Lock Your Premium Content

value

noun

An arbitrary scale of measurement defined by how much something is worth to an entity with a need.

For most, supplying a name, email address, phone number, and company is worth the exchange for a whitepaper, download, or case study that will fulfill the information void they are experiencing.

What better way to begin the lead nurturing process than by requesting useful information for access to your premium content? In the end, this exchange of information is mutually beneficial – both parties see the request as fair for the intended benefit.

When setting up your locked content, there are a few best practices to keep in mind:

First: Carefully select your premium items.

Said another way, don't put your entire site on lockdown. You still want visitors to be able to obtain useful information from you, but make sure you are selective with the high-value items and lock those.

Next: Use good form validation.

The functionality of your form will control the quality of information. Make sure to properly identify required fields and use form validation to indicate whether or not the provided information has been input in a proper format.

Finally: Verify the person’s email addresses through a confirmation email.

We don't recommend automatically unlocking your content upon submission – send a confirmation email to the provided address with a link to download. This will help to manage the input of bogus information and keep your quality of information accurate.

So why all of the trouble to get an email address?

When potential leads visit your website and provide their information, you are given the opportunity for:

• Identifying Intent: Based on the subject of the content, you can infer intent and use this to your advantage for marketing.
• Segmentation: Again, based on the subject of the content, you can now segment your new leads into lists and identify the best ways to engage.
• Remarketing: For each success page of a download, you can place a specific cookie and remarket to your visitor with other subjects, whitepapers or downloads they may be interested in.
• Marketing Automation: By entering their email address, they have successfully entered the first phase of the sales funnel. You can now place them into a marketing automation workflow to nurture and qualify for acquisition.

A unique example of locking premium content can be found on one of our client's sites, Enroll CA. Enroll CA is the online enrollment website from Collective: Choice – one of the top five enrolling agencies for Covered California (and their service is free). If a person is looking for insurance and would like to get a quote, we ask them to "unlock" that information by providing their contact information first. An exchange of information for value back to the user. Win-win.

In the end, no one wants to give away the farm, so make sure there is a balance of locked content and open content. By carefully selecting the premium pieces, you will drive interest and action, and be in a great place to nurture your new leads.