Everyone has a opinion and we frequently read these opinions on various review sites, looking for information about a restaurant, adventure park or attraction we are considering. It might be to get extra information that the actual website doesn’t tell us, or to find out what the restaurant’s specialities are or what time is quieter for the attraction… We like to summarise and assess others opinions on products/ food/ books/ hotels/ holidays so we can evaluate the information ourselves and either go and enjoy the experience or learn from the review that its not what we would enjoy. I will show you how to write a review online and will give you a template that you can use to write your reviews.
What Are You Going To Say?
What message do you want to convey with your review? This might depend on what you are reviewing, whether its a book or movie or product. You will have different goals for each review and what you want your reader to take away from your review.
In a book review you may want to discuss the characters and how they build the story, or a movie and how the plot develops, but with affiliate marketing, it’s more likely that you are going to be reviewing products or services as part of your affiliate website so that is the angle I’m going to be taking in this article.
Who Is Your Audience?
Have a clear understanding of your audience, knowing who you are writing for is critical. You will have your niche audience, if you are running an affiliate website, so this makes it easier to choose the right tone for your review. This will influence your decisions about content, emphasis, organisation, style and tone. And clearly in the example below, you are writing for people with large gardens who want to cut their lawns!
What Do They Need/Want To Know?
Knowing your audience, you need to consider what they need to know about the product or service…
QUICK LOOK
Engine Horsepower
Cutting Width
Fuel Capacity
For example, if you have a website niche in landscape gardening, and review large equipment, the ride on lawnmower is a prime piece of equipment, and one that will take a fair amount of research for your reader as they wont want to make mistakes in purchasing the wrong one. You might be writing this because you are landscape gardener yourself or do it as a second job. So you decide to review your ride-on mower – great plan to review products you use as this shows authority and experience, building trust in your website, because you know what you are talking about!
But what do your audience need to know? Make this information quick and easy to find, so they can compare other products they are considering. This is another reason to have a template to use for your reviews, your audience will get used to how you write them and can see the information they need immediately. You can see with the image above, I would suggest engine horsepower, cutting width and fuel capacity as being important features to include in a quick look section.
The Review
I have included a template at the end of the article to use for your reviews. Its a starting point for you to use and you can change it to suit your website, but use it every time you write a review. Consistency in the review process is important, so as not to confuse your audience.
Decide the parameters of your review, the perspective/angle you are going to take. This will most likely depend on the tone of your website, the subject of your review and your style. At the start of the review, give your audience a concise summary of what you are going to share.
Introduction
The introductory paragraph should catch the attention of the reader, so make it interesting, conversational and enticing so the reader continues to read your review. First impressions are important so set out at the start, discuss what you are going to tell them during the review.
Quick Look Data
Directly below the introduction, add in some ‘Quick Look‘ data and a photograph of the product. The quick look data will depend on the product you are reviewing, but for instance – KastKing Royale Legend BaitCasting Fishing Reel
Quick Look Data information you would include would be the salient points you want to highlight right now to keep your reader on your article –
Brand: KastKing
Model: KK-RS1000H
Bait Catching Reel
17.5lb Capacity
7.0:1 Ratio
Suitable for bass/trout fishing
Add the photo at the side, so they can look at the details and product at the same time. You can add more images later, showing close-ups of your product as you discuss the features.
Score
Add a visual score using stars or something similar, it will stand out better and give an immediate indication to your reader whether they will continue to read on or not. Don’t be tempted to give more stars than its worth to try and encourage someone to buy… Having not so great reviews on your site is expected. If you only review stuff that is always good, it doesn’t build up confidence in your site.
Price
This is a personal choice, whether to include a price or not. Amazon frown on showing the price, and to be perfectly honest, I don’t … only because it means I have to go through and check the price every week to keep it updated and fresh. Now this isn’t such a bad idea because you can check your links are still working, but when you have hundreds of reviews it will be onerous and time consuming to be doing it every week, more likely to be once a month. So you could put symbols to denote the price. – £££/£
Where To Purchase
Important to put where to send your reader for purchase. This is where you would have your personal affiliate link so you get paid when they follow it to the merchant to purchase. If you don’t now how to insert an affiliate link, follow my article about affiliate links and it will show you how to do it.
