Be Careful When Writing Reviews Of Programs or Tools
INTRODUCTION
This post pertains to those Wealthy Affiliate members that are promoting the site on their blogs or via social media. I was prompted to add it after seeing how too often members here write negative reviews of competing programs or anything really pertaining to the IM world...
BACKGROUND
As I am sure we all are aware of, there are IM folks outside of Wealthy Affiliate. These folks have been in the business in some cases for a very long time and have had varying degrees of success...
I too am in that world, as we all are. It is not my main focus, but certainly I use many of the programs, tools, and software for the things I do online/offline...In that regard, I also interact with some of these people on the internet, i.e. on Facebook, on forums, or on websites...
THE PROBLEM
Here is what is generally thought of by many of these IM folks out there: Wealthy Affiliate members will often write reviews about programs, tools, and software with the main focus being to trash the reviewed item, and then promote Wealthy Affiliate...
Often the reviewer has not purchased the program, they have not used the program, and they have not objectively written the review to reflect the true positives and negatives of the item..
OUTCOMES
This is not fair nor right. When you do that, you are doing the same thing that you are painting the reviewed product with, namely your review is skewed and should be disregarded.
Of course, if that is the case, the case for joining or being a member of Wealthy Affiliate also gets thrown out, or? We know that what Wealthy Affiliate offers is a super product. There is no need to trash other programs by shooting from the hip as some members do.
MY RECOMMENDATION
I used to sell a lot of product offline, and one of the mantras I lived by and had the people that worked for me follow was to NEVER trash the competitor's product in a negative manner...
There are other ways to get your point across that are much more effective. Emphasizing the points of difference is a much better way to convince people (and also does not destroy trust/respect with the reader nor your competitor)...
POINT OF REFERENCE
A book that I used to make a 'MUST READ' was "How To Become A Rainmaker" by Jeffrey Fox...This has so much good information on how to make sales in a ethical manner. You will enjoy it and be able to apply the lessons for online marketing too...
You do not need to buy the book, do a search and you will find lots of free material available to get you started. There are ways of making sales that are fun, ethical, and effective. Take the time to learn about these...
CONCLUSION
The bottom line is that I believe you should think before you post a review. Ask your self if you are being fair to the reviewed product and if you have pointed out the differences fairly.
In the long run, you will have more success if you rise on the merits of what you create, do, and represent, not by trashing other products in an unfair and totally biased manner.
Food for thought...
What do you think?
Cheers,
Dave : )
Recent Comments
72
I agree Dave. Hi.
Can I add that to try selling one thing under another topic can be confusing for the reader. ie; sell WA on a review of ABC.
Sometimes it's better to refer them via link to your highest recommended program.
Better still have a prominent 'related post' about WA.
What do you think?
Janelle.
I agree with you Janelle having a link back to your WA review from a review you are doing of another product is a great idea if you can fit it in and it makes sense.
Yes, Janelle...I think that makes a lot of sense, I do see reviews by members that recommend WA when the product being reviewed has nothing to do with what WA offers...It is confusing and feels like a bait and switch tactic to me...
Yes, this is something that may work as long as it is done in a manner that fits naturally with the flow of the content...Too often it is blatant and really makes it look like the carrot was the review but the real intent is to get the referral to WA...Perhaps some banners outside the content or similar?
The majority of programs/products/services that I publish reviews on, I've tried. :)
My reviews are always "unbiased" and I also provide truthful facts/ opinions. I only ever trash a program if it deserves to be trashed for being a scam or low-quality.
Being "honest" with your readers is one of the keys to succeeding with earning from the WA affiliate program.
However, trashing other programs for WA signups is one thing, but what about the WA members who are labeling horse sh*t as "AWESOME" to make a buck?
For example; I've read reviews on traffic exchanges, hyped up downline builders, and poor-quality MLMs, etc... Where WA members are claiming them to be the best thing since sliced bread. When in fact, you wouldn't touch these opportunities with a barge pole.
Personally, I think there are far too many "biased" affiliate blogs taking advantage of people by promoting crap that doesn't lead to successful long-term businesses.
If you want to build that trust with your readers and refer more people to WA - write unbiased reviews, be honest, and stop recommending stuff that you know is absolute dog dirt!
Just Saying!
Neil :)
Hi, Neil...
