Say NO to squeezing your buyers

The debate about gating valuable content (such as ebooks, white papers, research reports and the like) behind a registration requirement comes up again and again.

To squeeze or not to squeeze: The options

1. Requiring an email address (and other personal information) prior to your buyers being permitted to download content. With a gate, each person downloading becomes a valuable sales lead.

2. Making the content totally free with no registration required. Value comes from many more people consuming and spreading your content.

This really is a bit like debating religion or politics – each side believes strongly in their position and many are eager to argue passionately for their side. Bob Bly and I seem to argue this one every few months but I don't think either of us will budge on our positions.

For more on the debate, check out the excellent piece from Ann Handley in American Express Open Forum Should You Put Your eBooks and White Papers (and Other Content) Behind a Registration Page?

While I don't actively seek converts to my religion, I do want people to understand both sides. Just this week knowing there is another option turned around two people who were in the "require registration" camp and bring them over to the "make it free" side.

First was Susan Gunelius who wrote in Remove the Gateway and Let Your Content Spread Across the Web that my make it free approach "really stuck with me and made me think in a new direction."

Then, Kenneth emailed from Singapore to say he downloaded my free ebook The New Rules of Viral Marketing and wondered why I do not put what he called a squeeze page to gather email addresses. Here is a re-written version of my response to Kenneth causing him to also reconsider his position in the debate too.

Say NO to squeezing your buyers

- Registration is a holdover from direct mail days (when a business reply card was the way to fulfill a white paper request). Is a direct mail technique right for today's hyper-connected web?

- Requiring registration GREATLY reduces the number of people who download something. For example, my New Rules of Viral Marketing ebook has been downloaded close to one million times. With a registration requirement, I’m convinced it would be only a few thousand.

- Because bloggers do not like to send their readers to something that could cause them to get onto unwanted lists, when there is a registration requirement, very few (if any) bloggers will talk it up and you get little or no inbound links.

- When lots of people link to your stuff, you rise in the search results. For example, searching for viral marketing on Google brings my ebook up on the first page. But it is not just me. The Mailer Mailer Email Marketing Metrics Report is number one for their important phrase email marketing metrics as a result of free content. Many other people tell me that a valuable free content offering causes them to rise to the top of the search engine results too. With a squeeze page, you’re lucky to get into the first 20 pages on Google for a phrase like "viral marketing" or "email marketing metrics".

It really comes down to goals. Do you want a few email addresses? Or would you rather have a ton of people exposed to your ideas?

Bonus for reading this far

When asked about this religious discussion in my live presentations, I also offer a third option, which is a hybrid.

I suggest the first offer be totally free (such as an ebook). Then within the ebook, have a secondary offer that requires registration that you can use to capture leads. A secondary offer might be a Webinar or something similar.

Image: personaliter / Shutterstock

Comments

[Daryle Dickens]

Very timely post for me as I've been going back and forth on this one with something I am about to launch. And when I think about my highest goals it makes sense to not have a squeeze page. I really do want to help people with the information I have and I know I can reach more people without asking for registration.

[Peter Eggleston]

I agree completely on the hybrid approach with the qualification that the totally free content should have real value, not just be fluff which requires the reader to get squeezed to get anything with substance.

[twitter.com/michelfortin]

David, I'm a big believer in registration, but mostly for sales-oriented pages rather than free downloads.

However, I do agree with you, but I'm becoming more and more a big believer in the "reverse optin process," where you offer sequential or layered content, either over a period of time or immediately after registration.

The reverse optin process is such that you offer your main, self-contained, or partial content upfront, for free, without any registration. But if people want to get more, such as getting additional content, sequential content (parts two, three, etc), and/or notification on future giveaways, they must register.

This tackles the two sides:

The front-end is free and freely distributable. But if people want more, and if the content is enticing and valuable enough, they are invited to subscribe/register to get them.

This is particularly useful is the content spreads virally, bringing more fresh traffic to you and to register with you.

I recently blogged about this, if you're interested. Here's the link (please remove if you feel this is inappropriate):

http://www.michelfortin.com/boost-conversions-conversely/

Thank you for the discussion.

