Think about a weighted stability scale: on one aspect is model visibility; the opposite, lead technology. Your job as a content material marketer is to make use of gated and ungated content material to efficiently stability each targets.
With gated content material, customers arrive at your web site and see a CTA or pop-up that provides them entry to content material in change for his or her info. This may very well be their electronic mail deal with in change for a content material supply — and a method of producing leads for your enterprise.
Ungated content material requires no change of knowledge, and it has extra web optimization worth — supplying you with model visibility.
Right here, we’ll discover what gated content material is and dive into finest practices and examples.
Desk of Contents
What’s gated content material?
Gated content material is any kind of content material that viewers can solely entry after exchanging their info. Primarily, the content material is hidden behind a kind. Firms use gated content material to generate leads and finally, gross sales.
It is vital to notice that gated content material for inbound advertising and marketing is free and never hidden behind a paywall. Customers have to submit their info — not their bank card quantity — to entry the content material.
Now, you is likely to be questioning, “Why would I conceal my content material from my viewers?”
Usually, the objective of gated content material is to generate leads. Gated content material isn‘t used for model consciousness or visibility campaigns as a result of the character of hidden content material doesn’t permit for top site visitors.
Under, let’s focus on the professionals and cons of gated versus ungated content material.
Gated content material is normally protected by a paywall, which permits the writer to require customers to enroll or pay for entry.
Execs and Cons of Gated Content material
Gated content material generates leads you possibly can nurture into prospects, whereas ungated content material is supposed to extend site visitors and enhance viewers belief.
Each varieties of content material are precious to your content material advertising and marketing technique, so long as you’re discovering the precise stability for your enterprise targets.
After studying this record, you is likely to be questioning, “How do I do know if I ought to gate my content material?”
Nicely, all of it will depend on your priorities — model visibility or lead technology.
Moreover, think about the kind of content material. Longer-form content material like an book is well-suited to gated content material, whereas most shorter-form content material like weblog posts are higher off ungated.
When you‘ve determined to create gated content material, you’re most likely interested by the way to get began. Let’s evaluate some finest practices under.
Finest Practices for Gated Content material
- Create content material for every stage within the purchaser’s journey.
- Full a aggressive evaluation.
- Present incentive.
- Construct a robust touchdown web page.
- Section your viewers.
- Measure the analytics.
1. Create content material for every stage within the purchaser’s journey.
When a prospect goes via the customer‘s journey, they’ll undergo three levels: consciousness, consideration, and resolution.
This is a fast rundown of every stage:
Throughout every stage, your viewers wants content material that meets them the place they’re.
As an illustration, guests within the consciousness stage are most likely considering studying an book. Then again, a customer within the resolution stage may desire a product demo or webinar.
That‘s why it’s vital to design content material gives for every stage of the customer’s journey. In case your gated content material aligns with their stage within the journey, your viewers is extra more likely to convert.
2. Full a aggressive evaluation.
When you‘ve brainstormed some content material concepts for every stage of the customer’s journey, it is time to conduct a aggressive evaluation.
In a aggressive evaluation, you will analysis the varieties of content material your opponents supply. actions.
Take note of what content material is gated versus ungated — this gives you an thought of what varieties of content material are precious sufficient to position behind a gate.
3. Present incentive.
As an inbound marketer, you already know that offering worth is of the utmost significance.
Your content material supply should not be a fast weblog put up. As an alternative, your gated content material ought to present actionable, precious content material.
Simply as importantly, your gated content material needs to be related to your viewers.
When your content material offers true worth, it offers your viewers an incentive to fill out that kind and provide you with their contact info.
4. Construct a robust touchdown web page.
When a person clicks on a CTA for a content material supply, they’re normally led to a touchdown web page. So, the most effective practices for gated content material is to construct a robust touchdown web page (we’ve received 41 examples should you want some inspo).
For instance, HubSpot’s State of Marketing report landing page comprises a robust headline, compelling copy, and a sneak preview of a number of the key findings.
When you determine to obtain, the shape is straightforward and quick.
The technical steps for gating your content material will range relying in your CMS. However likelihood is, your touchdown web page will embrace a kind the place guests can enter their contact particulars in change on your content material supply. It is vital that your kind is simple, straightforward to make use of, and user-friendly.
HubSpot gives a free on-line form builder that lets you create and customise kinds with a drag-and-drop kind maker.
5. Section your viewers.
As soon as your viewers has downloaded your gated content material and also you obtain their electronic mail deal with, it is time to phase your electronic mail lists.
This may make it easier to develop focused and efficient electronic mail advertising and marketing campaigns.
Moreover, segmenting your viewers means you possibly can ship nurturing emails to maneuver these results in prospects.
