7 Simple Ways to Gate Your Content

Unlike normal content, gated content requires that the user either give you an email address for your mailing list, create an account on your site, or even pay to continue reading content. Consider gating content an easy way to find qualified leads that will actually be interested in what your company has to say.

This means that as they try to access the content from a web browser, a form requires them to take the desired action first. This can be a great way to build your email list and add subscribers. One of the easiest (and common) ways to gate your content is to use WordPress membership plugins to establish a portal, requiring the user to create an account on your website or fill out a contact form to continue reading.

Here are 7 simple ways you can create gated content to find new leads.

1. Long Form Content in a Premium Format

It’s important to have long form content on your website, and that is because there are different types of internet users who are looking for a variety of things. Some are looking for short snippets or mid-length explanations, but those who are studying a topic often want a long form, extremely detailed blog post.

Instead of offering this simply on your website as a blog post, offer it instead as a downloadable pdf or interactive document. You can even offer it as a SlideShare or Keynote presentation. This gives users the opportunity to study it or use it at their leisure, and it gives you the opportunity to gain members or subscribers.

2. Research Reports

Does your company or your industry create some data heavy reports in your niche? You can publish summaries for free on your website, and users can take advantage of that in a number of ways. But the spreadsheets, charts, and raw data that make up the report? That is great material to have behind a gate and offer only to those who subscribe to your blog or are even restricted members at a predetermined level.

3. Mid-Point Gating

This is another form of gating that requires a specific type of plugin. As a user is reading, when they reach the midpoint of the content, a pop-up appears prompting them to take some kind of action before they can keep reading.

This of course requires that you publish the complete content on your site, but as long as the material is great, you can count on it generating more leads for you.

4. Small Serial Content

Rather than long form content, you might want to publish serial content that is gated. Readers who subscribe or become members can read them in small bites. This works well in industries where your readers want long-form, 2000 word pieces, but don’t have the time to sit and digest them all at once.

One solution is to offer them as a series: you read the first piece to unlock the second, and so on. This keeps readers coming back, keeps them engaged, and boosts your visitor count and Google ranking while also generating leads.

5. Reading Caps

This is popular with a lot of news publishers like Washington Post and the New York Times. You get so many freebie articles, and then you have to subscribe or join to read more. This does work well for publishing sites and those that are filled with informative and instructional information. Essentially the reader is being given a teaser and then required to pay to move forward.

If you have an industry website that is informative, has a lot of content, and meets these criteria reading limits might work well for you.

6. Revitalizing Past Content

There is a lot to be said for evergreen, long form content, but it can get lost in the shuffle of your website as it ages. One way to revitalize it and keep it fresh is to gate it and offer this information to members or subscribers. These keep your content live, can boost your Google rankings, and is one of the best lead generation tools available for marketing.

7. Email Exclusives

This is an older method but one that bears repeating and revitalizing. Before blog subscriptions were as popular as they are now, often full-length articles were delivered via email, and you could not find the same content anywhere else on the web. It was a brilliant way of “gating” things and getting leads to subscribe and stay in touch with you and your brand.

Conclusion

There are any number of ways and reasons for gating content, but one of the best is to generate leads for your business using tactics that feel both natural and deliver important information. If you do this well, your list of prospects will increase along with your web traffic and rankings.

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