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Five ideas for native advertising

When is an ad not an ad? While that may seem like a bit of an odd question to ask, we can almost guarantee that you have read an ad online and not been aware that it was in fact trying to sell you something. Native advertising is pretty similar to content marketing in some ways, but it is actually delivered in a format that fits perfectly with the site on which it is being displayed. Something that may read like an informative piece of content may well in fact be a sponsored piece that the advertiser paid to have on the site. It’s a great way to earn site revenue whilst getting content that fits perfectly with your chosen niche. Here are 5 great native advertising ideas:

Sponsored Blog Post

It can be hard to continually have to come up with content for the blog on your website, so why not have someone pay you for the privilege of doing so. Sponsored blog posts are created by the advertiser, and are usually delivered in a style that is akin to a written infomercial. What you don’t get with these types of posts is a hard sell, as the goal is to inform and get the reader interested in what is being discussed in the piece. The advertiser will often include some sort of call to action that prompts the reader to want to learn more. You should retain the right to edit the article to make sure it is indeed useful for your audience.

Endorsement Article

Many advertisers will pay for clickthrough’s from your site, and an endorsement article is a great way to deliver them. All you need to do is create a suitable article that endorses a product or service. You need to strongly believe that product or service offer a good value to your site visitors. Within that article, you will add text links, videos, or images, that go to the website you are endorsing. You may be paid per visit, or perhaps a sales commission if people buy after clicking through. You will need a capable adserver to handle the ad tracking.

Infographics

People tend to love infographics, as they are an easy way to absorb data without having to wade through a lot of text or numbers. An infographic is usually a visual representation of specific data, delivered in a way that is big, bold, and easy to read. If you have visitors who don’t spend a lot of time on your site, these infographics are a great way to grab their attention quickly. The infographic can be sponsored by a company and it must fit your site and industry. For example, you have a website discussing deals both online and in store. As an advertiser, Amazon can create and publish an infographic comparing time people spent making purchases online versus in brick-and-mortar stores.

Sponsored Poll

If you run across a site that has a short survey or poll on the main page, it’s easy to give your opinion. It gets even easier if the sponsor offers up some sort of reward for your input. The great thing about polls is that they take up very little space, yet they are very hard to ignore. The result could be used by the advertisers for market research or customer feedback.

Use Existing Articles

If you regularly add content to your site, you probably have a varied selection of content to draw on. If you want to continue to have that content work for you, you can match existing articles with potential advertisers and contact them. If you can show that you have an active and high-quality audience, advertisers will be more than happy to pay to have as many leads as possible sent their way. Find the most popular articles or pages on your site. Think of the most suitable and potential companies who might want to put their ads onto those pages. Contact them and present the page metrics and audience demographics.

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