Even if your writing a blog just to help promote your online store or craft business, it’s always nice to get product for free. And that is a real possibility when you are a blogger. This is where having the ability to write a good and trustworthy product review is handy.
Having companies send you yarn and knitting needles for review would be wonderful, but to get to that point you have to build up a reputation of wiring good reviews and you have to build a trust with your audience. One blog had a great suggestion for doing this, they said start writing reviews about new products that you bought yourself. That’s a great idea. Think about it, you already buy new craft products regularly either for personal use or for your craft business. Now after you test it out you’ll have new content for your blog, you’ll be building experience writing quality product reviews, and you’ll build a stronger trust with your readers because they’ll know your opinion is unbiased since no one handed the items to you.
You can read the full article here. It’s geared toward fashion bloggers, but it pulls together some good general tips for writing product review on your blog.
When you start writing product reviews, there are a few things to keep in mind:
- Be sure to include a good photo of the product and where you got it from so that readers can pick it up to if they want to. If it’s a website, use a link!
- Be personal. Explain what you bought it for, how it worked with the project you used it on, and if you would use it again.
- Remember to be honest, but respectful. Especially if it’s a company that you want to work with in the future. You want to be honest, not burn bridges.
- Suggest other uses for the product if you liked it. Many people don’t think outside of the box when it comes to products they’ve never used before. If you bought something to use for a specific project, make suggestions for what other projects you could use it for.
- Try to find pros and cons. Even the best products have something that could be improved upon. Finding pros and cons will only solidify your credibility and your readers’ trust in you.
Have you ever written product reviews?
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Maggie,
You make a great point about writing reviews without endorsement. I like to do this on my blog and one reason I started was to share my experience. I also like reading other reviews by non-endorsed writers.
My next move is to figure out how to let the companies know about my review. I’ve thought of mentioning it on twitter etc. How do you feel about mentions linking back to the post?
Marie
Hi Maire, I think you should absolutely do it! Show off your hard work and show that company that you like them. It’s a great idea.