Counterintuitively, making valuable content like guides available for a limited time creates urgency and drives more downloads. Promoting the "last chance" to access the asset before it's removed is more effective than leaving it permanently on a resources page where it becomes invisible.
Related Insights
Urgency is the primary driver of marketing performance. If a product, discount, or piece of content is perpetually available, it lacks compulsion and is not a true offer—it is simply a static feature. To motivate action, you must introduce scarcity by making its availability finite.
For content like a product brochure, don't force an email submission. Instead, allow an instant download while offering an option to also receive it via email. This respects user intent while still capturing high-intent leads who value the convenience of an inboxed copy.
To make content discoverable by AI, static 'resource pages' with downloadable assets are becoming obsolete. Gated content will still be used for lead generation, but it will be offered transactionally within specific campaigns (e.g., via email or paid social) rather than living permanently on a website.
Counterintuitively, making B2B content like guides and reports available for a limited time (e.g., 30 days) before removing them drives more downloads than leaving them up as 'evergreen'. Promoting the content's impending removal creates scarcity and a compelling reason for prospects to act immediately.
Create extreme urgency by offering a high discount for a very short window (e.g., 30 minutes), then progressively lower discounts for subsequent time blocks. This gamified approach forces immediate purchase decisions by making customers feel they will lose out on the best deal if they wait.
Don't hoard your best material. Turn content that paying clients receive into free lead magnets. Prospects aren't paying for information, which is commoditized; they are paying for the applied insight and implementation of your ideas. This generosity builds trust and attracts more high-quality prospects.
Contrary to the 'value first, pitch last' model, present the full offer before your launch event even begins. Then, create urgency by offering a new, valuable bonus each day that expires within 24 hours. This strategy leverages peak attendance on day one and frames the purchase as an opportunity to gain extra value rather than a hard sell.
Curate your best performing content from the year into a multi-day campaign. Each day, feature one piece of content that is only available for 24 hours. This creates daily engagement, leverages existing assets, and drives a high volume of email sign-ups with minimal new content creation.
Instead of just giving away value, the best lead magnets solve a narrow problem in a way that exposes a bigger, more pressing need. This creates a "point of greatest deprivation," making the prospect eager for your core offer, much like an entree creates a desire for dessert.
Instead of letting content sit in a resource library, curate the year's best assets into a single collection and offer it for a limited time. Frame it as an event, like a "12 Days of Christmas" campaign where different content expires daily. This repurposes old content and creates a new, urgent lead generation opportunity.