As the name implies, an advertorial is a cross between an advertisement and an editorial. So why should you use this strategy in your sales process?
Some marketers claim that advertorials pull up to 5 times better than regular sales ads. They say that the public is fed up with most regular advertisements penned by over-zealous copywriters that exaggerate claims and specialize in making products and services seem to be something way more than they really are.
It's no secret that advertising for many years has followed a similar tactic: interrupting whatever the consumer is doing in order to shout out a sales message that no one wants to hear. The advertorial is different.
It is displayed to those that have an interest in the niche market. It is presented, not in grandiose puffery, but something more akin to an endorsement from the editor of a niche magazine or trade journal.
The advertorial is typically an educational marketing piece. The ad is often disguised as a news article that gives the reader the impression she is reading an authoritative "white paper" or other objective piece that is not out to sell a product so much as it is meant to educate the consumer on a particular niche topic.
Advertorials are easy to create, but just as in regular advertising, the success of your advertorial will likely depend upon your skill at creating great headlines and writing compelling copy.
Here is what's involved:
1. Choose a targeted niche newsletter, industry magazine, a rented niche list of email addresses, or maybe a "review" or directory type web site.
2. Create your headline and make it sound newsworthy. You want the copy to be compelling reading, yet you don't want the ad to look like a standard display ad. In order to make the headline effective, look at other headlines in the newsletter and make yours "fit in" with a similar style.
3. Begin the advertorial with a newspaper looking first line (include the city as the first element). Here is an expample:
"Chicago - A recent university study documents that 74% of all small business owners have no formal education in business management."
4. Point out the problem or the need that exists in the niche and why this problem can be satisfied with an easy and simple solution that has been found.
5. State what the solution is and how it solves the problem. Explain that the solution is unique, one-of-a-kind, and available immediately.
6. Provide supporting evidence like satisfied customer testimonials, clinical results, opinions and endorsements from experts and professionals, etc. If you can quote industry sources or professional research trials, that will add to the appearance of a bona fide news release.
7. Include your call to action, or the specific steps you want the reader to take (like registering for a site, clicking the "Buy Now" button, requesting additional information, etc.)
8. End your narrative content with something like: "For additional information, contact ____________________ at ____________________________________.
The key ingredient in an advertorial is giving great content that is very niche targeted and appears to be a scholarly or objective news item (like a press release.) Because it educates and informs, and does so in a newspaper reporting kind of style, the ad really doesn't seem to be offensive in any way.
Instead, it can be made to appear to be a product recommendation from a trusted authority figure. Customers are much more apt to make a purchase based on such a recommendation.
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