Normally, the higher the price (or the more crucial to your well-being a given product is), the harder you strive to make sure your choice is the only right decision. To feel confident about the purchase, you look for solid proof of the product’s quality.
And it doesn’t matter what that purchase might be — whether it’s food, books, kitchenware, vacation rentals, or even dog toys – you always check out online reviews.
OK, now switch perspectives. This time you aren’t a buyer but a seller — or, even better — a promoter of a given product. A reviewer, to be specific. Here is a simple fact any marketer (or blogger or website owner) should take to heart:
No matter what you are trying to sell — one of the easiest ways to make money on your blog is by writing great product reviews. The question is: how to write a product review that actually gives people value?
Product reviews can provide valuable insights to help consumers make informed purchasing decisions. However, not all reviews offer equal value. Great reviews require an intentional approach and keen attention to detail. Follow these tips to write product reviews that engage readers and offer a balanced, credible perspective.
Your opening paragraph needs to grab attention and convey the product’s purpose. Avoid dry background details – highlight exciting or unusual aspects of the product right away. Pose an intriguing question, share an appealing statistic, or paint a scenario showcasing the product’s benefits. You want readers eagerly anticipating what’s to come
Provide Key Product Details Upfront
Early on, orient readers by covering logistics like:
- Product name and brand
- Category and target use cases
- Release date, versions, price
This context makes your review more approachable Include images of the product to aid understanding
Share Your Hands-on Experience
Reviews carry more weight when based on first-hand experience. Detail how you acquired the product and used it. For physical goods, note:
- Where/when you made the purchase
- How long you’ve used it
- Frequency and context of use
For digital products and services. share
- How you accessed the product (free trial, subscription, etc)
- How long you’ve used it and how often
- What tasks you used it for
Paint an authentic picture of your interactions with the product.
Evaluate Key Features and Benefits
Dive into the product’s core features and capabilities using section headers to organize details. Assess how well features function in practice. Which provide the most value and which feel superfluous?
Use bulleted lists to highlight:
- Key features and specifications
- Benefits and drawbacks of each
- Standout functions competitors lack
Back up observations with examples from your experience. Photos and videos can demonstrate features in action.
Compare With Similar Products
Contextualizing against competing products gives helpful perspective. Compare against:
- Direct competitors in the same product category
- The previous version if reviewing an upgrade
- General alternatives serving the same need
In a table, quickly contrast:
- Features and capabilities
- Performance factors like speed, accuracy, ease of use
- Value factors like quality, durability, style
Note where the product excels and where alternatives might be preferable.
Quote Your Own First-hand Experience
Inject personal perspective by including selective anecdotes and quotes about your encounters with the product. Share moments that were:
- Particularly exciting or frustrating
- Unexpectedly impressive or disappointing
- Representative of typical use cases
This adds an authentic dimension beyond just listing features. Just a few vivid details can help readers visualize interacting with the product.
Address Significant Flaws and Caveats
To provide balanced context, directly acknowledge drawbacks, flaws, and caveats readers should be aware of. Explain notable:
- Missing features present in competing products
- Reliability issues, bugs, or glitches experienced
- Limitations that fell short of expectations
Detail any workaround measures you took to address flaws. Your unfiltered perspective helps manage buyer expectations.
Assess Ease of Use
Especially for consumer products, evaluate how intuitive setup and operation are:
- How long does initial configuration take?
- How steep is the learning curve for new users?
- Can users easily troubleshoot basic issues?
Identify what could be streamlined to make the product more user-friendly.
Explain Who It’s For and Who It’s Not For
Summarize the target customer based on your experience:
- Skill level required: Beginner? Advanced?
- Good fit for which user needs and pain points?
- Not recommended for which users?
This helps readers assess fit with their own needs and abilities.
Rate Key Evaluation Criteria
Develop 5-10 weighted criteria to grade the product on key dimensions like:
- Ease of use
- Features
- Quality
- Value
- Style
For example:
| Criterion | Rating |
|---|---|
| Ease of use | 9/10 |
| Features | 8/10 |
| Quality | 7/10 |
Add up weighted ratings to yield an overall quantitative score. This summarizes your various assessments using consistent ratings.
Provide a Clear Recommendation
Leave no ambiguity about whether you recommend the product with wording like:
❌ “This product may be a good choice for some.”
✅ “I highly recommend this product for anyone looking for x capabilities.”
Reinforce what types of buyers would benefit most from choosing this product.
Include Prices and Where to Buy
Readers considering purchase will want to know:
- What prices and versions are available?
- Where can they purchase the product?