Good point on the programs that are less than stellar but recommended (for the commission), it does go both ways...I too have seen this from WA members and nonmembers (more nonmembers)...
Staying objective and pointing out the positives, negatives, points of difference, and your personal opinion are all within the realm of what I strive for with reviews. That can cause turmoil, but you can live with the flak if what you state can be verified...
Opinions do vary, so this is a gray area to a degree. BUT, as you say, there are some very obvious and easy ones to pick out as being programs or tools that do not do what they claim or are outright scams.
These should be the ones painted as such in reviews...Blatant BS is not welcomed nor should it be either way...I try to put myself in the shoes of the reader. If I wouldn't be happy, why am I asking others to part with their money?
Thanks for adding in your thoughts here...
Cheers!
Dave : )
Yeah, I've also noticed many non-wa members promoting hype. But I guess it gives the rest of us an opportunity to stand out. ;)
I agree with what you're saying. Unfortunately, some people don't put themselves in others shoes, so don't give it a 2nd thought when creating biased reviews to pocket commissions.
You're welcome, Dave!
yes I agree.
If everything reviewed on our sites were labelled as trash, but only WA labelled as awesome, readers would soon see that.
They'd think "this guy is obviously trashing product A to get signups for product B"
and
"How come this guy is trashing product A when all the other reviews I've read say it's amazing?"
If it's trash, yes, trash it and tell em why it's trash.
If it's great, tell em it's great and get an affilate link for it. Also offer an alternative that could complement it, such as WA. There's no reason why 2 products, or more, can't be promoted.
Trashing everything but WA would be "leaving money on the table" as Kyle likes to say.
Jim-Bo,
You also have hit the nail on the head...Especially at the start, if your review website trashes good programs, your credibility goes out the window...
I am waiting for the other view on this, that the end justifies the means...Maybe I am missing something...But really my successes have been realized more through other means, as in points of difference, etc.
Appreciate reading about your take on this...
Cheers!
Dave : )
Appreciate the appreciation in this all too often unappreciated world of appreciation! Ooof, I need a beer after all that! ; )
I appreciated the appreciation of my appreciated pint of romulan ale and a packet of venutian peanuts
Life is to be appreciated...Here a little early (still n the coffee mode) but beer on ice for later already...Tiger anyone?
U said Tiger...hmmm, are you in Thailand?
and that picture of the lovely lady sitting by you, she looks Thai to me...
hmmm
Me thinks u must be in Thailand.
At the moment I am in Dubai...My business partner (German) is married to a lovely Thai woman and we have a warehouse outside of Bangkok for e-commerce ops...
Our plan is to expand that operation so I and the partner will be spending more and more time in Thailand...I like that part of the world (Thailand, China, The Philippines, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, usw)...
The beautiful lady next to me is from the Philippines, and she does have some Thai characteristics...We are in Dubai at a Jack Daniels promotion (Gentleman Jack and I are close friends)...
I also ride mechanical bulls after conferring with Jack (silly me)...
Dave,
Thanks for this post.
I think this comes back to the Affiliate Bootcamp training here at WA.
I don't think Kyle is recommending you trash other products to highlight WA, it's simply that the sample site in the training is a scams blog.
And it's easy to replicate.
It's almost comical because every time I search for a review of a product, there's usually a WA site right at the top with the headline [Insert affiliate product] - Is This Legit or a Scam?
If this is the MO here at WA, then we are only hurting the WA brand.
I am an affiliate of several brands which have been trashed on WA sites and I can tell you, those folks have no idea what they are talking about. Zero.
But there's not much I can do to stop it except give people an alternative to the "Is this a Scam post?"
Hello, Gustavo...
I appreciate your thoughts and input to the subject...
Your point on the Bootcamp training is spot on I think...
Wealthy Affiliate is good enough to stand on its own, there is no need to trash another program or tool to convince people to try it...
The tools and programs I participate in outside of WA have their value also, and the developers of these programs are most certainly not scammers...
Many have had equal if not greater success in the online marketing world, and when they share their methods, although different than here, they are adding value to the segment...
Maybe some cautionary verbiage would help in that Bootcamp training so people new to the business do not jump in half-cocked and go down that path...
Good to meet you and thanks for adding your thoughts...
Cheers!
Dave : )
There are lots of good training out there. Maybe they don't offer a great value for money as WA, but still we can learn a lot from other online marketers. Its not fair at all to trash them. We must always strive for an unbiased review.