[John R. Sedivy]

Your approach of not requiring registration makes perfect sense. Seth Godin in his book Permission Marketing compares this to dating - trust is built gradually over time.

Personally I have arrived to the point where I no longer register for information. Individuals and companies who receive the most value from my contact information receive it over time as my either being a fan or repeat customer. I volunteer the information freely and sincerely and therefore am receptive to their message.

Sure there are others who may trick me into providing information, or obtain it via a purchased list - however I am not receptive to their message.

[Tony Darrick Baker]

David

I reformatted my entire ebook based on your recommendations, so I may as well try your un-squeezed free distribution method as well. I'll let you know how it goes.

Here I have made it clear that subscribing is available and recommended, but absolutely optional. Now readers wanting The Recession Marketing Guide can receive it without any barriers.

This book is especially important with the upcoming recovery, so I hope it starts to really take off.

http://recessionmarketingguide.com/download/

Thanks!
- Tony Darrick Baker

[David Meerman Scott]

Michel - Good post. I had never heard the term "reverse opt-in" before.

Tony, John, and others. If anyone can do A/B testing on registration vs. no registration, I would love to know what the data shows.

Others who have shared this information suggest it is between 20x and 50x the number of downloads without registration.

[Arthur Charles Van Wyk]

I stumbled on this blog via Google. I was looking to start an emarketing agency and was looking to "work" the term "new marketing" to define what i do, i.e. marketing via new media. A Google search sent me to David's keynote at #IMS08 and then brought me to this blog where i downloaded the ebooks. After reading them all I called up my bookstore and ordered "The New Rules.."

I have to bring to your attention that I hate only 2 things in life: crowds and queues. I might not have bought his book if I had to complete a form to get those ebooks and thereby be exposed to his brilliant mind.

Those registration forms are a serious obstacle. I have referred numerous people to Hubspot for "education" in SEO and SEM. Most of them gave up once faced with completing those lengthy forms. sadly, my evangelism was rendered valueless. I stopped evangelising Hubspot.

[Michael Camp]

I like the third option of having a way of capturing leads at the end of the ebook in a secondary offer. This is working well for us.

[Jamie Favreau]

I think the hybrid approach is best. I also think you should make it simple and just have a name and email. You don't need to have to write down your entire story for a registration form. @unmarketing spoke about that a couple of months ago.

[David Meerman Scott]

Arthur - I love your story about how you found me. Thanks for sharing. David

[www.google.com/accounts/o8/id?id=AItOawm4JJsOih2ylrBeVhC2O7TZxUnSWqarVFs]

David,

My partner said something to me a while ago and it just stuck for me. He says "NOONE wants another user name and password. It is akin to opening up a drivethrough burger joint and requiring people to drive under a thousand pigeons with diareah to get to the window and place an order. One look at those birds and the majority of your customer base will turn around and drive away."

btw - I read your New Rules of Marketing & PR book for my MBA Marketing course and loved it!

[online-strategist.com]

I believe David is right: his position is propped up by substantial experience and just makes sense.

When we put giving at the heart of we do, wonderful things happen seemingly by themselves. This is, I gather, a universal law.

[Amelia Vargo]

I agree with you, David. The initial ebook should be free - how else can you grab a large following for something? Also people will be more likely to trust in you if they've invested their time and effort in reading what you have to say so your second offering to them can come with a registration. It makes perfect sense to me.

[Anne Holland]

David - I just posted an on-demand webinar with Case Studies of two ways you can set your content free BUT still collect loads of registrations. It includes the creative samples and the data, plus a sales funnel chart showing where in the buying cycle your content can be free, vs barriered. My co-speaker was sales lead expert Mac McIntosh. You can download this webinar - without registering! - at http://whichtestwon.com/?p=1778

Final historic note: In 2002, Bitpipe (now part of techtarget) revealed white paper viral handoff data and were the first to tell marketers to set content free, via a MarketingSherpa report. Next, in 2004, RedHat actually tested it extensively and then revealed their results at a MarketingSherpa Summit at my request (I founded MarketingSherpa prior to selling it and launching WhichTestWon.com). So the debate's been around for half a decade... but it's only now I see marketers really paying attention to it. I thank you for that!

