How we're using non-gated content for trust and growth at Hotjar

Most gated content is bull — , because it’s all about sales: you share an email and get nothing in return. And then after that, they might call you, or email you… You should get leads because you deserve it, not because you tricked [people].

[O]bligation has an equally active but sweeter sister —gratitude— that operates to stimulate returns not so much because recipients of favors feel a sense of debt as they feel a sense of appreciation. Although both feelings reliably spur positive reciprocation, gratitude appears to be related to the intensification of relationships rather than just the instigation or maintenance of them.

I’ve never had to jump through any hoops to get something from [them]. No gated content. No content upgrades. In fact, I don’t really remember filling out any type of form for either product, other than when I initially signed up. [W]e’re taking a bet that if we [also] focus on building our brand, telling our story, and creating products that people actually want, that we’ll be better off in the long run — instead of spending all of our time trying to figure out ways to hack our way to more leads.

We nurture leads differently before they decide to try our software and after they register for a trial. Before their commitment to try our product, we act as coaches, guiding them towards “yes” with fresh content on a topic they are still only just interested in. Eventually, they become confident enough on their own to sign up. Adding more gated content just creates friction along the learning path.

Virality is all about getting the word out.… The key metric for this engine is the viral coefficient—the number of new users that each user brings on. Because this is compounding... the bigger the coefficient, the faster you grow.

SEO benefits via links that point to these pages, via engagement metrics, via their ranking ability, etc. etc. We do much better with the Beginner's Guide to SEO on Moz than we would if it were gated and you had to give us your information first.

We balance [gated content] out by ensuring all related resources and blog posts are free to access and share. By consistently ensuring the content is high quality, people are more than happy to share some details such as their email address. As an organization, you should always be adding value, and content is a fantastic way to do that. If you’re producing great content with a good balance of free materials, then asking for an email address is incredibly reasonable.

At exit on our pricing page we have what’s called the Hotjar Action Plan, which is usually available as a guide on our website. We packaged that into a little e-book with one of our designers and added an exit intent pop-up when somebody was about to leave the pricing page the first time they ever come.