By popular demand, I’m posting the article I wrote for Writer’s Digest in 1999 that was based on the query I posted last week. While the query was about magazine writing vs. copywriting, the editor asked me to focus on advertorials in place of copywriting.

I’m leaving in the sidebar of places that buy advertorials even though it is really, really, really out of date. (One of them preferred to be contacted by fax!) Maybe they’ll give you ideas for other places to pitch.

You can tell how old this article is…I talk about mailing queries!

Editorial vs. Advertorial:
Which is for you–and can you do both?
by Linda Formichelli

Dek: Think articles and advertorials are mutually exclusive territories? Here’s how to ethically bridge the gap between the two–and make more money in the process.

It was a simple mistake, but it sunk my chances for publication in a popular women’s magazine.

Here’s what happened: As a fledgling freelance writer, I thought my query for a profile of a young businesswoman would look much more impressive if I printed it on the letterhead I use for my copywriting services. I printed out the query, signed it with a flourish and dropped it in the mail, confident that my professional stationery would be the detail that clinched the assignment. A few weeks later, I received a call from the editor. She loved the idea, she said, but because of my letterhead she suspected that the article subject might be a client of mine. The thought that my article might really be an advertorial caused the magazine to reject my idea altogether.

The Best of Both Words

The term “advertorial,” a clever combination of the words “advertising” and “editorial,” is used to describe an ad that’s dressed up as an article. Although ASME (the American Society of Magazine Editors) guidelines require that advertising content be clearly distinguishable from editorial content, advertorials can easily be mistaken for articles. If you’ve ever seen those pieces with subtitles like “My ex-husband turned green when he saw me walk into the restaurant fifty pounds thinner and on the arm of a Brad Pitt look-alike,” you may not have even realized you were reading an ad until you noticed the disclaimer “Special Advertising Section” at the top of the page.

In addition to ads that mimic the look of articles, advertorials can also be what the editor above was so leery of: an article written by a freelancer who was paid by the article’s subject. This type of advertorial is more economical for the advertiser, implies endorsement from the magazine and is less likely to set off a reader’s “hype detector.”

What’s the Big Deal?

According to Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, a “freelancer” is “One who acts independently without regard to party lines or deference to authority.” So it’s no surprise that many freelancers feel they have the right to write anything for anyone who flashes them some green–whether it’s an article for a religious magazine or an advertorial for a tobacco company. “I write for anybody who will pay me decent money,” says Jennie L. Phipps, a freelance writer and editor in Bloomfield Hills, MI. “That includes consumer mags, trade mags, PR companies and publications that buy advertorial. I haven’t noticed that it made any difference.”

Besides, we’ve all seen how editorial can be driven by advertising. Consider the article on pet health placed conveniently across from an ad for pet food. Or the piece on easy chicken dinners paired with an ad for prepared frozen chicken. Coincidence? Probably not. In light of this chummy relationship between editorial and advertising, why would a magazine editor balk at the thought of a freelancer being involved in both of those fields?

“As the saying goes, the appearance of evil is as bad as the evil itself,” replies Tom Bivins, author of a soon-to-be-released book on media ethics. “Even if it’s not a real conflict of interest, if people perceive it to be, then it might as well be.” In other words: Life ain’t fair. It’s the editor’s job to deliver the best possible information to readers. So if an editor thinks that you’re working in the best interest of your clients instead of your readers–even if this same editor’s magazine overflows with “news” about cosmetics and gas grills–then that’s all that matters.

How to Work Both Sides of the Fence

Advertorials represent a vast opportunity for magazine writers to boost their bottom lines without stepping too far out of their comfort zones. They require the same level of effort and know-how on the part of the writer. The only hard part is ethically balancing advertorial and editorial activities–and convincing editors that your sense of balance is impeccable. If a magazine editor learns that you have a vested interest in an individual or company that you’re including in your article, you can write off that magazine for good. “If I had someone working on editorial for me and found out he was on the take from one of the companies he was writing about, I’d be real dubious,” says Brian Alm, editor of Rental Management magazine.

You and I know that you can keep a comfortable gap between church and state, so to speak–but how can you convince editors of this?

Rule 1: Draw the Line

The best policy is to draw clear boundaries between your advertorial and editorial activities. While most editors won’t penalize you for being involved in advertorial activities, they may shun a writer who creates advertising content for companies in the same industry that the magazine covers. “If you’ve written advertorials on face cream, that doesn’t matter,” says Karen Axelton, editor of Business Start-Ups magazine. “But if you’ve written advertorials for franchises–well, we do a lot of coverage on franchise opportunities.”

