Emerj boasts the largest AI-focused executive audience online.
From the start, we decided to create an ecosystem where advertisers could be a net value-add for our readers, not a detriment or annoyance. Because of our focus on content quality and in-depth, purely educational (not promotional) material – we’ve built a substantial global audience of executives and business leaders who trust us as a source.
We decided only to take on clients who share our vision: To educate business leaders – and to count on the best insights and the most useful material to drive value for both sponsor and reader.
We’ve been fortunate to work with some of the most exciting B2B AI companies, from VC-backed startups to global enterprises.
Readers who would like to learn more about reaching our AI-focused executive audience can visit our Emerj advertising page.
Our sponsored content guidelines grow out of our core beliefs about educating our executive audience.
Core Beliefs:
- We believe that the best kind of content is that which helps business leaders make smarter decisions at work
- We believe that sponsored content isn’t about making a quick and intrusive pitch, it’s about creating valuable resources that get read, shared, and respected by a global business audience
- We believe that direct promotion is generally intrusive advertising and that smart advertisers know the value in not just being “in front” of their target audience, but in being trusted by them
- We believe in selecting our sponsored based on their business or academic expertise in applying artificial intelligence – and that only sponsors who will add value to our readers should be accepted
- We believe in working with sponsored to only create which will help business leaders make better decisions, with no biased claims, direct product promotion, or exaggeration
Our sponsored content guidelines reflect the care that we have for our audience, and for working with clients who can genuinely make our platform a richer place for users. This guideline applies to all sponsored content agreements with clients, with no exceptions.
Sponsored Content Guidelines:
Education is value and trust: Sponsored articles are completely educational in nature – and are entirely focused on (a) applications, (b) possibilities, (c) trends and (d) use-cases of AI in business. While this may mention and reference a product or service of the client company, the articles themselves are never about product comparisons or gloating. The bottom lines: Our business readers must leave this article better informed than when they came to it.
Backlinks and “nofollow”: We comply 100% with Google’s terms for sponsored content – and to ensure the safety and longevity of content. This means that for all paid sponsored content:
- We use only “nofollow” links related to any client content
- Client-related “nofollow” links are limited to 1 per article, though many articles include only one or none
- We do not allow for boilerplate templates about authors in our sponsored articles
Purpose-built content structures: Our audience has strong expectations about how quickly and easily it should be to get to the “meat” of our articles – to quickly find valuable business insight and useful information to help them survive and thrive in an age of AI disruption. We have determined 5 content frameworks that allow us to take the interviews and insight from our advertisers, and frame them succinctly for the educational purposes of our audience.
Claims: Any statement that isn’t backed by a reputable, third-party auditor, user, or research firm is a claim, and not a fact. We present quotes and stats from interviews and credible sources, and we provide those credible sources for our readers to make their own judgments. We don’t lay claim to ultimate truth, we list who said what and who reported what, and our readers can make their own assessments. This includes:
- Claims about what a product can or cannot do
- Claims about case studies
- Claims about integrating or using technologies
- Even when quoting an independent third party data source, we are clear that we are citing them, not stating their report to be facts
Objective tone: We do not use flattering language to describe a company, person, or application. We do not use disparaging language to describe a company, person, or application. We present facts with an even hand and let our readers make sense of those facts by giving them the best and most credible sources on the subject (including our own interviews). Our executive readers demand information to make better decisions, not biases and bluster.
We do not make biased claims: Flagrantly biased claims will be excluded from all articles. Any claim which takes a blatantly self-serving “slant” would degrade the trust and value of our platform in the eyes of our users, and would, in turn, make our platform less useful for all sponsors. A biased claim may include but is not limited to:
- Any kind of favorable comparison to market alternatives or competitors
- Any kind of claim about how easy or simple a product is to use
Exaggeration isn’t permitted: Any claim that Emerj editors deem to be exaggerated will be examined – and data to support the claim will be asked to be provided. Without a reputable source to back up it up, claims that appear exaggerated will be removed at the discretion of the Emerj editorial team. For email inclusions and promotion, Emerj controls audience messaging entirely – these emails inclusions are not client-determined.
100% disclosure: The top or bottom of any sponsored article will include a simple 1-2 sentence disclosure including (a) the fact that the content was sponsored, (b) the writer or creator of the content itself, and (c.) the sponsoring company who paid to commission the article.
Last updated Apr 17th, 2022.
Advertisers and partners who agree to work with Emerj also agree to adhere to our standards of objectivity and thoroughness, as outlined above.
Readers with suggestions on improving our sponsored content standards – or who see article which they believe do not abide by these guidelines – can email our editorial team anytime at: editorial [at] emerj [dot] com
