The advertorial experience goes something like this:

You open a magazine and notice this interesting one-page article with a compelling headline. Yes, you noticed the word ‘Advertising’ in lower case
printed at the top, but since it looks a lot like an article (it even matches the magazine layout format), you start reading. And what you read informs and intrigues you. You see a mild call-to-action, phone number, and email at the end, so moved by the editorial content and factual writing, you decide to test the product further.

Mark another qualified lead.

Advertorials combine cleverly skewed editorial content with one or two direct response devices to create a very powerful hybrid marketing tool. They’re designed to blend into the background of a magazine and sound almost as editorial as the articles within, which tends to keep infomercials beautifully camouflaged.

Does that mean that this type of hidden advertising crosses the line of “sneaky marketing”? Yes and no. Yes, to the extent that advertorials try, perhaps too hard, to look like articles.

But no, to the extent that they are, in fact, very “articles”.

In other words, decent advertorials deliver a respectable portion of well-written and useful content, theoretically in line with the philosophy of the magazines in which they appear. Readers should feel almost as informed as when they read an actual article.

For all their editorial power, however, infomercials exist to make sales and, occasionally, to serve a public relations purpose. With that said, here’s why advertorials are actually stronger sales tools than articles or ads alone.

Five Killer Infomercial Advantages

o First, you can put an advertorial anywhere you can put an ad. The same is not true for articles where you would, of course, need hard-to-get editorial approval (and sometimes that’s a impossible to get approval). And even if you could get that nod, articles get edited and publicized all the time. Fortunately, you can place an unedited advertorial in any magazine you want at any time…and that’s just like placing an unedited advertorial Article in any magazine you want whenever you want.

o Next, and as mentioned, advertorials have a lot of credibility from genuine articles: readers can’t always tell them from the real thing (and some magazines forget to put that little “Advertising” label above them). But even when readers do recognize an advertorial, they respond differently to that format than they do to the ads. We are, after all, creatures of conditioning, and when it comes to magazines, we are conditioned to respond to what looks like an ad in one way and what looks like an article in another. Readers simply give more credibility to article-like infomercials than to simple advertisements.

o Speaking of credibility, infomercials often come with the “implied endorsement” of the host magazine. Somewhere in the reader’s brain it registers that the magazine has approved this “article” to appear in its precious pages…and that also elevates the credibility of the advertorial above the level of the pedestrian advertisement.

o Due to its advertorial format, it can also deliver much more compelling content than a regular ad, often leading to highly qualified leads. Sure, that means a lot of words, but that’s okay. People match articles with content. Also, even the best copy in the world is still, well, Copy-words designed to get readers to buy something. Aren’t the words in an advertorial designed to do the same thing? Yes… but in a much more subtle way. Advertorials use an editorial tone to inform the reader about a product or service. But it does not stop there. As a highly endorsed article, it gently promotes what is selling. And that’s where the skill of a good advertorial comes in. Write an advertorial that is too biased, and readers will just see it as another ad and stop reading. If it looks too much like an ad, readers won’t even give it a second look. On the other hand, drain the entire sale of an advertorial and you vanish the whole motive.

You see, copywriting and copywriting are two very different animals.

o No need to worry about an advertorial contents answer section. Curious readers who crave more information still hit it hard. “It feels much safer to respond to an advertorial than an ad,” said one astute reader.

These are, of course, widespread advantages. As with most things in life, success is determined by how well an advertorial is actually executed.

But print advertorials aren’t the only ones out there.

Are online advertorials just as effective?

You’ve probably read more than your share of online advertorials by now and don’t know it. Speaking of camouflage! Online advertorials, the best ones anyway, are cleverly woven into a website or article at the right time and in the right tone to make it feel like part of the content. One or two strategically placed links characterizes them. Done correctly, an online advertorial takes your offer out of the “advertising” realm and seamlessly into the “useful information” category.

Remember, the entire premise of the Internet is supposed to be information. No advertising. Most people don’t spend their time online searching for ads. They spend their time looking for facts, articles, opinions, reviews. That’s why the online advertorial can be such a promotional gem. It adapts perfectly to the format.

The fact that online advertorials exist within the “playing field” of the site’s content or editorial is another credibility advantage in your favor. Take it out of that playing field, place it in a banner separate from the content, and viewers will just see it for the naked advertisement it is and respond accordingly… which means oftentimes they don’t respond at all.

Also, if the website owner allows you to combine a testimonial or some other supporting language with the advertorial, its credibility, which is already considerable, can skyrocket.

It is generally recognized that the quality of banner ads is much higher than that of banner ads. Ask the Wall Street Journal online. They are among a number of big boys who make good use of the power of affiliate advertorial programs.

And if the big guys are using advertorials, then maybe it’s time for businesses big and small to consider this new brand of camouflaged advertising.