Rule 2: Come Clean

If an editor asks you to write about a company or an industry you’ve written advertorials for, Axelton suggests that you let the editor know about this potential conflict of interest. “You should be up-front if you’ve done advertorials in the same industry,” she advises. “We may want to use another writer.” You might lose the battle (a single article assignment) but you’ll win the war (future assignments from an editor who knows she can trust you).

Rule 3: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

If the editor doesn’t ask whether you’ve written advertorials, and in your mind no conflict of interest comes between your advertorial activities and your assignment for this magazine–keep your lip zipped. “I don’t feel it is necessary for a writer to reveal that they write advertorials,” says Kim Lisi, managing editor of HOMEBusiness Journal.

Avoiding the Writer’s Triangle

At some point you’ll probably have both a magazine editor and a potential corporate client in the same industry vying for your affection–and then you’ll have to choose between them.

Advertorials can pay a heck of a lot better than articles for trade publications and many small- to medium-sized consumer magazines. But the final decision rests on why you write. If it’s because you’re devoted to the art of putting pen to paper, advertorial writing may not be as satisfying as editorial. If it’s just to pay the bills, then advertorial writing is right on the money (see sidebar for more details).

Advertorial writing can be as interesting as the magazine variety, but the heftier average pay of advertorials sometimes translates into more headaches. “Advertorials afford little freedom for the writer,” says Jennifer Juergen, editor of Incentive magazine. “Many times the advertiser has to approve every line of copy and that really gets old sometimes.”

Adding advertorials to your arsenal of writing services can be lucrative, as long as you avoid conflicts of interest. Says Brian Alm of Rental Management magazine: “A mature, responsible, ethical writer could exist well in both worlds.”

Sidebar: How Do I Start?

Your best bet for marketing your advertorial services is to call local PR agencies, marketing agencies and individual companies in your fields of interest and ask if they assign advertorials to freelancers. If the answer is yes, follow up by sending the decision maker samples of articles you’ve written for the appropriate industry.

Another booming market for advertorial writers is non-profits. “Many of us publish advertorials in newspapers and magazines with corporate sponsorships,” says Jed Nitzberg, APR, vice president of public relations for the Arthritis Foundation in Atlanta. “Keep your eyes open and contact the PR or marketing office at the non-profit.”

To get you started down the advertorial avenue, here are five markets that assign advertorials to freelance writers:

Communications Solutions
Contact: Honey Rand, President
5121 Ehrlich Road, Suite 106B
Tampa, FL 33624
honey@comsols4u.com

http://www.comsols4u.com

Commissions articles on the topics of tourism, environmental issues and water.

News Bureau
Contact: Alison L. Fisher
The Clipper Building
18151 NE 31st Court, Suite 2010
Aventura, FL 33160-2666
writers@newsbureau.net

http://www.newsbureau.net

Commissions advertorials on various topics.

Oxford Communications
Contact: Paul Entin, Director of Public Relations
287 S Main Street
Lambertville, NJ 08530
609-397-4242
p_entin@oxfordcommunications.com

http://www.oxfordcommunications.com

Commissions advertorials in the fields of retail, real estate, health/fitness, video games, Internet, education and tourism.

LEWIS PR Inc.
Contact: Andy Oliver, Account Director
1901 1st Avenue, Suite 110
San Diego, CA 92101
Tel: 619-702-5571
Fax: 619-702-5573
lewispr@ix.netcom.com

http://www.lewispr.com

Marketing and media relations for technology companies.

Motivators, Inc.
Contact: Jim Myers, APR/CBC, President.
7171 Harwin, Suite 206
Houston, TX 77036
Fax: 713-784-5658
Commissions business articles to be published in trade and business publications worldwide. Writers must have experience interviewing and writing about management topics. Prefers contact by fax.

Sidebar: Who Pays What?

Trade Magazines: Rates generally range from $.25 – $1.00 per word.*
Consumer Magazines: Rates generally range from $.50 – $2.00 per word.*
Advertorials: Writers can command $650-$1000 per 400-500 word page.**

* Source: National Writers Union Guide to Freelance Rates and Standard Practice. National Writers Union, 1995.
**Source: Bly, Robert W. Secrets of a Freelance Writer : How to Make $85,000 a Year. Henry Holt, 1997.

Bio:

Linda Formichelli will write for (almost) anyone. She’s written for more than fifty consumer and trade magazines, a book publisher, a greeting card company, a newspaper and close to two dozen corporate clients. You can reach Linda at http://www.twowriters.net.

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• Query That Rocked for Writer’s Digest
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• Tools That Should Be in Your Marketing Toolbox
• You Ask, We Answer: How Do I Pitch My Idea Over the Phone?