List this key information, including links to the product sales page if appropriate.
Disclose Affiliations Relevant to Your Review
Transparently disclose any affiliations that could influence your review such as:
- Receiving a free product sample from the brand
- Earning a commission for sales resulting from your review
Readers will value your honesty and apply appropriate weight to your assessment.
Summarize Key Takeaways
Recap the product’s strengths and ideal use cases. Emphasize your final recommendation and any key considerations for prospective buyers. This drives home the main points readers should remember.
Invite Reader Discussion
Close by inviting comments and feedback from readers, either on the site or redirected to social media. This allows you to:
- Learn other perspectives on the product
- Respond to questions from interested buyers
- Identify additional pros/cons to update your review
Ongoing discussion reflects an engaged, knowledgeable reviewer.
Optimize for SEO Reach
Take steps to maximize search engine visibility:
- Include the product name in the page title and headings
- Use keywords people search related to the product
- Add schema markup for review content
This helps readers find your in-depth review when seeking information.
Promote Your Review
Market your work to drive readership:
- Share links on your social media accounts and email lists
- Contact brands related to the product to request sharing
- Pitch to publications that cover related products
Proactive outreach extends your review’s impact.
Maintain Relevance with Updates
Revisit reviews periodically to maintain relevance:
- Note new releases and versions of the product
- Follow-up on longer-term ownership experience
- Monitor and respond to reader comments
Updated content keeps providing value rather than going stale.
Writing compelling and trustworthy product reviews requires planning, effort, and attention to what readers want to know. Payoff comes from crafting reviews that empower buyers, engage communities, and showcase your expertise. What products do you rely on reviews for before purchasing? What reviews stand out as great examples to learn from?
Why do people read product reviews
Why do people read product reviews in the first place? After all, do savvy shoppers buy anything without checking online reviews?
Here’s an example. Imagine you are reviewing Headspace, the meditation app. This is a real-life example because, personally, I’m a Headspace believer and practitioner. 🙂
Or we can go with a different example — this time, let’s make it something B2B. For Instance, LiveChat:
So, what should you begin your review with? People want to get to know some practical facts, so:
- Talk about how the product grew on you and share first impressions (and all the consecutive ones!).
- Share your experiences with the product.
- List real pros and cons of the product.
- Tell the readers if a product is aimed at them [who the target users/buyers are].
- Rule if the product is of the highest quality and whether it’s simply worth buying.
- Is it user-friendly?
- Discuss some potential pain points.
- Provide alternatives.
Online reviews should touch on both pros and cons of a product, service, or even a whole brand so that shoppers understand the key selling points as well as its market strengths and weaknesses.
A powerful product review should clearly point out who the product is for. Another reason why people read product reviews is even simpler. Users want to make sure the product is the best of its kind. Take marketing tools — people want to make sure they’re straightforward, user-friendly, and generally easy to handle.
Moreover, people are curious about alternative solutions. Though, to be honest, they just want to make sure that the product they want to buy is the undisputed king of its category. Also, other users’ experiences aren’t meaningless. Readers want to confront as many opinions as possible before making an actual purchase.
So, in short, a product review is a blog post or a video that will help your target audience to make a purchase decision. It describes product features, pricing plans, how a product performs, and your personal recommendations. It should answer questions that highly motivated buyers can have.
Learn about your product(s)
Once you join affiliate programs or get access to products in any other way, make sure you do your research and study the product. You want to become an expert. Be curious and find out everything about the brand and the product itself. Include competitors in your research and the whole industry as well, before you get started on your reviews.
Remember that reading reviews that are already out there is a must. It will give you an idea of what was important for your competitors. You might also want to take a look at alternative products reviews
How to write a product review
How do you write a good review?
Recap all the key points you touched on in the review, disclose the price and tell the reader if there’s a free trial (remember, the word “free” is intoxicating — if applicable, sprinkle it throughout your article and emphasize free options to get people excited. It usually works wonders).
How to write a product review?
description of your experience with the product and your opinion. Et voilà, now you know how to write a product review! Online reviews are a great way to monetize your blog, start your affiliate marketing business and get it up and running. It’s a proven method, and we’ve got hard data to back it up.
What makes a good product review?
A good product review is based on research and knowledge of a product, and a balanced assessment of its benefits and flaws. Continue reading for tips on how to write a helpful product review. Research the product.
How do I choose the right product to review?
Here are some tips on choosing the right product to review. Before choosing a product to review, it’s important to understand your audience’s preferences and needs. Analyze your audience demographics, interests, and typical challenges or problems. The product you choose should be relevant to your readers and something they would consider buying.