Besides, when we rank for these products on the first page, we can earn a great commission. So why miss so many opportunities? It's a win-win-win situation!
I used to be unfair in the beginning and biased. But that was due to my lack of experience in this industry. I really thought that almost everything was rubbish compared to WA. That's not true!
Now, those binary options auto traders deserve a harsh fight back. People are wasting a lot of money with these scams, so don't trash it, explode it!
Hi, Stefan...
I too drank the kool-aid when I first started, and my view has morphed somewhat. I do think this program and website is a top place to learn so you can earn...
For me, it is likely the number one place over many others...BUT, there are some good programs other than this site too, and they teach people how to make money as this place does, albeit using a different approach...
Just because it is different does not make it worthless. There are many successful marketers who learned from other places how to build a business...
Especially when starting out, I found myself too going a bit harsh on anything other than Wealthy Affiliate...Moving forward to more recently, I have seen that a more balanced approach can actually work in your favor...
A lot of my early reviews I am looking at as I revamp my site to a new theme, and make all the changes that will make the site look half way decent again...
One step in the process is to edit these early reviews to better fit my current perspective...I am also adding in links, more pictures etc.
Thanks for your thoughts, they are useful to the readers I feel sure.,..
Dave : )
I write a lot of product reviews on my website. It's what I mainly do. In the past I have mostly done what you describe here, to trash other products in favour of WA. This is because this is what Kyle encourages us to do in the bootcamp course.
However, these days I'm tending to write more balanced reviews. I am now trying my best to be as fair and balanced no matter what. So if the product looks good, I say I think it looks good. If the product looks bad, I say it looks bad. If I think it looks just okay, I say I think it's just okay. If I'm not sure, I say I'm not sure.
Along with this, I've actually started putting in affiliate links for these other products. If you think about it, this helps me be more objective and balanced. If I know I am putting links both for WA and the product I am reviewing, I have less vested interest in which way the reader goes with their decision. The only other way to be objective would be to have no links to WA or the product I am reviewing, but that would be a complete waste of time; that would mean I would be reviewing products just to pass the time.
For my last 10 product reviews, here are the ratings I gave them:
Bad
Good
Bad
Okay
Bad
Bad
Okay
Bad
Bad
Good
The path of least resistance is to write the reviews trashing other programs, services, and tools, and you are right Marcus, that is ones of the methods that is emphasized in the Bootcamp training...
Having relatively new people to the business focus on this opens the door to reviews that are not balanced...I know when I look at my earlier reviews they are not as good as the ones I do today...
As you discovered, I too try to be more fair and balanced and lay out the facts, good and bad, add my opinion, justify that opinion, and then leave it for the reader to decide whether or not the product is worth their time and money...
Apparently, over the years the harsh reviews that are one-sided that have been published has not helped the Wealthy Affiliate name in the market...
Of course, the flip side would be that the reason they do not like it is that they lose sales, and Wealthy Affiliate gains...That could be a bit of the issue as well, over the unfair reviews...
Your idea of adding links in for comparable products is a good one I think...Making sure that the link opens in another tab can mean they can compare and come right back to your page...
When I compare the last 10 reviews, most have been positive, because I try to stay away from products that are crap. The ones that have value if used as intended are what I want to focus on...
Also, I stopped long ago promoting WA over what I already have published. There is a lot of competition and I simply do not have time. That commission I can make 10 x over with work on the other stuff I am doing...
Thanks for your input, valuable and definitely adds meat to the conversation...
Cheers!
Dave : )
Thanks Dave.
There are those that only post positive reviews of other products just so they can get their commissions, then there are those who only trash these products to try to get people to WA.
I've come to realise that neither of these positions is idea. The best place is in the middle, trying to be totally fair and honest.
In fact, I have even been thinking about editing my WA review to include a few things about WA I'm not entirely happy with. I feel it is better to be totally honest no matter what. Then people can be left to make up their own minds based on the facts they are given.
You bring up some good points...For me it is easier to cover the programs I know and trust, but that can also be considered to be the easy way out?
There is one guy that does reviews on his fellow IM folks' products, and he caught hell for pointing out in too harsh a light the things about the tool the other guy was selling...
It started a sh$#storm of back and forth, hurt feelings, and people figuratively scratching the eyes out of one another. At the end of that episode, this guy who caught flack changed slightly the way he wrote his reviews...
