Gated content, yes or no in 2023
By
In the early days of the internet, gated content was a popular way for businesses to generate leads and drive traffic to their websites.
We didn't have email databases like ZoomInfo and similar, so in order to get someone's email address, we had to ask people to give it to us.
Nowadays, that approach doesn't really make sense. We can get anyone's email address within seconds and for the price of like 50 cents. Why would we invest in creating content and gating it just to get someone's email? Well, because we want that person to become our "marketing lead", now that's where the problem begins, and at the same time, answer our question.
If a person reads an article on Hubspot blog Marketing Budget: How Much Should Your Team Spend in 2023? [By Industry] (hubspot.com) does that mean they are thinking about buying HubSpot license? Heck no! That just means they are probably planning their marketing budget for next year and doing research, so looking for relevant information sources.
Then again, if they want to download HubSpot MarketingHub product brochure, they might be interested in acquiring the product license. We still don't know for sure, but there is some intent that is worth exploring.
So, follow up email makes sense, with content along these lines:
"Hello (first name),
Thank you for showing interest in HubSpot MarketingHub!
If you are looking for some more information, materials, or would like to see a demo, just let me know.
Also, if you prefer to try it out yourself, you can register for free version here: (link for registration).
Best regards,
Your Sales Rep, Hubspot"
And then starts the workflow (not a boring, spam-like email cadence that is trying to push that prospect to buy). But that's a different topic, and I'll write about nurturing workflows some other time.
Back to the point...
Answer to our initial question is, yes. There is still room for gated content even if it's year 2023.
BUT, and there is a big but there, its purpose is no longer to generate and qualify leads, its purpose is to detect and capture intent of the prospect.
To educate and enable your target audience and create demand for your product/service, non-gated one is the way to go!