[David Meerman Scott]

Hi Anne

So good to have you stop by. As you know, I am a fan of your stuff. Mac and I have discussed this before (we both spoke at the Capterra event last month for example) so I will have to check out the Webinar.

Some of the things I learned from you in the early days of MarketingSherpa helped me make the decision to make my first ebook "The New Rules of PR" (published in 2006) totally free. And you know what happened next -- MarketingSherpa named it to the 2006 Viral Marketing Hall of Fame!

Thanks again for all you do.

David

[David Gordon Schmidt]

Given that I'm now blogging about how non-promotional ideas/perspective papers accelerate awareness via social media activity, I obviously vote for the free content.

Squeezing is outdated in many BtoB (and BtoC) marketing situations because it's not appropriate to "push" newsletter or other information to an interested party until after they see the value of your thinking/offering. First time requests for a Perspective Paper shouldn't be abused.

Thanks for good forum on this.

David Gordon Schmidt
www.btobopportunities.wordpress.com

[Justice Marshall]

Timely post. As the "free line" keeps moving, I get the sense that content requiring an email address to access is not actually perceived as "free" anymore.

My next free offering will be a "click for immediate download." Your post clinched it for me.

[Susan Fantle]

The logical conclusion here is to provide some free content and some that is not. That way you get the viral advantage and also add prospects to the pipeline at the same time. But do remember that, although the gate reduces downloads, those who are willing to forge the gate are more seriously researching solutions and are probably qualified leads. However, I do advocate keeping the reg. page to a minimum number of fields.

[Darren Lai]

David, your hybrid approach is the one for me. I love free and everyone does. And i love money too and everyone does.

Make it almost all free to reach largest audience and spread like crazy + upsell for niche, should be the most powerful approach. Good for internet growth as well.

[Chrıs Anton]

But do remember that, although the gate reduces downloads, those who are willing to forge the gate are more seriously researching solutions and are probably qualified leads....?

[David Meerman Scott]

Darren - I strongly believe, based on research, that free can generate money. It is not either / or.

Chris - I disagree. I think the opposite. When people are REALLY interested, many do not want to signal intent to the salespeople of a company by giving away their info.

[Ian Brodie]

I think it's worth remembering that capturing an email address can help make the ongoing relationship building process more interactive and personal.

I find that I get more in-depth feedback and discussion when I ask questions to the subscribers to my newsletter than I do via blog comments - despite the fact that there are thousands more blog readers. There seems to be something more personal about an article in your email inbox than a blog post on someone else's site.

Ian

[Stacey Holleran]

I've incorporated a "we don't sell or spam" statement with my squeeze pages and it has helped garner a higher number of leads.

[David Meerman Scott]

Ian and Stacey -- both good points. Thanks for adding to the discussion. David

[Tony Faustino]

What a fantastic discussion! Wanted to contribute a point about @Darren's comment about "being almost free."

"Totally Free" can and will generate revenue. I'm a huge fan of Chris Anderson (author of Free and The Long Tail). Anderson brilliantly executed a multi-channel marketing strategy that provided complimentary versions of "Free" (all without any form of gatekeeping or buyer squeezing). This success story is a perfect example of why DMScott is challenging our conventional ways of thinking re: relinquishing control.

I downloaded the following versions of Free gratis without providing any personal information: Scribd eBook, iTunes unabridged audio book, and iTunes multi-chapter podcast. I've enjoyed listening to the audiobook 1.5x and all the podcast chapters 1x. More importantly, I paid for the hardcover version of Free so I can take extensive notes on the insights I learned from the free audio versions.

Chris Anderson's success with Free is all the evidence I need to prove David's points covered in his post. The book, Free, generated quite a bit of revenue, and I'm sure even more lucrative consulting & speaking revenues for Anderson. I'm convinced the consumer exposure he generated is why Free was a New York Times Best Seller: http://www.longtail.com/the_long_tail/2009/07/a-new-york-times-bestseller.html

Nice work David (as always).