Using Gated Content in Your Email Marketing Strategy June 17, 2021, | Posted by Kia Zalewski

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Gated content, which describes any content that your visitors can access only after providing their information, is a great tool that can help you grow your owned subscriber list and collect additional information from existing users. The best gated content is considered valuable to readers and must be well-written. If users provide their information to customers, they must feel like the content they receive in return is worth the trade. 

With correctly prepared forms and fine print in place, users are automatically opted-in with permissions to a company’s subscriber list and can now receive future communications from the company. If an existing database is lacking information needed to properly target and segment lists, offering gated content for additional information is a great way to gather unknown information on existing users. 

Common types of gated content can include featured articles, reports and studies, case studies, white papers, and inside industry knowledge. Companies can offer gated content in a few different ways. One effective way is to give users a preview of the article and then ask for their email and key information once they have scrolled down to a designated part of the article. This is a great way to first draw users in and capture their attention. Another way to promote gated content is to highlight key findings in a report or study and offer users a free download of the complete document in exchange for their information. Users are being asked to take the time to fill out their private information, so it must be an enticing offer. Highlight a summary, key takeaways, or mention the experts involved in the creation of content. 

When creating gated content, ensure that it is easy to access. Forms should be quick and easy to navigate and the content should be immediately available. If you want to gather more information down the line, you can easily set up a gated content schedule to unlock future information so customers aren’t inundated all at once. 

Even better, gated content can also be used as regular content, which can increase overall website traffic and leads as search engines automatically see any gated content and implement it into their analytics. 

Always measure your results in real time to know what gated content best works for your specific audience. If an article doesn’t perform well, try a new topic or different type of content next. You can also alter your opt-in form to see what information customers are most hesitant to provide. Once you have new users, it’s best to segment them into a separate list from your existing subscribers. Since you have a strong understanding of their interests and needs based on the gated content, you can create targeted content specifically for their needs. 

Ready to create gated content to grow your database and increase your web traffic? Contact Site Impact to hear how we can help.