Advertorial & Advertising: The Differences in a Nutshell
Advertising

Advertorial & Advertising: The Differences in a Nutshell

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An advertiser sometimes uses an advertorial or advertisement. These two terms are very similar, but there are also differences. The question, of course, is what is the difference between an advertorial and advertising? In this article, more about the differences between these two terms and more.

Key Takeaways

  • Understanding Advertorials vs. Advertising:
    • Advertorial Definition: Editorial-style ads mimicking news content but promoting products or services.
    • Differences: Format, purpose, and credibility distinguish advertorials from traditional ads.
  • Characteristics of Advertorials:
    • Appearance: Resemble articles but aim for promotional impact.
    • Content: Narrative storytelling and user engagement enhance effectiveness.
  • Creating Effective Advertorials:
    • Storytelling: Engage readers with narratives rather than blatant advertising.
    • User Engagement: Incorporate user feedback to enrich the experience.
  • Cost Considerations:
    • Factors: Reach, website quality, and search engine visibility influence pricing.
    • Guidelines: Cost often tied to site impressions, with rates varying based on factors like writing quality and topic relevance.

What Is an Advertorial?

An advertorial is a type of advertisement created by the editors of a newspaper or magazine. It also sometimes wants to look like an editorial.

However, an advertorial is different from the other articles in a newspaper or magazine that may include regular advertisements.

It still looks very much like a news article or at least editorial content. However, the layout and font of the ad are different which therefore makes the piece of text look like an advertorial.

Huh, an editorial?

Yes right! An advertorial is a type of editorial that provides in-depth information about a specific product or service. Unlike traditional ads, an advertorial is more natural and can be more effective. Strong writing skills are often required to use an advertorial successfully.

Writing an advertorial, therefore, involves working out a text that comes across convincingly to your customers. The text will relate to your products and or services. An advertorial, on the other hand, is an advertisement with which you try to reach thousands of potential customers and businesses.

From the LA Times

The term “advertorial” first appeared in 1946. Usually, both editorial and advertising articles are separated in an advertorial combination.

What Is the Difference Between a Regular Ad and an Advertorial?

Although an advertorial is usually presented as an information package, it should still be considered a commercial document. So an advertorial is an advertisement, it can be seen that way.

👉🏾 Advertisers buy advertorials that appear in news stories to connect with readers and promote a product or service. These types of advertisements are usually designed to appear in an editorial or news article.

Put the words “ad” and “editorial” together, and you have the word advertorial.

👉🏾 An advertorial, on the other hand, is a piece of text that appears in the form of an article. It prevents it from becoming cluttered and confusing with ads.

💡 The difference between an ad and an advertorial is that an ad is different from a piece of text used for journalistic purposes.

An advertorial is a type of ad that uses a fictional editorial voice to announce a product or service. This is allowed as long as the word advertorial is above the text of the ad.

What Does an Advertorial Look Like?

An example of an advertorial is a page of ads for a company, which sells medical equipment through door-to-door newspapers. These are usually formatted as articles with objective information.

L'oréal advertorial
Advertorial from L’Oréal

Consider images, which seek to highlight a brand or product in a positive way. Editorial pieces that are objective and seek to influence the general discussion are also an example.

As part of the online marketing effort, advertorials are also placed online. A landing page and guest blogs are often used to publish advertisements. Although they are also called promotional publications, these are not always clearly indicated to the reader.

What Should Be Paid Attention to When It Comes to Advertorials?

If you decide to use advertorials in your marketing campaign, think carefully about some pitfalls, which may arise. The word advertorial makes you lose credibility with your target audience.

typography advertorial
Typography: very essential for an advertorial. From Shillington

If the tone of voice and imagery do not match that of the newspaper or magazine, you will also be fooled. If the typography of the advertorial does not resemble that of the newspaper or magazine, some readers will also see that it is a paid placement.

How to Solve This Problem?

To avoid the above dangers, your best bet is to have advertorials created by a professional advertising agency.

Advertorials are content ads created by editors. They are written in the same way as other text on the website.

What Is a Good Advertorial?

An advertorial is a type of marketing technique that pushes a product or service down the customer’s throat, making them feel interested.

Here are some ways how to write a good advertorial:

  • First of all, ideally you should tell a story instead of putting a commercial in the text. This makes the reading experience more engaging and less stressful.
  • Give people a chance to express their opinions about the service or product. This makes them feel like they are contributing to the overall experience.
  • Show how good your product or service is by telling a story based on facts and emotions.
  • A well-written title and surprising headings help grab attention and make the text scannable.
  • Use eye-catching passages to build momentum in your story.
  • Subtly include your contact information and company name. If necessary, do this in a separate text block or frame.
  • After all, a story has to sell


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How Much Does an Advertorial Cost?

A successful advertorial depends on the value of a website and several other factors. The cost of an advertorial depends on the reach and relevance of a website.

It is often said that bloggers earn from the ads their colleagues create. However, this is not always an accurate guideline, as each blog and ad platform is different.

A good way to measure your reach is to look at the number of people who have seen your ad. Also remember that Google plays a big role in this area. When determining the price, you need to consider the following things:

  • The overall impression of your blog (writing style, layout)
  • The reach via social media
  • Page views
  • Number of comments
  • Number of advertorials already on your blog (if you have more than 25% advertorials on your site, it already becomes less reliable and less credible)
  • The topic of your site
  • Write the advertorials yourself, because this will also be looked at
  • Findability on search engines like Google and Bing

There are indeed guidelines that are a bit more precise. So it is not said that this is the only right way and that you must adhere to it. The amount is calculated as a neat 50. For every 1000 unique visitors, the amount increases by 10.

Many companies try to go as low as possible to get the job done. This is because they make up excuses that their budget doesn’t stretch as far as they ask.

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