By Rebecca Whitlocke
I have unsubscribed from numerous yachting newsletters in the past year. Dull to read because they’ve turned into regurgitated yacht listings and press release. It leaves me wondering why yachting companies even bother sending out a newsletter. They’re not giving me anything interesting, new or relevant that I can’t already find online.
Most of all, extreme frustration that I can’t read every second article as it’s for a premium subscription, or locked unless I signed up for a 1-year subscription.
Do you know what I do when I find content that I love?
I like and/or follow the content – which means my own network might see it.
I comment on it – when increases the algorithm juice of your content and stimulates conversation in the comments feed.
I share it – increasing readers to important topics that you want your audience to read. I know that if I share content that is locked behind a paywall it frustrates my audience.
According to a LinkedIn survey, only 25% of B2B buyers say they’re willing to give you their personal details to access high-value content.
So, WHY do yachting companies persist with putting obstacles in the way of topics they want audiences to read and engage with?
Audiences are protective of their data, so yachting companies need to adapt to how they distribute content. This is different to nurturing leads!
Why Do People Avoid Gated Content?
According to LinkedIn, 75% of people avoid gated content. Here are some reasons why:
- They can get the same information for free elsewhere.
- They can jump straight to the comments to see the information they want from the article, and then unsubscribe/unfollow.
- They feel frustrated by annoying lead generation tactics where you get bombarded by 10 sales emails just for downloading their PDF or white paper. Businesses treat free downloads as an invitation to launch someone into their sales pipeline. It’s a fast track for hitting delete every time your email lands in their inbox.
- They don’t trust your company yet. Brand awareness needs to be established around giving value and building rapport.
- Gating content does not prioritise a customer’s experience.
- Prospects want to be anonymous and experience the customer journey on their own terms.
- Gated content is often considered low-entry value, this is why people have a dedicated burner email just for signing up for these newsletters or downloads.
When Should You Gate Content
Gated content can have a place in your marketing strategy. It’s ideal for exclusive offers, highly detailed reports or VIP pricing. If lead generation is your goal, audiences will subscribe to gated content if it’s from a trusted authority, such as comprehensive reports, usually with proprietary data. An example is ‘The State of Yachting’ published by Superyacht Times.
Generally, readers will fill in a lead capture form on a landing page or popup with their email address and then they receive access to the content.
Other examples of gated content are ebooks, checklists, templates or workbooks.
One of the considerations about gated content is that it is often not indexed by search engines – many examples of gated content sit behind a PDF download – so it may not be beneficial for your organic search traffic. If you want Google and other search engines to reference your gated content, including paywalled content, make sure you use a URL inspection tool to test if Google can crawl your site and give a URL.
When Should You Ungate Content
If your aim is to grow your brand visibility and get your company’s name out there, not gating your content is a smart option.
→ Blog posts with industry-specific insight.
→ Infographics and niche-relevant content that is visual and engaging.
→ Case studies that discuss objections for your prospects and the solutions you offered.
→ Interviews and articles that demonstrate your expertise and thought leadership in the yachting industry.
Yachting companies must adapt to the shift in technology and audience preferences.
Simply put, gating content is not aligned with how audiences want to receive, digest and share content today.
I would love to see statistics from some of the yachting media companies about the rate of unsubscribers/unopened newsletters.
What are your thoughts about gated content? Tell me in the comments.
