the dos and don’ts of gating content for lead generation

Sam BrennandCustomer Success Lead

The Dos and Don’ts of Gating Contentfor Lead Generation

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The Dos and Don’ts of Gating Content for Lead Generation @uberflip @sambrennand#uberflip

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The Dos and Don’ts of Gating Content for Lead Generation @uberflip @sambrennand#uberflip

THE BASICS

GATED CONTENT

▪ Content that can be accessed

without having to provide

information through a form or a CTA

▪ Typically: blog posts, YouTube

videos, social media posts, etc.

NON-GATED CONTENT

▪ Anything behind a form or a

CTA that requires the user to

trade information for access

▪ Typically: eBooks, webinars

(like this!), white papers, etc.

The Dos and Don’ts of Gating Content for Lead Generation @uberflip @sambrennand#uberflip

WHY GATECONTENT?▪ Great way to generate leads

▪ Demonstrates the inherent value of the

content you’ve worked hard to create

▪ Helps filter out prospects and customers

versus people who are just browsing

The Dos and Don’ts of Gating Content for Lead Generation @uberflip @sambrennand#uberflip

WHAT TRIGGERS PEOPLE TO

“BUY” CONTENT?

▪ Value

▪ Start with a conversation

▪ Play the “long game” to build trust and a

relationship before you ever ask for a

conversion

The Dos and Don’ts of Gating Content for Lead Generation @uberflip @sambrennand#uberflip

The Dos and Don’ts of Gating Content for Lead Generation @uberflip @sambrennand#uberflip

“The content purists will tell you not to

gate any top of the funnel content. I say

gate content if it has value.”

JASON MILLERLINKEDIN:

The Dos and Don’ts of Gating Content for Lead Generation @uberflip @sambrennand#uberflip

JAY BAERYOUTILITY:

“Youtility is marketing that is so useful

that people would pay for it”

The Dos and Don’ts of Gating Content for Lead Generation @uberflip @sambrennand#uberflip

THEGOLDEN RULEIf you’re going to gate your content,

you must provide some serious value to be successful!

The Dos and Don’ts of Gating Content for Lead Generation @uberflip @sambrennand#uberflip

TO GATE OR NOT TO GATE

THAT IS THE QUESTION

The Dos and Don’ts of Gating Content for Lead Generation @uberflip @sambrennand#uberflip

GOALS

The Dos and Don’ts of Gating Content for Lead Generation @uberflip @sambrennand#uberflip

SO WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS?

Create content

What is your goal?

More leads

Increase awareness and reach

Is the content high value? Yes!

Not gated No

NoDo you have a large enough

audience?Yes! Gated content

HOW TO GATE CONTENT:2 APPROACHES

The Dos and Don’ts of Gating Content for Lead Generation @uberflip @sambrennand#uberflip

(1) LANDING PAGES (2) OVERLAY CTAs

The Dos and Don’ts of Gating Content for Lead Generation @uberflip @sambrennand#uberflip

1. LANDING PAGES

▪ Keep forms short to increase conversions

▪ Progressive profiling can help

▪ Keep forms longer if you want to weed

out low-quality leads and spammers

▪ Design matters

The Dos and Don’ts of Gating Content for Lead Generation @uberflip @sambrennand#uberflip

Number of fields weeds out “fake” leads

Images

Responsive

Descriptive (highlighting the value and explaining the purpose)

Clear call-to-action

The Dos and Don’ts of Gating Content for Lead Generation @uberflip @sambrennand#uberflip

Large, attention grabbing image dominates page

Responsive

Brief description (straight to the point)

Clear calls-to-action

The Dos and Don’ts of Gating Content for Lead Generation @uberflip @sambrennand#uberflip

PROBLEMS▪ Process can be long

▪ Lots of drop-off opportunities

○ Fill out form

○ Go to ‘Thank You’ page

○ Go to ‘Download’ page

○ Read eBook

The Dos and Don’ts of Gating Content for Lead Generation @uberflip @sambrennand#uberflip

2. CTA Overlays

▪ Keep the focus on your content

▪ It’s all about the message!

▪ Using progressive profiling to increase

conversion rates

The Dos and Don’ts of Gating Content for Lead Generation @uberflip @sambrennand#uberflip

Limited fields (using progressive profiling)

Responsive

Compelling messaging

Eliminating steps

The Dos and Don’ts of Gating Content for Lead Generation @uberflip @sambrennand#uberflip

Limited fields (using progressive profiling)

Responsive

Fun and engaging copy

5 second delay (“carrot”)

The Dos and Don’ts of Gating Content for Lead Generation @uberflip @sambrennand#uberflip

LANDING PAGES vs. CTAs

HOW DO YOU DECIDE?

The Dos and Don’ts of Gating Content for Lead Generation @uberflip @sambrennand#uberflip

LANDING PAGES: CTAs:

▪ Use landing pages when there’

s no need to direct people to a

piece of content afterwards

▪ Use landing pages when the

offer is complex and requires

explanation

▪ Use CTAs when the “next step”

is consuming a piece of content

immediately

▪ Use CTAs to keep conversion

rates high

REMEMBER

TEST, TEST, TEST

@uberflip @sambrennand#uberflipThe Dos and Don’ts of Gating Content for Lead Generation

@uberflip @sambrennand#uberflipThe Dos and Don’ts of Gating Content for Lead Generation

The Dos and Don’ts of Gating Content for Lead Generation @uberflip @sambrennand#uberflip

The Dos and Don’ts of Gating Content for Lead Generation @uberflip @sambrennand#uberflip

KEY TAKEAWAYS▪ Gate high value content that was

created with lead generation in mind

▪ Use CTAs to keep conversion rates

high

▪ Don’t make people jump through too

many hoops (remember, you’ll be

nurturing them afterwards!)

▪ ABT - Always Be Testing

THANK YOU!QUESTIONS?

@uberflip info@uberflip.com hub.uberflip.com

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