Advertorial

An advertorial is an advertisement written in the style of an article. Instead of looking like an obvious ad, it reads like a story, a review, or a news piece, and then leads the reader toward an offer.

Ad click
  down to
Advertorial (article-style page)
  down to
Landing page or offer

The format works because people read articles with their guard down and read ads with their guard up. By borrowing an editorial look, an advertorial keeps attention longer than a plain pitch and warms the reader up before asking for anything.

This is where honesty matters. A legitimate advertorial is clearly labeled as sponsored or as an advertisement, and its claims are real. A deceptive one hides that it is an ad, invents a personal story, fakes a news outlet's branding, or borrows a real publication's logo to look credible. That last group is not just distasteful; it is the kind of thing that gets accounts banned and, in plenty of cases, crosses legal lines.

An advertorial often feeds into a landing page or a bridge page, so treat it as the opening move of a funnel, not the whole story.

To judge what sits at the end of one, read how to evaluate a make money product.