The echo chamber of marketers on LinkedIn hit me hard last week. 

And the new-aged piece of advice that kept slapping me in the face is a now-common one — gated content is dead!

Cue a big sigh. Maybe an eye roll, too, depending on how aggressive the copy was.

Without fail, those posts will tell you gated content is dead because insert your favorite trendy term is the “new” way. 

Dark social, dark funnel, “real” demand gen, word of mouth. Whatever you want to call it.

And they’re right. Investing in marketing that drives word of mouth and brand affinity is a great idea.

But does it mean “traditional” marketing — in the form of gated content and lead gen — is dead? That’s a big no from me.

Gated content is (in the words of memory Tom Riddle/Voldemort) very…much…alive.

And actually, I’d argue that gated content is thriving in a way that it never has before.

That incredible course from your favorite creator? Gated content.

The email newsletter you actually look forward to seeing in your inbox? Gated content.

An ebook that you actually paid money to get so you could up your marketing skills? Gated content.

You get the idea.

More often than not, we don’t see those kinds of things as gated content. Why? Because “gated content” has a branding problem.

The concept of gated content has become associated with crap content. A half-baked ebook that some company put out just to have an asset they could drive ads to. A webinar that promises unique tips but is really just a veiled product demo (and a bad one at that).  

Your target audience — real buyers — will absolutely exchange their precious email address for your gated content…as long as you make it worth their while. 

Think of their email address like a $50 bill. If you don’t think they’d give you $50 for that asset you’re putting out, you shouldn’t expect them to feel any sort of affinity for your brand if they hand over their email for it.

Make that ebook. Build that template. Promote that webinar. Gate it all.

Just make sure it’s as good as the course, newsletter, book that you get from your favorite creators.

— Joe Michalowski

Featured content

What to Do When Your Company Pushes Back on You Building Your Personal Brand with Lorraine K. Lee

My gut reaction to this episode’s anonymous question was “get out of there.” This kind of thing screams “red flag” to me. But that’s a rash and often unrealistic reaction to the situation. Luckily Lorraine has much more measured and insightful advice for you. Check out the episode to get her thoughts.

Maybe you’re hitting a wall with your personal content. Or, maybe you haven’t been able to will yourself to get started. Wherever you are in the journey, keep this idea from Ben in mind if you want to build your network. It’ll get you going.

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— Joe Michalowski

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