By Kaitlyn Gutzke, Editor of Mining
Since the latest offering of The Block: Blocktagon wrapped up last week with some of the most intense auctions I have ever seen, a few of us in the APRS office are struggling to fill the void left by the country’s (and probably the world’s) favourite renovating reality TV show.
Reminiscing on the past 11 weeks of dedicating an hour of my life almost every night to watching the challenges faced, the triumphs celebrated and how a group of people managed to turn a dump into a beautiful haven, I got to thinking about how lessons learned from the show could apply to everyday life.
In particular, the wise words of judge and editor-in-chief of Vogue Living, Neale Whitaker have stuck with me:
“Hero pieces are the pieces that the eye is drawn to as soon as you enter a room”.
This could be a bright cushion, a unique hanging pendant, or a fabulous rug. According to Neale, it is important to have just one hero piece to be the star of the room, and keep the rest simple. This is just so our senses aren’t put into overdrive – too much glitz and glam is sure to clash!
Now let’s take a step out of the renovating game, and think about how Neale’s golden piece of advice could apply to business owners trying to sell a product or service.
When putting together an advertorial, think about what your hero piece will be.
Image: The image is the first thing that attracts a reader. A great quality, high resolution image that represents your product in a unique and different way will draw the reader’s eyes to the page – think of different angles, lighting and placements for the product and try to avoid the classic ‘person-holding-the-product pose’. For more tips on how to capture the perfect photo of your product, we have put together some tips for making the most out of your marketing photos.
Headline: A headline that screams off the page is almost as important as a “hero” image. While most companies want to make sure they put as much information in the headline as possible, don’t forget the article is where the reader can find all the information they need. However, readers won’t even bother reading any further if the headline doesn’t grab them. Don’t be afraid to be clever – play on words, use cliches and puns, use strong, sharp words and keep it short – be different!
Content: So, once the image and the headline have done their job – it’s time to do the hard yards and make sure the article is written to perfection. The first sentence needs to be approached the same as the headline – it needs to make people WANT to keep reading. When reading a publication, we are all guilty of scanning through quickly before committing. If the very first paragraph of your advertorial doesn’t captivate the reader, they will turn the page. Don’t jump straight into selling your product – create interest and intrigue the reader, take them on a journey, tell a story right up until the last word. Read your content aloud, and read it to others – every word, every sentence and every paragraph needs to keep the reader hooked.
And remember, spelling, grammar and punctuation are key – check out some tips here. We’ve also written a great article with some tips on maximising your advertorial potential.
Product: Some of you may be lucky enough to have a product fabulous enough to be a hero on it’s own. In these very unique cases, it probably doesn’t matter how good or bad your headline or image is, your product will sell itself. However, to optimise the success of your advertorial, make sure you make an effort with every aspect.
Remember, having a hero piece doesn’t mean the other elements can be slacked on.
So what will your hero piece be?