How Ungated Content Cut Cost Per Engagement by 95%

A side-by-side test at digital experience platform Blue Triangle found that ungated content generated 61% more engagement in half the time at a fraction of the cost, according to a report by the Content Marketing Institute. The gated version of the same e-book produced leads at $284 each after half the submitted emails turned out to be fake. The ungated version cost $11.44 per engagement, and pages consumed per visit jumped from 1.2 to eight.

Instead of a traditional MQL funnel, the company adopted a five-stage account-based model:

• First engagement: someone at a target company visits the site or engages with content for the first time
• Repeat engagement: the same company makes multiple visits, signaling an active buying committee
• Actively assessing: visitors consume high-intent pages like platform features, video demos, and demo requests
• Demo request: the visitor self-identifies by completing a form—this becomes the new MQL
• Proof of concept to close: the prospect moves through validation and into the sales cycle

Applied to a target list of 478 companies, 72% hit stage one, 81% of those showed repeat engagement, and 27% moved toward active assessment within the first half of the year. HockeyStack was the primary attribution tool, revealing an average of 50 to 60 touches before a prospect requested a demo.

After a full year the results were hard to dismiss: demo requests up 265%, pipeline up 242%, and a 41x increase in marketing-sourced revenue. An optional CTA offering to email the content to readers produced 122 leads in two months with 100% valid contact info—because people who opted in actually wanted it. The full case study is worth a read.

Full story: Content Marketing Institute