As we mentioned repeatedly, monetization takes time – sometimes a long time (because you need to optimize). Let’s face it; your account balance won’t skyrocket overnight.

Take Push Ads and a CPS model (cost per subscriber) – usually, users need some time to make a decision to subscribe.

Of course, you can slightly speed up the process by, for example, offering unique, addictive content (videos, blog posts, music, etc.).  Or perhaps, you could sprinkle some urgency – using “Just Now,” “Only today” kind of offers.

Yet, obviously, it would require additional effort from your side. But what if we could monetize content that already exists?

Content lockers. What?!

Here we come to the most exciting part – using what you already have to get new subscribers faster.

Meet Content Lockers – special tools that limit user’s access to specific parts of the webpage /or entire page until a user completes a certain target action.

Here’s an example of how it works: a user finds a video he really wants to watch. He lands on the page with this video – but the part of the page where the video is supposed to be is blurred. Above the blurred area, he sees a notice: “Click “Subscribe” to watch the video.” The video will remain unavailable unless the user subscribes. The publisher is paid as soon as a user opts-in.

So, in essence, content lockers are a no-hassle way to grow your income through monetization of content you’ve already published.

What content can you gate?

Any content can be gated, but that’s what publishers usually choose to lock:

• Images (e.g., celebrity images, studying materials, etc.)
• Text (e.g., books, valuable blog posts, research articles, etc.)
• Videos
• iframe (e.g., interactive applications)
• Music files

Read also: What Content Should You Lock?

Why use content locking? 

As a monetization method, content locking has multiple advantages. From the standpoint of a publisher, here are the most significant ones:

1. It’s faster

Because users are highly motivated to perform the target action (subscription), the entire monetization process is going much faster.

2. No extra effort

You don’t have to create new stuff or implement refined monetization schemes – use what you already have (or what you would normally upload).

3. It boosts your profit

All the content you were providing for free before, can now be monetized through Push subscriptions. According to industry stats, the Push subscription rates rise by an average of 17% if the content locker is used. Not too bad, hmm?

Challenges you might face

As any monetization instrument, content lockers should be used knowingly. Otherwise, they might backfire when used in the wrong situation or without fully understanding the implications of their use.

Key points to keep in mind:

• It’s important to test WHEN to ask a user to subscribe. Before they click or after? Do you provide all the information about the gated content to convince people that it’s exactly what they were looking for? Is the timing right: are they interested enough?
• You need to balance the amount of gated content vs. free stuff. Why? Free content allows you to build the audience, while gated one serves to monetize it.

Where to find a CPS content locker?

While there are multiple tools on the market, very few, actually provide an option to monetize with Push subscriptions.

If you are looking for “white” content locking (without SMS and other shady tactics), here’s an option you could test – Propush.me content locker.

Let’s have a look at what it can do. Check out the interface:

The functionality is quite robust – you can customize every aspect of interaction with a user.

• When to inform the user that the content is locked: right after user lands on the page or after he expresses his interest (i.e., clicks on the element)
• You can customize the appearance: whether you want to darken the entire page or just the locked part. Bonus: you can adjust the opacity!
• Also, it’s possible to tailor the timing: how fast the dark overlay appears
• Of course, you can create your own copy for the button and the message
• And, finally, when the opt-in request will be shown

You can try the Propush.me locker here.

Have you tried content locking tools? What are your favorite ones?