How To Succeed As An Entrepreneur

Many creators and marketers often ask if audiences are really willing to pay for content. The answer might surprise you, especially since rich content (free content of value) is on every brand's lips right now.

Yes, people really are willing to pay for exclusive content.

Here, we’ll take a look at what gated content is, examples, platforms you can use to create gated content and the benefits.

What Is Gated Content?

Gated content is content behind a paywall. Your paywall could be as simple as a pop-up requiring a user to sign up for your newsletter with an email address, or it could be a monthly fee that a subscriber pays to access your exclusive content. It helps showcase your expertise and build your email lists.

What Are The Marketing Of Using Gated Content?

Many social media users are suffering from “suggested content” fatigue. Signing up for gated content allows users to curate their own feed or online experience, helping combat the algorithm fatigue we probably all suffer from.

Here are the specific benefits for each type of gated content:

Non-Subscription-Based Gated Content: Using a pop-up to collect email addresses or other contact information is used for lead generation, which can lead to an increase in sales. This type of content isn’t used for brand awareness or visibility campaigns. Instead, it allows you to create custom, segmented audiences based on who is signing up for different types of gated content. It can also provide analytics and insight into what your audience is looking for in the type of content you offer.

These audiences are generally beginning to show a higher level of interest in your content and are people who are willing to sign up for a newsletter, but not necessarily dive into the deep end by purchasing a subscription to your exclusive content.

Subscription-Based Gated Content: Subscription based gated content attracts your “super fans”. This audience has great brand loyalty and is the most likely to engage with your ungated content posts. Subscription-based gated content allows you to create even deeper connections with your most loyal followers, helping you build a real community. These super fans can also give you insight into what your broader audience is looking for in your content — simply ask them what they want.

This type of gated content also gives brands and creators a chance to monetise their content in a way that provides a more sustainable and steady income.

Are There Any Downsides
To Using Gated Content?

As gated content is not visible to the public, you won’t get page views and traffic information on it. It also does not help boost your SEO. Gated content won’t help with brand visibility since it’s hidden content, and sometimes the fee or pop-up form for an email address can deter people from accessing the content.

The thing to remember is that gated content shouldn’t be an all-or-nothing strategy. A healthy mix of ungated and gated content will help you achieve various marketing goals.

Examples Of Gated Content

White Papers — an authoritative, in-depth report on a specific topic that is generally long-form and should be something of interest and value to your audience
Ebooks — unlike a white paper, these are usually shorter guides on a specific topic; these can build brand authority and trust with your audience during the awareness and consideration stage of the buyer journey
Templates — an actionable piece of content with a perceived higher value than an ebook or white paper, meaning your audience is more likely to pay or hand over their contact info for it
Webinars — these give you the ability to educate your audience on a specific topic while developing trust, building relationships and inspiring; great for prospects in the decision stage of the buyer journey
Newsletters — a specific newsletter for super fans that includes more in-depth information or exclusive content; an alternative to an ebook that can be delivered right to a user’s inbox on a schedule
Videos — a highly engaging form of content; best for subscription-based gated content
Photo posts — a great option for visual creators; also best for subscription-based gated content
Online courses — share exclusive knowledge with subscribers in an in-depth fashion

Platforms To Create Gated Content

There are many platforms out there to help you create gated content. Here are some options:

Patreon — probably the most popular option for monetising your gated content and allows creators the ability to offer both free and paid memberships in exchange for exclusive content
Substack — a simple platform for those who write regular blog posts and newsletters who want to distribute them for free or a fee
Mighty Networks — a great option for brands and creators who want to build a community, add a paid membership, create online courses, stream live events and more
WordPress — website-building-software with full control, allowing you to use various integrations and plugins for memberships, subscribers and more
YouTube — there are 2 ways to offer gated content on YouTube; the first is through private or unlisted videos that you send the link to or invite only the users you want to view that video. The second option is through YouTube Memberships which give members exclusive posts, loyalty badges and emojis
Instagram Subscriptions — this is one to watch out for as it is currently only available in the US for those with 10K followers and those in Canada, Australia and the UK by invitation only; it allows you to create all the same types of content as you would on Instagram but this content is behind a paywall and visible only to your subscribers

Key Takeaways

People love to feel special and that they are part of an exclusive club when it comes to brands and creators they follow. Gated content allows you to tap into that sentiment, offering exclusive content and information that your audiences want to see. What type of content you offer and whether you use an email sign-up or a fee-based system is up to you and what you think your audiences are willing to exchange for special access to your content.