Short answer: Editorial coverage happens when a newsroom decides to write about your business; you do not pay for it and you do not control the content. A sponsored article or advertorial is paid content that must be recognisable as such. What you buy is space and an agreed publication, not the independent judgement of the editors.
Two different things
Editorial coverage is the newsroom’s choice: a journalist considers your news, project or expertise worth telling readers about. You can encourage it with a well-prepared press release or a relevant story, but you cannot buy it. The editors decide the angle, the quotes and whether the piece runs at all.
A sponsored article or advertorial is a paid placement. The content is produced in consultation with you, publication is agreed by contract and the piece is labelled as paid. Readers must be able to tell the difference; that is also the aim of the Dutch Advertising Code (Nederlandse Reclame Code) and of each outlet’s own rules.
Who writes it, who signs it off
A paid placement involves three parties: you as the client, whoever writes the piece, and the outlet that publishes it. Agree in advance who does what.
- Production: who writes the copy, how many words, which photos or visuals, and how many rounds of amendments are included?
- Outlet: which title or platform exactly, which section, which date or edition?
- Approval: you approve the facts about your business; the outlet may set requirements on format, tone and labelling, and may reject a piece.
- Labelling: which wording does the outlet use, such as ‘sponsored’, ‘advertorial’ or ‘in partnership with’, and where does it appear?
With Klantwerf, the outlet, format, edition or publication date, amendments and how long the piece stays online are confirmed in the quotation. Nothing is committed before that written confirmation.
What a paid article does not buy
A paid format does not buy independent editorial endorsement. The piece must not be presented as the verdict of journalists, and your payment does not change what the newsroom itself thinks of your business. In your own marketing, avoid phrases such as ‘as featured in’ or ‘recommended by’ on the strength of a paid placement.
Links in paid online content are marked rel="sponsored". Such a link brings readers who click through, but it is not meant to influence your search rankings. A placement guarantees no visitors, no enquiries and no appearance in search results or AI-generated answers.
Reuse rights
Paying for an article does not automatically let you reuse it everywhere. Agree in writing what you may do.
- May you publish the text on your own website or in a newsletter, and from when?
- May you use the outlet’s name or logo, and how?
- May you share an image of the printed page, or only a link?
- May you use the article in paid advertising, and for how long?
Organic sharing, paid promotion and the length of a licence are three separate agreements.
What you can measure
Ask beforehand what data the outlet will share after publication: page views, reading time or link clicks, and over what period. For print, usually only a voucher copy or a circulation figure is available. A title’s circulation or reach is a potential audience, not the number of people who read your piece.
If you want to measure it yourself, use a dedicated landing page or a distinctive link so that traffic from the placement shows up separately in your own analytics.
Assumptions and limits
- Klantwerf does not present any outlet as a partner. Whether an outlet takes part depends on its acceptance and is only confirmed in the quotation.
- Labelling rules differ by outlet and type of placement. This guide is a general explanation, not legal advice.
- Indicative budgets in Klantwerf’s catalogue (for example €990 excluding VAT for a regional online article) are proposals, not quotations from media companies.