Sponsored feature specifications

A sponsored feature is a full article, published by an outlet your audience already reads and labelled as sponsored. It is the placement that builds trust, because the reader chose to start reading it. It fails the moment it turns into a description of the company.

What we deliver

Sponsored features are normally written by The Ad Mart from the campaign interview. You review a draft; the publisher reviews it for house style; it runs. If you already have an article, we will edit it to the specification below.

Length and structure

Element	Specification
Word count	600–900 words (publisher may set a range)
Headline	≤ 70 characters. Says something useful, not the brand name.
Standfirst / deck	20–35 words summarising the point
Subheadings	Every 150–250 words
Pull quote	One, ≤ 25 words, optional
Closing call to action	1–2 sentences with a tracked link

The structure that works

1. A question the reader already has. Open with the uncertainty, not the company.
2. The honest answer. Give the useful information away. Specifics — a number, a deadline, a common mistake — do more for credibility than adjectives.
3. Where the expertise comes from. One or two sentences that make clear who is writing and why they know.
4. What to do next. A single, low-pressure call to action.

Images

Image	Size	Format	Weight	Notes
Hero	1600 × 900 px	JPG	≤ 600 KB	Landscape photograph. No text or logos baked in.
Inline (up to 2)	1200 px wide	JPG / PNG	≤ 400 KB each	Diagrams, product, premises, people at work
Author photo	600 × 600 px	JPG	≤ 200 KB	Square, face centred, plain background

Supply a caption and a credit for every image, and confirm you hold the rights. Stock photography is acceptable for the hero if it is not obviously stock; real photographs of real people perform better. We can arrange photography where none exists.

Author details

Element	Specification
Byline	Real person’s name. Not “Team” or the company.
Bio	≤ 50 words: name, role, one credential, one link
Photo	600 × 600 as above

Readers trust a person. A feature bylined to a company reads as an advertisement even when the content is good.

Disclosure

The publisher labels the piece — typically “Sponsored”, “Partner content” or “Paid post” — in line with their standards and the law. We will not ask for the label to be removed, and we do not run features designed to pass as independent editorial. See our Advertising Standards.

Links

• One tracked link in the closing call to action, built with utm_medium=sponsored.
• Up to two further links where they genuinely help the reader (a regulator’s page, a public data source).
• No links inserted purely for search-engine value; publishers mark sponsored links nofollow or sponsored and will remove others.

Review process

1. Interview 45 minutes with the person who knows the work best.
2. Draft Delivered to you within 5 business days of the interview.
3. Your review One round of changes. Factual corrections are unlimited; we ask that tone changes are kept to what the publisher will accept.
4. Publisher review Edited for house style. You see the final version before it runs.
5. Publication On the agreed date, with the link live and tracked.

Creative checklist