Are You Hiding Behind a Gate?

I just read a compelling email from my friend Mark Schaefer that shook me to my core. But it makes absolute sense now that I have taken a breath to digest it. I have referenced Mark’s work here before, particularly his book Marketing Rebellion from 2019 where he identified periods throughout our business history where the consumer rebelled against the marketing “norms” to drive change. Most recently, in the previous decade, the consumer demanded the ability to opt-in and opt-out of the information they required to inform their own buying research journey. The currency usually required by brands for this exchange of information was an email address.

This idea of sharing “free” information with consumers in exchange for an email address is part of a content strategy called “gated content.” Marketing research from the 20-teens said that consumers were willing to share their email address with brands for information valued between $7 and $13, or in today’s economy, a carton of eggs. The brand would then use the email address to start a conversation with the consumer as a part of their buying journey. But really, the email address was the entree into a marketing funnel where the flow of emails was less like a funnel and more like a fire hose.

In his book, The Content Code, published in 2015 during the early heyday of the email opt-in marketing strategy, he contends this strategy is the opposite of how we should be distributing our content. Schaefer contends in this book that the value of content that is unseen and unshared is zero! Maximizing the economic value of content marketing doesn't come from the content, it comes from the transmission of the content.

 “Creating great content is no longer the finish line; it is the starting line.”

Schaefer goes on to write: “Requiring people to provide an email address to access your content is about the worst thing you can do in this new view of ‘content success.’ In essence, gated content places a stop sign in front of your content flow. It is an anachronistic way of thinking.”

I am going to admit that I promoted a certain degree of gate-keeping to my clients in previous years, even my church clients. I suggested that in addition to giving away sermon videos and other vehicles to share the Gospel, that they consider creating funnels where they could begin conversations with new people. I apologize!

I personally have grown weary of the cat and mouse of sharing my email address for some interesting or needed content only to unsubscribe immediately. And most of your potential visitors probably feel exactly the same way. Why don’t we try giving away valuable content that will compel people to connect with your church, brand, or service?

The reality is that we have platforms where we can give away our content to people that are seeking it and start a conversation with them also. And for all my AI and post-digital age pastors out there, one of those platforms is equipping your people (disciples) to have real-life conversations with their spheres of influence.

I believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the most valuable content in the world today. Let’s make it available to the world through the social and digital platforms we are using to promote all the events and “stuff” we have going on in the church. Our mandate is to …Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you (Matthew 28:19-20). 

Let’s open the gate to the Gospel, making it accessible to all that need to hear it. And let’s help our people come out from behind the gate to share their Gospel story with the world as well. Disciple making is our mission, so how are you transmitting the Gospel content to the world today?