| Writing An Advertorial That Sells On the day my article, When Addicts Run Free, came out, the readers' response was unexpectedly overwhelming. The phone wouldn't stop ringing. "Are you Florence?" came an elderly lady's voice. "I've been looking for a place like this for my son. It's inspiring!" she said. Like all the other callers, she asked for the contact number of the rehab center I was writing about. It wasn't until after my fifth call when the editor's secretary (bless her soul) finally called to rescue me. She offered to get the number from me so that she could instantly pass it on to the callers. I felt like I had stumbled on an amazing writing formula that day. Like finding out that Abracadabra is the password to open the cave of treasures. I retraced my steps and analyzed what made the advertorial sell. It came down to these factors: 1. It didn't look like an advertorial, but a feature article (complete with a headline, byline and photo). There wasn't a blatant "buy my product" sales message written all over the article. 2. A human interest story was used, making it worth the readers' while. This camouflaged the sales message. 3. Newsworthy information was crammed in the article. 4. The information leaned indirectly towards subtly suggesting to readers that the company may be the best suited for their needs. 5. Quotes were used as testimonials. It would be wonderful if we could always write our advertorials this way, but sometimes, a paid-for article is still a paid-for article. Some advertisers will want to get their money's worth. They want the article to scream the sales pitch from the very first sentence down to the last. They want it obvious, like big neon signs flashing the brand name. A few times, I've had my articles shoved under the carpet or sent back to me for revisions because the advertisers just don't dig the "objective" writing approach. Most of us may normally get disheartened when this happens, but don't. Just remind yourself that flexibility is also a part of the job. Keep on writing! More tips at www.mrfire.com �2001 Writer's Block. All rights reserved. |
 |
| Love in the time of La Nina Into the interior world of a lady as she follows the designs of her heart.. |
| Florence Pia G. Yu � 2001 Writer's Block. |
| W h a t c h a t h i n k i n ? "People often ask what makes a writer. And now you know the answer-- huge psychological dysfunction." -Kathy Lette, novelist. more |
 |
 |
| Feature Features |