What is gated content? Examples and best practices

I've filled out approximately 10,000 forms to download gated content, and I regret probably 9,950 of them. Few things are more irritating than handing over your contact info to a thirsty marketing team in exchange for a "comprehensive guide" that's just a recycled blog post with a fancy cover page.

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And yet, I keep filling out those forms because sometimes, that download is absolutely worth it. I once traded my details for a spreadsheet template that legitimately saved me hours of work each month. I didn't even mind the follow-up emails because the value exchange felt fair.

That's the dilemma of gated content. Is it worth it—for the creator or the consumer? As someone who's been on both sides of the gate, I've got some thoughts.

Let's break down the essential elements of gated content. I promise not to ask for your email address at the end.

Table of contents:

• What is gated content?

• Gated content types

• Gated content examples

• When should you gate content?

• Gated content best practices

• How to implement gated content on your site

• Automate your gated content with Zapier

What is gated content?

Gated content is any resource hidden behind a "gate," usually a form, requiring visitors to provide information before they can access the resource. The user gives their contact details, and in exchange, they get access to your eBook, report, template, or other high-value content. It's the online equivalent of those fancy stores where you have to ring a bell before they'll let you in to look at things you probably can't afford.

Businesses typically gate content to capture leads, segment their audience, or move prospects through a nurturing sequence. It's less about driving a ton of traffic and more about generating qualified leads that you can then market or sell to.

But gated content only works if you're not being annoying. Your content needs to be genuinely valuable and not easily found elsewhere—otherwise, you're just training people to give you fake email addresses.

Gated vs. ungated content

Ungated content is available to anyone without restriction and makes up most web pages (like this blog post).

Gated content, on the other hand, is any digital material that requires personal information in exchange for access. 

Gated content types

Gated content comes in many forms, each designed to attract leads with different levels of commitment. Here are some common types that you could consider offering depending on your product and audience:

• Free trials are best for SaaS products with a short learning curve or clear "aha" moment. Free trials let prospects poke around your product long enough to get addicted but not so long that they realize they don't need it.

• White papers are ideal for tech, finance, healthcare, or industries whose audience includes C-level execs who geek out over data. Just make sure the insights are actually valuable, or you'll just be handing out sleep aids.

• eBooks are great for B2B companies targeting knowledge-hungry prospects in industries like software development, marketing, or HR. They're best for when you have a lot to explain—think deep dives into market trends, frameworks, or conspiracy theories about Avril Lavigne's supposed body double.

• Templates are perfect for small businesses and startups looking for quick wins. A plug-and-play business plan template or social media calendar helps your audience copy-paste their way to success while establishing trust in your brand's expertise.

• Webinars are a strong fit for high-consideration products or complex services where live interaction helps build trust. For example, a demo and Q&A session on how your CRM integrates with other tools is a great way to capture sales and operations teams evaluating new platforms.

• Product demos are best for products that solve specific pain points. Showing it in action can convert prospects who are already in the decision phase. Just remember to tailor your demo to the audience: a CFO cares about cost savings, an engineer is interested in the workflow, and a product manager wants to know if they can slap it on the roadmap and call it "innovation."

• Courses work well for SaaS, professional services, and education platforms. If you're targeting professionals looking to upskill (e.g., "Learn Python in 30 Days"), the promise of a certification or badge adds extra motivation to engage, especially if your product has a steep learning curve (because nothing builds brand loyalty like Stockholm Syndrome).

• Quizzes are perfect for engaging top-of-funnel prospects while collecting valuable segmentation data. Let them take the quiz for free, but gate the results. After they've spent 10 minutes completing your "What kind of LinkedIn influencer are you destined to become?" quiz, they'll hand over their email even if only to justify the time.

• Industry reports are great for thought leadership and targeting high-level decision-makers. If you've got proprietary industry data (like annual trends in cloud security), positioning your brand as the expert creates credibility and authority.

Gated content examples

Gated content can be a powerful lead generation tool—but only if you do it right. To illustrate what makes gated assets successful, I've gathered a few examples of unique gated content from well-known software platforms and outlined what makes them so great.