Is it Worth Requiring Someone to Register to Receive Free Information

I am in the process of adding a new website to my stable www.findyourpaddle.com which is aimed at providing advice on getting out of debt and building a solid financial foundation to avoid going back into debt (based on personal experience...) I am still in the process of finalising the main content before spreading the word too far but have had quite a lot of feedback through the WA Feedback function.

On my site I am offering a 7 step process to get out of and stay out of debt, along with a blog and various other useful pages for this niche. As I want to keep the site free and only make money from affiliate marketing I was thinking of making the actual 7 step process password protected behind a members login. A number of the comments I have received so far have suggested I don't lock this material in a members section. So I was wondering if the wider WA community that may be interested could give me your opinions on which approach is best.

My rationale behind placing it in a members section is to allow me to provide additional support to those who need it through targetted newsletters, etc and thought that if all they had to do was sign up for a membership without paying anything that it would be attractive enough to join.

Anyway if you have a few moments please check out my site www.findyourpaddle.com and use the following login details to access the members area;

username = waguest

password = waguest

Any feedback would be much appreciated.

regards

Tony