Ask Dr. Lock: “What should I content lock?”

The Doctor is always available to help your site make more money using Adscend Media’s content gateway technology. To ask Dr. Lock a question about content locking, please email your question to doc.lock@adscendmedia.com.

Today’s Question: November 13th, 2012

“I think I’m ready to start content locking some content on my site, but I have no idea which content would be the best to lock. Can you give me some suggestions?”

–JP, Lansing, Michigan

Dr. Lock: JP, the question as to which content should be locked is a question that many affiliates struggle with. First off, you want to avoid locking any content that doesn’t provide your visitors with some sort of unique value. Locking your “About Us” page for example, wouldn’t be a good idea as the content on that page probably isn’t unique or exciting enough that your visitors would want to take an additional action (such as filling out a form on an offer) to view the content. Additionally, locking pages on your site that help your business make money or gain customers, such as contact and checkout pages, isn’t a good idea as locking those pages may disrupt your site’s natural sales funnel.

So, what should you lock?

Well first off, you need to make sure that whatever you choose to lock, you own the rights to  – or are otherwise legally allowed to distribute – that content. We recommend locking content that is unique and has value to your visitors. If your content saves your visitors time or money, that’s even better! Everyday examples of smart content locking can be seen in websites that have created their own unique content including books on business strategy, training videos on website design, and songs from a band’s new album.

A simple way to get started is for you to decide on what type of content you want to lock, determine your strengths, and decide what is the most appealing way to present that content to your visitors. Are you passionate about, or have experience with, a certain subject? Do you like to write? If so, some “How to” guides might be a good choice. Do you create videos often? Perhaps creating some video tutorials to lock would be an option. Are you tech savvy? In that case, a good option for more technically advanced users would be to create an online tool like a file converter or image hosting site. Let your passion and strengths guide you to create and lock valuable content. Additionally, if you have great original content already created, there is no need to “reinvent the wheel.” You can just use that content as is, or tweak it, to make it even more valuable to your visitors! The possibilities are endless!

Still stuck?

Another great place to start is to look at your site and see which elements of your site are generating the most visits (Google Analytics can help). Once you know the elements of your site that your visitors are most interested in, it’s time to decide how you can expand on those areas and make those areas fit for content locking. For example, let’s say that your blog is the page on your site that gets the most visits. In that case, you could create a series of exclusive blog posts and lock them.  Your blog readers would surely be interested in exclusive content as they are already fans of your blog. Depending on how valuable the content is, you may also generate some new visitors to your site as well! Therefore, these exclusive posts would make a great choice for content locking.

Well, there you have it. That is your prescription for the day.

Good “Lock”

-Dr. Lock

Dr. Connie Tent Lock is the “World’s #1 Content Locking Expert” according to himself. When not content locking everything, you can find Dr. Lock roaming the halls of the Adscend Media offices.