Rejected?
Let me give you a tip about networks because I've never been rejected in my life, not even from peerfly (which I don't even use). LIE. Its really that simple.
Don't hint to anything that can be mistaken as even remotely unethical. Try to sound as professional as possible and use the phrase "targeted traffic" a lot. Like "I can drive lots of targeted traffic" etc etc. It doesn't matter if you can or can't. You have to sell yourself to them.
Also, one thing I like to do if possible is "reject" them. Like when listing websites, I always say something like "and then I have a few profitable local lead gen sites but I'm not listing them for security reasons. I've had accounts hacked before and even though I trust you guys its not worth the risk". Now, that's actually true in my case. But just using the phrase "its not worth the risk" is powerful. Telling a network indirectly, that you don't trust them, is powerful. Whatever you do, NEVER BEG.
As far as content lockers go, don't go insane man. Seriously. Its like putting a form on your website for the first time. It always seems hard when reading/asking about it but when you sit down and do it, you realize its not as hard as it once seemed.
If I was you, I'd start off with a free WP plugin to do it. Then once you have a decent volume of traffic, switch to a paid one for conversions. But don't go crazy reading about stuff. Too many people do that and drive themselves crazy, then don't take any action.