Product Review
Describe your product in detail. You can use the information you have received from your affiliate merchant to assist you but write in your own words. Give details – dimensions, power, accessories, features, facilities – what you include will depend on what you are reviewing.
When commenting on a feature, give evidence for your opinion… for example …..This is what was said on an outdoor sportsman website…”Cabela’s King Kat II Spinning Reel – Stainless, Freshwater Fishing The corrosion-resistant reinforced graphite body is strong and durable to get you through many a season. Long-cast aluminum spool lets you fire baits out to where the giants live.”
This is an idea of how you would write a review using that information…. Clearly if this is a reel that you use, you can add in your personal experience of it at the same time.
‘KatKing Reel is made of stainless steel, used for fresh water fishing. With a reinforced graphite body, makes it corrosion-resistant so ideal for many fishing seasons. *** Close-up image of the reel body****
Long-cast aluminium spool allows for depth to reach those out of the way fish with your live bait. So no disappointing fishing sessions !’
Work your way through all the details of the product, adding in your opinion of the product. Write in complete sentences, and use descriptive words, the use of a thesaurus is a good idea, to make your review interesting and engaging. When using personal details. do not be vague or generalistic. Readers do not want wishy washy comments…
‘The reel is a good reel, with an anti twist…’ That’s not really going to inspire anyone… but… ‘The reel is a great middle of the range price for beginner/intermediate fishers, with an awesome anti twist feature to stop those really irritating twists we all suffer.’
See how that changes the whole aspect of the information? All totally correct but with so much more enthusiasm.
Be truthful, no point selling something that you don’t believe in yourself. Be fair to the manufacturer, point out both positive and negative issues. But at all times be creative and interesting.
If you can, if you have used the product yourself, or know someone who has and you can get first hand information from them, use it here. Adding in privileged information that the reader cannot get from the merchants website will add authority and authenticity to your review. It also allows the reader to decide if they are a similar person to you, and in so doing, decide that if you have one, they want one too.
Pros and Cons/ Comparison
If you wish to add in a pros and cons section, feel free. It makes it easier for your reader to compare and contrast similar products and if you have similar product reviews on your website already, you could add in a comparison table to see at a glance the similarities and differences. It will also highlight your other reviews too.
Tips To Remember When Writing a Review
Conclusion
Write up a conclusion to your review, using evidence to back up what you are saying. You may be repeating yourself here but don’t worry about that, you are bringing together the points you have made into a concise paragraphs for a quick reminder.
Recommendations
This is the point at which you have to get down off the fence and decide how you would swing as far as purchasing this product is concerned. Offer an honest opinion.. It might be that it is an awesome product for a certain situation, so mention that, whereas in another situation, it would not be so good. Be positive and not overly critical. By the very fact you have chosen to do a review you already must rate the product somewhat to get this far.
Template
You can copy this and adapt it to your own needs.
Bless you for this excellent article. I just got of with my blogging and looking for products to review since my website is based on the money making online niche and that requires reviewing some products. But I do not have the slightest idea on how to go about it. Thankfully, you shared nice tips and ideas as to how to get started with it. I’m definitely going to stick with your tips and would be glad to share my first review with you, if you would like to see. Thanks
Thats great news Ro, I am so pleased that it is of use to you straight away !
What you have said about critics of a position is very correct and useful. Whether it’s a book, a movie or a product about the kitchen, or fishing, there must always be a comprehensive description the advantages and the disadvantages with some testimonies or even the personal experience of the writer of the review, in my opinion. Thank you for this great post.
Thank you for taking time to comment, I am pleased you found it useful.
