Is Registered Content Intrinsically More Desirable?

Someone asked this week whether a white paper they had written would have greater marketing value if readers had to submit contact information before accessing it.

My answer was no. Exclusivity can preserve the value of content, but not contribute to it.

Putting content behind a registration wall has its trade-offs. It will be invisible to search engines, for example. Plus, unless you rigorously promote it, expect it to attract fewer eyeballs.

The one big benefit to registered content is that it allows you to qualify your hottest leads.

Exchanging contact information for free content implies two things about the exchanger:

1. Your content’s value motivated them to actually submit information about themselves, and
2. They’re open to further contact

At the very least, registered content should include a call to action at the end – either to contact you for more information, or to click through to a website where additional content more specific to their needs is available. Either approach allows you to track and measure your content’s effectiveness.

Registered content works best when it has a clearly defined role in a business’s sales funnel – or rather a marketing-to-sales funnel – which my friend, colleague and drinking buddy Greg Donahue explains at greater length here.