Gating content is when you require people to give you some identifying information (usually at least name and email address) to download or view a piece of your content. A constant debate among marketers is when, or even if, content should be gated.
Pro: You build up your database of contacts and can market to them.
Con: Fewer people will see your content, and the information they give you may not be accurate anyway (Bugs Bunny at loonytunes.com).
At last Tuesday night’s Sales & Marketing Innovators panel on demand generation, Evergage CMO Andy Zimmerman said that they have recently ungated almost all of their content – even something as valuable as a 180-page ebook on personalization. They feel that as a result they get far more downloads of their content, it gets distributed more, more people link to their site, and the people who do provide their contact information are legit and higher quality.
An interest in fewer, more highly qualified contacts and leads was mentioned by the other panelists, too.
It’s worth considering.
