that require users to provide their contact information before they can click the “download” button.

Templates

One of our favorite forms of gated content is the template. A template is a tactical, actionable piece of content that provides immediate practical value.

The perceived value of a template is often higher than that of an ebook or white paper, making your audience more likely to share their contact information to access it.

Templates are an ideal gated content offer for individuals in the consideration and decision stages of the buyer’s journey.

Webinars

Webinars are designed to educate your audience about a specific topic. Through webinars, you can build trust, foster relationships, and inspire action.

For prospects in the decision stage of the buyer’s journey, webinars serve as an excellent gated content offer.

Like templates, webinars have a high perceived value, increasing the likelihood that your audience will complete the form to access them.

Quizzes

If you’re someone who wears makeup and has been active on Instagram or TikTok in recent years, you’ve likely encountered IL Makiage, a cosmetics company known for its extensive range of foundation shades.

IL Makiage, a cosmetics brand known for its wide range of foundation shades, first grabs attention with before-and-after photos of models. These images highlight flawless skin that appears even more radiant after using IL Makiage foundation. The company then promises that its “PowerMatch algorithm” will identify the perfect foundation shade for your skin tone—no in-store testing required.

Once you’ve spent several minutes engaging with the quiz—a significant time investment in an age where 30-second videos dominate—the brand requests your contact information before unveiling your personalized foundation match.

Gated vs. Ungated Content

When utilizing gated content, it’s crucial to offer your audience something valuable and relevant. Gated content should be targeted and designed to help you generate leads effectively. Remember the balance between brand visibility and lead generation: gate your content strategically, keeping your audience’s needs at the forefront.