Gone are the days of “Buy this!” and “Try us!” advertising. People today want information. They want to be educated on their purchases. Thus, comes the advertorial- a cross between an advertisement and an editorial. Check out these tips on how to write an advertorial:
DON’T sound like an advertisement.
Clearly, an advertorial IS an advertisement, but it offers more than just information about a product. If your advertorial sounds too much like used car salesmen, few people will stick around to see what else you have to say about your product or service. Advertorials are often placed beside other content for the magazine, newspaper or television show. Your advertorial should blend in with the actual content of the program or publication and not appear commercial.
DO engage them with advertorial content.
Instead of talking about how great your furniture is, explain low-cost ways for designing on a budget. Show young women how to put on makeup for a night out on the town. Know your audience and what it wants to know. In advertorial writing, the content is even more important than the product itself.
DON’T present your advertorial to the wrong market
An advertorial on how to catch freshwater fish using live bait isn’t well-suited for a fashion magazine. And you certainly wouldn’t put content about baking a gluten-free cake on a racing website. Know your market and where the advertorial is best suited. If you don’t, your time and energy will have been wasted.
DO explain why your information is important
Again, explain why the content you are providing is important, not necessarily why your product or service is important. Your hope is that the advertorial will have such a great impact that your audience will want to purchase from your company- and you didn’t even have to beg or plead with a commercial sales pitch.
DON’T be deceptive
An advertorial isn’t written to fool consumers. Your company logo and information should appear somewhere in the advertorial. Deceiving potential customers creates distrust, and that’s the last thing you want. The advertorial should offer sound advice or information that the customer can use and trust.
DO your research on advertorials
Read other advertorials. Research those that have been successful and also learn from others’ mistakes. Some good articles with more information on writing advertorials include Advertorial 101 and 10 Pointers for Crafting an Effective Advertorial.
~Natalie
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