6. Measure the analytics.
Whenever you’ve determined to gate a sure piece of content material, you possibly can observe conversions and measure your analytics.
As with every advertising and marketing technique, measuring your success is extraordinarily vital. This knowledge will make it easier to perceive your viewers higher and enhance your content material technique.
Now that you already know some finest practices for creating gated content material, let us take a look at varieties of content material and examples of what it will seem like in motion.
Gated Content material Examples
There’s a lot of methods you possibly can construct gated content material touchdown pages — right here’s 5 of the commonest varieties of content material that companies gate.
1. White Papers, Case Research, and Different Stories
White papers, case research, and different experiences are nice examples of gated content material as a result of they’ll present focused worth to your viewers.
A white paper is an authoritative, in-depth report on a selected matter; case research take a look at a selected use case; and different experiences won’t fall into both class however nonetheless use a text-heavy, longer-form format. (Assume: HubSpot’s State of Marketing report.)
All three of those content material varieties can place your model as an trade knowledgeable. And if you‘re a trusted knowledgeable, folks need to know what you need to say — which suggests you’ll get extra downloads and conversions.
Normally, gives are long-form content material which might be attention-grabbing and precious to your viewers, like this one from IMO Well being about high-quality medical data and research.
Professional tip: Give your viewers a style of the content material. The above instance features a few key learnings that show its worth and entice its viewers to fill out the shape.
StrataBeat’s 2025 B2B SEO Performance Report is an effective instance of a gated report. The touchdown web page clearly states what the product is, and the outline — “Unlock superior web optimization efficiency with insights from an evaluation of 300 B2B SaaS web sites” — emphasizes high-quality knowledge and even consists of the scale of the research.
There’s additionally a graphic of the report, which suggests a fantastically designed, thoughtfully produced content material supply. The CTA, “Get the report and enhance your web optimization outcomes,” guarantees that offering your info can be value your whereas, and you’ll see all six info fields you should fill out.
2. Ebooks
An book is one other in style kind of gated content material. Not like a white paper, an book is normally a shorter information on a selected matter.
Ebooks also can set up your model authority and construct belief along with your viewers. They’re normally used within the consciousness and consideration levels of the customer’s journey.
IMO Well being additionally has a number of gated ebooks that require your contact info earlier than you possibly can hit that “obtain” button.
This one, entitled AI in healthcare: 6 options driving effectivity and innovation, features a few bullet factors of what you’ll be taught, guaranteeing that it finds the precise viewers.
Professional tip: Inform your readers how lengthy the book is so that they know what they’re moving into. IMO Well being, above, consists of the learn time just under the title.
3. Templates
One among my favourite types of gated content material is the template. Offering a template is a tactical, actionable piece of content material.
The perceived worth of a template is way larger than that of an book and a white paper, which suggests your viewers is extra more likely to enter their contact info to obtain it.
Templates are an amazing gated content material supply for folk within the consideration and resolution stage of the customer’s journey.
SlidesGo, which publishes free templates for PowerPoint and Google Slides, gates a lot of its premium content material:
Professional tip: You possibly can nonetheless preview all the slides within the template, so customers know precisely what they’re getting once they hand over their electronic mail deal with.
4. Webinars
With a webinar, you‘ll educate your viewers to be taught extra a couple of matter. You’ll develop belief, construct relationships, and, hopefully, encourage.
For prospects within the resolution stage of the customer’s journey, webinars make a superb gated content material supply.
Once more, webinars have a excessive perceived worth, which makes your viewers extra more likely to fill out that kind.
5. Quizzes
In case you’re an individual who wears make-up and also you’ve been on Instagram or TikTok prior to now couple years, you’ve most likely been focused by Il Makiage, a cosmetics firm with a very massive vary of basis shades.
After engaging you with before-and-after pics of fashions (whose good pores and skin in some way appears even extra good after Il Makiage basis), the make-up firm guarantees that its “PowerMatch algorithm” will discover a shade that completely matches your pores and skin tone—no in-store swatching required.
After you’ve devoted a number of minutes of your time — which is so much in a world the place 30-second movies rule — Il Makiage asks on your contact data earlier than revealing your basis shade.
Professional tip: Placing the ask after the quiz implies that the person has already invested their time and is extra more likely to fork over their electronic mail. (And I can inform you from private expertise that it’s actually exhausting to stroll away from the promise of good pores and skin.)
Gated vs. Ungated Content material
With gated content material, it is vital to supply your viewers with attention-grabbing and related gives. Finally, gated content material needs to be focused and make it easier to generate leads. Do not forget that scale from the start: You’ll need to discover a stability between model visibility and lead gen, so gate correctly — and along with your viewers’s wants in thoughts.
Editor’s be aware: This put up was initially printed in July 2017 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.
