Crafty Content That Sneaks Right Past Your Reader’s Defences
It’s not an advert. But neither is it an editorial. Or it’s both.
The point is, it’s a piece of writing cunningly disguised as an impartial article.
It’s not a new idea. For over a century, the smartest marketers have used adverts-that-don’t-look-like-adverts. They use them because they work.
Even 112 years ago, people didn’t want to read ads. Nowadays, our reluctance to be influenced has skyrocketed, due to a constant bombardment from a plethora of businesses vying for our attention and money.
We’re cynical, and we’re busy. Of course we don’t want to read adverts.
But we do love to read, at least most of us.
If you doubt that, consider the vast amount of content produced and consumed via the internet.
People actually read more than they used to, I shouldn’t wonder.
The thing is, they read what interests them.
To quote Howard Luck Gossage, one of the original Mad Men,
“Nobody reads advertising. People read what interests them; and sometimes it’s an ad.”
So, how does an advertorial side-step your reader’s natural cynicism?
An effective advertorial will usually have the following qualities:
- Similar in appearance to other articles in the same publication or website.
- Contains interesting or useful information.
- Low on “hype” and hard-selling.
- Seeks to garner the reader’s trust.
- Will include some kind of notification that it IS an advert, such as labelling to say it’s “Sponsored Content”, or “Advertising Feature”.
The last point is important. You can’t just write an advert-as-article without letting the reader know they’re reading an advert. That would be dishonest. Don’t worry, though. People still read advertorials, even though they know it’s an advert.
As a point of comparison, think of it like when you see a TV commercial, and the actor says “I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV.”
Even though the viewer knows full well that the actor is not really an authority on your child’s health, there is still a tendency to believe that make-believe doctor’s advice.
Same with your advertorial. It clearly says that is ISN’T impartial guidance, yet still the reader reads it as though it is. Humans are strange, right?
And here’s another advantage of using advertorials in your marketing arsenal. They work like gangbusters as part of your Facebook Marketing strategy.
You place an advert to your useful and engaging content AKA your advertorial, and from there you pre-sell your offer. Linking straight out from a Facebook ad to a landing page is expensive, and often doesn’t work.
Also, some offers can’t be directly promoted on Facebook due to advertising regulations, so this is a cheeky way to advertise some shadier products, if that’s your bag.
Anyway, I will write you an advertorial incorporating all the best practices that will slip through your reader’s defenses as easily as a greased monkey.