Advertorial Writing Isn’t Like Any Other Writing
First of all, what is an advertorial? Advertorial combines the words advertising and editorial. And essentially, that’s what an advertorial is: it’s an advertisement “disguised” as a newspaper or magazine feature. In order to avoid misleading readers, advertorials are very clearly marked (usually at the top of the page) with a line or two that states it’s a paid advertisement. However, not all readers notice this disclaimer, which is one of the reasons advertorials are so effective. People often think they’re reading a news feature piece and take everything contained therein as “fact.”
Now, this leads to some important ethics. Advertorials should be truthful and based on facts and reputable science and data. Unfortunately, not all are. Which is why it’s even more important to make sure your advertorial is.
The research and work that goes into writing an advertorial is not unlike the research and work that goes into writing a news feature. Some of the similarities include:
- Interviewing
- Researching facts, science, and other data
- Writing a compelling lead or “hook”
- Building the narrative in a way that makes people want to continue reading
And so on. How advertorials differ is that they ask (sometimes in a subtle fashion) the reader to do something—buy a product, visit a store or website, call a phone number, give to a charity, etc.
I’d be happy to discuss your advertorial needs. Email me today to set up an advertorial consultation. In order to get the most out of our discussion, please think about and have answers to the following questions:
- What are the demographics of the publication in which you want your advertorial to appear (you should be able to easily get this information from the pub’s sales rep)?
- What’s the goal of your advertorial (what’s the call-to-action)?
- What metrics do you have in place—if any—to measure the advertorial’s effectiveness?
- What are the publication’s specs for the advertorial (word count, images [b/w or color], etc)?
Advertorial Clients:
- Slimband (PDF: 55kB)
The Boston Globe
Below are some advertorials that I’ve written for advertising supplements to The Boston Globe.
- Fire Starters — Advertorial, October 2004 (PDF: 528 kB)
- The Colorful Side of Diamonds — Advertorial, September 2004 (PDF: 441 kB)
- Boomers on the Go — Advertorial, August 2004 (PDF: 467 kB)
- The Color of Love — Advertorial, June 2004 (PDF: 689 kB)
- Landscape Design — Advertorial, April 2004 (PDF: 582 kB)
- Cozy Toes In The Kitchen & Bath — Advertorial, March 2004 (PDF: 387 kB)
- Ravishing Rugs — Advertorial, January 2004 (PDF: 599 kB)
- Condo Comfort — Advertorial, November 2003 (PDF: 389 kB)
- Guide to Giving — Advertorial, November 2003 (PDF: 539 kB)
- Fall Landscaping — Advertorial, October 2003 (PDF: 251 kB)
- Natural Vision Improvement — Health & Science, September 2003 (PDF: 16 kB)
- Turning Frowns Upside Down — Advertorial, August 2003 (PDF: 346 kB)
- The Silver Years — Advertorial, August 2003 (PDF: 216 kB)
- When Weddings & Honeymoons Say ‘I Do’ — Advertorial, Summer 2003 (PDF: 250 kB)
- Hot Hair & Magical Makeup for Brides — Advertorial, February 2003 (PDF: 290 kB)
- Baby Let’s Cruise — Advertorial, Winter 2002 (PDF: 208 kB)
- Holiday Gift Guide — Advertorial, November 2002 (PDF: 292 kB)
Writing is my passion. And it shows in my work. Contact me with details of your copywriting project.