He did not sell out, rather as you mention he started adding in more of the positive and negative, and the star rating he provides ended up getting watered down IMO...
His reviews are still worth reading though, you just have to do a little more homework to come to a conclusion as to whether or not that product reviewed is for you...
Interesting stuff....
Cheers!
Dave : )
This is indeed a fair point.
Although I can understand why some people do this. Like myself, they have no doubt come across endless 'trash' products and downright scams.
Then they've been led to WA, and taken on the training by Kyle and seen the affiliate bootcamp training.
Big problem is, even the legitimate tools and software can seem worthless mainly because the person in mind hasn't learned the basics of internet marketing.
There is a learning curve here at WA, and I fully intend to write an honest review of so-called tools and software. I have brought some and I think they are great.
Over the time I have been involved in IM, I too have bought some tools, graphics, and software to more efficiently take care of all the tasks that have to be done...
Admittedly, some did not live up to their hype, some did not work at all, and most were acceptable. This is because I always try to look at reviews prior to buying...
After reading a bunch of them, you can read between the lines and see which are just regurgitating the sales page from the offered item, and which really provide objective information and good advice...
Certainly, when I look at some of my earlier reviews, I think they could be improved upon, and I am in the middle of a revamp, and there will be some editing going on for sure...
The programs that promise millions in a day or similar or almost certainly not worth the money. These are the easy ones to pick apart. There are others, though, that are helpful if used properly, and worth the money asked...
It is easy to out of hand trash a product without really knowing what its capabilities or performance may be, but that hurts the believability of the person using such a style, and it also reflects on Wealthy Affiliate...
The training here covers how to write reviews in the Bootcamp courses, but it also emphasizes one of the easiest ways to promote WA is by reviewing scam products, services, etc.
The flip side of that focus is that you have members that have not learned the art of objectivity, so what their review comes out like is a total thrashing of anything other than Wealthy Affiliate...
While I do believe in the veracity of this site and program, there are other subject matter experts who have made a lot of money legitimately online and what they offer is not a scam...
This needs to be considered when people write reviews...
Cheers!
Dave : )
Dave - well argued; I am in agreement. I will read the appropriate book.Karma suggests that a one-eyed approach will lead to retaliation on the rear end.
I am leaning to reviews as a satisfied user where I lack knowledge of a similar product. All products attract their fans.
With photo editing programs, I might look at each individually; but I try any I can find, so I can add variety in my processing offered by each. There is no point in rubbishing any - it is my personal choice which I might use at any time.
Larry
Thanks for your input Larry, while on Facebook this morning I heard some flack from some very well known IM folks, and their take was that WA reviews are skewed often and intended to only show one side of the story (I am being nice the way I am putting this)...
Upon reflection, I realized that these folks do have a point...There are some bad materials out there, it is true, but also some that are not bad, just a different path than WA...Hence this post...
I do care about the reputation that Wealthy Affiliate has because it is a very good program that Kyle and Carson have put together, and by me being a member, it affects me as well...
Cheers!
Dave : )
Hi, Dave, some great points in your post. I like how you said it is better to emphazise the point of difference. I haven't reviewed any other programs yet, but If I do, I will keep your suggestion in mind. It is about building trust with my audience.
I will also check out the book you recommended.
Thanks for that!
All the best from Anke
Thanks for stopping by Anke...I am glad that the post offered some food for thought as you move forward...It really hurts the reputation of Wealthy Affiliate, not to mention the writer...
Apparently, there have been numerous such hack jobs over the years - WA members are known for this out there - I too have seen a few, poorly written and obviously tilted towards pushing readers to WA overtly and this tilt is in some cases totally unrelated to the product reviewed...
This is just a heads up to raise the visibility of the issue and so those that read and choose to follow the advice will not fall into the ones that are doing it...
Cheers!
Dave : )
See more comments
If the underlying intention is to trash one program just so one can entice people into WA, I agree - stop doing it!
If the underlying intention is to present facts in an unbiased review to help people make an informed decision and point them to a recommended alternative, I have no problem with that.
It's about gaining the trust of readers that your site provides sufficient evidence-based information and leaves it to readers to decide for themselves. ~Jude
All good points and I agree with your thoughts....Thanks for chiming in! Cheers! Dave : )