Code of Conduct for Product Review Blogs
As many of our readers know, this blog is owned by 1800blogger. 1800blogger currently owns hundreds of blogs. On a daily basis, we get requests to review products on our blogs for compensation. Whether it’s Male Fitness Blog or Auto Racing Blog, we get daily requests to review products from engine oil additives to gym equipment.
In some ways, high traffic blogs have more influence over consumer purchase patterns than mainstream media. Blogs have a huge commercial impact and therefore, bloggers should follow this simple code of conduct, especially if you are engaging in product reviews.
- Make certain that if you are compensated for your review, you disclose this to your readers. Although it’s not necessary to reveal the amount you are getting paid (exceptions for financial websites), you should disclose the fact that you are getting compensated.
- Use the product for at least 2 weeks before reviewing it. People usually go goo-goo over something new and your opinion may be very different after using a product for 2 weeks as compared to your initial observations.
- Don’t review a product if you have a personal bias or affinity to a product manufactured by a certain corporation. In other words, don’t review SammysCofeeHouse if this fictional company once put too much half and half in your company. Your predisposed opinion may affect your opinion about a new product.
- Do not read any product reviews about the product that you are reviewing before publishing your review. You are not a news reporter, you’re a reviewer.
- After publishing your review, send one to the company that is the subject of the review. A written response from the company may help consumers.
- Don’t use Digg Bombing or any bombing of the social networks to get your review seen. Everyone’s doing it, yes, but allow your review to receive a natural syndication around the Internet. In the end, consumers will appreciate it and your reviews will become more valuable. If you want to publicize it, publicize your review with a $99 press release.
- Finally, don’t fake your expertise. That doesn’t mean that you can’t review a beauty product if you’re not a beauty product expert but don’t go into the benefits of a chemical composition if you know nothing about it.
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