Gated Content

Gated content requires a user to complete a form or purchase a subscription prior to gaining access to that section of content within a website. It’s often used as a lead generation tool to help brand’s gather helpful data about their prospects.

For example, a user may be required to complete a profile form before downloading a whitepaper. This helps you understand a user’s interest in certain topics and it also provides you with information that will help you make a sell later down the line. If a user completes a form or purchases a subscription to gain access to gated content, they probably have a strong interest in that particular topic since they are willing to trade their own information to receive it.

When creating forms for gated content, consider how global laws define consent. We’ve put together a brief summary of the GDPR guidelines for consent in our Trust Center, but further review by your own privacy or legal professionals may be required.

You should also be aware that today’s consumers are sensitive to where their data is going and what companies are doing with it. Consumers recognize and expect companies to collect data and they expect companies to use that data well. If you take someone’s email address, be careful how you use it. Not only are their regulations that determine how you can store and use that data, you can also ruin relationships with consumers who don’t appreciate how you use it.

That’s not to warn you away from collecting data or using gated content as a lead generation tool. However, you should keep the golden rule in mind and treat people how you want to be treated. Respect people’s crowded inboxes and design your content to deliver maximum value to prospects and you’ll foster goodwill and build strong relationships with the people you aim to serve.