Why Do Magazine Advertorials Work?
Posted on 21st May 2019
Why is an advertorial in a magazine like a chameleon?
Evolution has given some chameleons the very useful ability to change colour and to create their own camouflage, allowing them to blend in with their background. Using your advertising space for editorial-style content in a magazine is similar.
In the digital world ‘native advertising’, taking on the format of the platform it’s used on, is all the rage, and it’s just as powerful in print. Well-produced advertorials are distinctively different, but will be seen alongside the magazine’s own content, so you will benefit from the reader’s positive choice to read the publication.
Advertorials aren’t new
The idea of the advertorial has been around for more than 100 years.
You might be surprised to discover that even our Christmas favourites are thanks to clever advertising thinking – Santa wears red and white today, thanks to a Coca Cola campaign. Even little Rudolf, with his red nose, was created by an advertising copywriter as a Christmas promotional colouring book for retailer Montgomery Ward in 1939. The impact of a good advertorial can be really long-lasting.
Advertorials must be transparent
It’s important that your readers know that they your content is an advertorial. No one wants to mislead them. That would be damaging for the magazine and for your reputation – so it’s important to make it very clear when advertorial content appears.
Headings such as ‘advertising feature’, ‘special promotion’ or ‘sponsored by’ are often used to highlight the purpose of your advertorial.
The layout, font and style of an advertorial page might also be different from the rest of the magazine. Alternatively, you might want to include some of the magazine’s styling to appeal to your readers. The choice is yours.
Types of advertorial content
Images – you can use exceptional imagery, combined with captions or brief text to really make an impact.
Explanations and guides – you can to position yourself as an expert, giving information and advice that your readers will value.
Promotions – special offers and promotional codes, included with advertorial content can really improve engagement. Better still, you can track your results with special offer codes to test what works best.
What makes a good advertorial?
As we mentioned earlier, the impact of your advertorial content will benefit by being read alongside the magazine’s articles and features. It’s a good idea to find out who reads the magazine and why. Then you make sure your content adds value for them.
This can include tailoring your content to an inquisitive audience that likes facts and figures, for example, or sharing a humourous story.
Look at the length and style of the editorial content – this is how your readers like to see things presented, so you can add appeal by understanding how the layout works.
Finally, since you want to see results from your investment, finish with a call to action. This could be a message to ask readers to e-mail or phone you, a competition entry or responding to a poll. Use a code so that you can track the results you achieve.
Get in touch if you’re considering an advertorial in MK Pulse or NN Pulse. We’ll be happy to give you some advice.
Tagged as: Advertorials, Images
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