Why Top of Funnel Content should be ungated (and what to do instead)
To gate your content, or not, that is the question....
I'll always push for Top of Funnel content - like reports, guides and ebooks - to be open access and freely available. Why?
People are sceptical of forms. They've been burned by entering their details to access an ebook then be hounded by sales people for months. We all know that's not the way to do marketing and sales. But it still happens.
But you need lead data. I get it. Especially if you're a business that measures your success by MQLs.
So I propose a solution. A decent thought leadership report that gives fresh data and insight, positions you as an expert and shows off your expertise. Ungated and open to all.
But pair that with a CTA that is compelling enough to warrant them volunteering their data. Some ideas:
💡 A benchmarking tool or maturity assessment that gives them a personalised report showing how they stack up against their peers or industry. I'm a big fan of ScoreApp for this. My Content Marketing Maturity Assessment is a prime example
👫 An exclusive community, event or private LinkedIn group for them to meet other professionals in their industry.
📽 An online masterclass or webinar (online events are still something people don't mind signing up for).
Interested in the gated content debate? Follow me on LinkedIn (it’s a topic I like to rant about often.
