“Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won’t taste good.” – Quote Garden – Joe Paterno

In my last post about reviewing (Becoming a Reviewer: Where to Begin), I shared 5 tips with you on how to get started.

Today, I’d like to share with you…

5 Strategies for Reviewing Success

1. Honesty is the best policy. Always, always tell the truth – even if you find a negative aspect (or several!) in the product or system you’re reviewing. This is most important, especially if you’re a blogger or the author of a review column, etc. Your audience needs to know they can trust your judgment. Your reputation is of value. Your readers’ experiences are of value. Don’t be the cause of them spending their hard-earned money on products you highly recommend, but aren’t in keeping with your rave review. Keep it real.
2. Be thorough. Highlight details and clue readers in on everything you can think of to share – including fun facts or solid information about the company’s history, team and/or owner(s). Saying something like “oh, I loved the product… it was great” is not enough to provide a solid foundation for someone who is truly interested in purchasing the item you’re mentioning.
3. Follow up with readers. If comments are allowed where you posted your review, try to answer readers’ questions or at least direct them to someone who can. Sometimes we forget to include something they may want to know. (We can’t think of everything!)
4. Don’t forget the pros and the cons. Readers want to know both the good and the bad. If it’s a food or beverage, be sure to include how it tastes and/or smells, how appetizing it may be, how much it costs, and even list a few ways they might introduce this product to their usual meals or snacks, etc.
5. Openly thank the company/individual who sent you the product(s) to review. They not only deserve the recognition for their generosity, they deserve a thank you for taking the time to acknowledge you as a reviewer and give you the opportunity to sample their product, free of cost.

And, yes, I absolutely try to adhere to these strategies when I write reviews. I’ve grown and learned along the way, so I have written reviews in the past that were short and sweet. Each time I’ve written a new review, though, I’ve built upon what I learned from writing the previous one. And, so writing reviews is not only becoming easier for me, they’ve become so much more enjoyable as I pass on to the reader not only my thoughts, but valuable, honest information, with integrity and a genuine heart.

Do you write reviews? Are you thorough? Will you try to be more thorough from now on? Do you think it’s wrong to be paid for reviews? Do you think it’s wrong to receive free products for review? And what do you think about the Federal Trade Commission’s ruling for bloggers? Has it kept you from writing reviews? Or, are you just more cautious? I’ve always been upfront and openly thanked the sponsoring company who sent me products to review – I’m glad!

And stay tuned… more tips are on the way! Is there anything in particular you’d like to know? Share in the comments!

Did you enjoy this article? Feel free to visit the other articles Michele has written for Writer’s Round-About–or contact her to write for you.

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