This post is really beautiful. I have sewn some people wrote reviews that are not truthful. I have just started my own site too and I want to start doing the money making niche that requires me to write some reviews. I am happy to see this post and how you have outlined what need to be done to write a good review. I believe that truthfulness is the bedrock of a good review. I’ll put all your tips in mind for reference. Thanks a lot.
Thanks for your comments, you are absolutely right, truthfulness in a review is paramount if you want to build confidence with your readers.
I’ve always been a big fan of the pros and cons section, both by writing and reading reviews. I love the introduction and quick look data, especially if they’re short and visual, which is what I try to do with writing my own reviews. This will entice any reader, plus myself as well, but my biggest plus for anyone would definitely be pros and cons. I think most readers looking for a quicker read will go to this section.
Thanks Todd, I think you are right, most people will check that first and if they like what they see, they will then go on and read more. Thankyou for taking time to comment.
Wow Quinn. Thank you for this fantastic information. I’m fairly new to the blogging world and it’s been a bit of a mystery to me just how to go about writing a good quality review. Your article explains how to do this in simple terms that I can full understand. Thank you so much for the template at the end. I am going to utilize this immediately. Jim
Hi Jim, thanks so much for your comments, I am so pleased that it is of use to you. I know how I felt when I first started out, which was a reason I felt compelled to do this article.
Hi,
Thanks for this excellent article about how to write a review online. This article gives me those all information about writing a review which I needed. I have just started write product review for my website but couldn’t understand how to start, and what should include. But after reading this article I am clear and determined that I can write a proper preview review. Especially I liked the review format which one you shared here. Thanks again.
Thankyou ! Im so glad its of help to you !!
Thanks for sharing this article. My Content niche is around Beverage reviews so this was extremely useful and beneficial to my in particular. I have found particular success on products with an overall score. I have just written up my first review template after reading this article and must say how much more structured my writing now is. How often do you think I should change this up to refresh the look and feel of my articles?
Thanks Ben for commenting on my article. It’d good to hear that it has helped you. I wouldn’t recommend changing the structure much at all. Having a successful, working structure to your reviews that your readers recognise and can follow is important.
Nice post on how to write reviews. You’ve definitely covered all of the basics. I agree with your point about including a star rating as people tend to weigh heavily on stars/thumbs up. Sometimes I find it hard to write a review on a product that I haven’t seen before, but have included in a multiple product review post. I usually go to amazon to see what people are saying about the product to get a general idea of it.
Some times out have to write a review about something you haven’t tried yourself. It occasionally happens and you then spend the time researching as much as you can about the product before you write your review.
Thanks for the walk through in making professional review as Online reviews can make or break a customer’s decision, I have come across many reviews online and they lack quality. This post made me realize the better the written review, the more convinced the consumer will be in buying that product and believe in the idea that they are making the right decision. I’ll do well in following these steps you’ve outlined here.
Thank you for your comments. I do believe that the better the review, the more detailed information the reader will have to make a constructive decision.
What an excellent review template. It is easy to read and gives full information about the item or service. I especially enjoyed your comments about using a thesaurus and to avoid wishy-washy descriptions. People who are reading the review are reading it because they probably have some knowledge about it or similar objects and want to compare. They are also probably wanting to buy what would fit their own style. They need these specifics in order to make a well-informed decision. Also, putting in your informed decision about the object in question is very important. You need to be seen as an authority on the item (and you had BETTER be!) so now is the time to tell the truth.
I have bookmarked your article for my own use in the future! I hope that more do so as well as it is an excellent template.
Thank you for your comments. I think the review is very important and so hope the template is of use .
An honest review always gain trust and loyalty from readers, resulting to great potential of product purchase. I have read a lot of product or service review and the ones that are appealing are those with in depth explanation of its feature. There are some who would even include proper use of the product as well as providing step by step procedure of DIYs that includes an affiliate product.
I also appreciate it if the content is comparing different products so readers could really decide on which to buy. I haven’t written a product review but I will keep in mind your tips so I can be an effective product reviewer. Thank you for sharing valuable information with us. Bless you!
Thank you for your comments!