In the age of the internet, it can be challenging for a business to sell its products or services without the approval of product reviewers. Previously, we had to rely on the seller’s recommendations and specifications. There have always been magazines like Which magazine that have published in-depth reviews, but they tended to specialize in products with a high price tag and required a lot of research on behalf of the buyer. A washing machine or a car are good examples of products these magazines would typically review.
Access to the internet has opened up a market to review any product and present it directly to the end consumer. These products can range from can openers to USB sticks. The product review business has become well established, with most people seeking good and free advice about specific products before they commit to buying them. There is potential to turn this business into a money-making enterprise. Below is the step to step guide on how to make that happen.
Create your niche
Before starting your product review blog, you should establish your area of interest. Ask yourself what you want to review and why. It could be reviewing physical products or even services. Do research by checking how reviews are presented on the internet.
It is easier for you to do a product review blog on a subject you are passionate about. When you create a niche, it helps you narrow down your target audience. It also makes your blog look more organized than when you review random items. Consult widely with people close to you and find out the products and services people are looking for. Pick a product you are interested in and start putting the business together.
Find your brand name
Once you have come up with your niche, it is time to create your brand. It starts with choosing the right name for your blog. Think of your blog name as your identity. You want it to be catchy, memorable, simple, and practical. Consider using our blog name generator for suggestions on possible names. The name generator will present you with many suitable options. All you need to do is enter the keywords you plan to use on your blog, and they will recommend the names to you.
Establish your website
If you are going to start a product review blog and make it a business, you must have a professional blog. You can choose to use the name of your blog as the domain name for your website. Alternatively, you can use a domain name generator to create a unique and catchy name.
Make sure that you have chosen a reliable web host. Otherwise, you will lose web visitors when your web host keeps having downtimes that interfere with your website.
Choosing the web design
The web design for your blog on product reviews determines how many people will visit the site and engage with the content. The design must be mobile-friendly. Many people access the internet by using their smartphones or mobile devices. Go for a web design with a simple interface that makes it easy for web visitors to navigate. The font you have chosen for the web design should be easy to read. You must understand your target audience and give them a design that best suits their tastes. For example, if you are running a product review blog on items used by the elderly, you should have bigger fonts so that they do not strain while trying to read.
A product review blog should also have a design that allows photos, texts, and videos. Many people would want to see images of what you are reviewing. Choose a template that will enable you to incorporate all the details needed for the review.
Plan your launch
It is important to know exactly what products you are going to review. Create a business plan outlining how you are going to enter the market. At the outset, you will probably have to buy or, if you are lucky, borrow the product you will review. To start with, your business, you will have very few followers. That is just the nature of the game. Determine how much start-up capital you will need. How much will your website cost? What are the monthly costs for Webhosting? How are you going to review the products? You should include all of these elements in your business plan. If you are not familiar with creating a business plan, look at this article.
Getting the right content
A product review blog should be informative and engaging. Once you have identified your niche and target audience, the next step is to find content that meets their demand.
Find out what is new on the market and be among the first to give a comprehensive breakdown of the product. The best reviews are those that focus on new products. Some of the things that the content should include are:
- Name of the product: This goes beyond giving the general name of the product. Give as many details as possible, especially if there are many other variations of the item you review.
- Price: Many people reading product reviews will want to know how much it costs. Make sure you know these details. Alternatively, you can compare the prices if many companies produce a similar product.
- Where to find it: Remember to inform your readers where people can find the products if they want to buy them. You can either list the name of shops where they can purchase them or put links that lead to the stockists.
- Features of the product: Highlight the main features of what you are reviewing. Include what makes the product unique, some outstanding details, whether it is an improvement of other previous versions, and how it compares with the rest.
Put yourself in the position of the potential product user and explore all the details you would want to know about the product before buying or using it.
Post your first review
You should open all the relevant social media pages. Facebook is a good way of directing followers to your site. Instagram is the best medium for posting a photo of the product you will review. But the most important medium for your business will be YouTube.
YouTube brings the product into the homes of your followers. They can see how the product looks and should be used. This is so much easier than reading about it, and you can allow your personality to shine to increase your follower engagement.
You can catalog all the product specifications on your website, which will be linked to your YouTube channel.
Market your business
After you have reviewed your first product, you have the template for how you will check all future products. Have the same layout for all your reviews regardless of what type of product you are reviewing. This will increase your brand recognition, and your followers will know what to expect every time they read or look at one of your pieces.
An example of this layout would be
-Introduction of the product
-Talk about its design
-Show how it works
-Product cost
-How does it compare to other products
-Where to buy it
-Pros and Cons of the product
-Your rating system
If you do this with every review, you will create your own identity, and if your layout is engaging and informational, you will gain a loyal following.
Increase your traffic
At this stage, you have a website, a YouTube channel and your first review completed. However, you probably won’t have too many followers. These will increase with a combination of good marketing and increased unique content.
If you get more followers to your Facebook page, you will increase traffic to your website. Ensure that your Facebook page is updated regularly and the posts are teasers for your followers to move on to your website and look at the full product review. You can do this by paying for Facebook engagement ads which are good value for money and have a conversion rate of about ten percent.
As your website traffic increases, so will your YouTube viewership. Your traffic should increase after every post if your marketing strategy is working. If your traffic numbers are stagnant, you must be doing something wrong. It could be a combination of ineffective marketing or the layout of your reviews. Use Google Analytics and try to find out what has to be tweaked, so you can continue to increase your following.
Diversify to other products
When you have reached a sizable following, you might be in a position to start reviewing different product categories. This can lead to attracting an additional demographic and increasing your website traffic. However, before you do this, you will have to ensure that reviewing new products will interest your current following. Otherwise, you risk alienating them.
Legal and financial requirements
Before you start monetizing your blog make sure that you are aware of the legalities of a product review. Although it is legal to review products, you should talk to a lawyer about what you can and cannot do to avoid potential future lawsuits.
You should incorporate your company so you are registered for tax. In this situation, a sole proprietorship should suffice to start with. This is easy to set up. Once you have done this, you can start your online business.
Monetize
The goal for your business in the short term is to reach a traffic level on your website and channel that attracts product manufacturers and suppliers. You can approach a company offering to review their product when you have done this.
When you enter into an agreement with a company, it is essential that the contract states what you can and cannot say about the product. You should not allow your client to determine the script of your review. This will affect your reputation, and your followers will consider your reviews purely paid advertising and of no actual use. The contract should allow you to give an honest opinion of the client’s product, allowing them to look at the review before it is published.
You should include both your website and YouTube channel in the contract. There are two ways to make money from your YouTube channel. Apart from the money you receive from the client’s contract, YouTube will pay you for placing relevant ads on your review post.
Once you have built up a reputation for being knowledgeable and honest, you will no longer have to look for clients. They will come to you. Sometimes, a product manufacturer will offer a lot of money for you to say certain things about the product. If you disagree with what they want you to say, you should decline to do it. Your reputation is everything in this business, and if you start selling out, it might make you some quick money but will ultimately be the beginning of the end for your business.
Top #3 Product Review Bloggers
#1 Angie’s List
Angie’s List gathers product reviews on various more than 750 household related products and services. With lots of its members submitting more than 60,000 product reviews monthly about the organizations they employ. All reviews on the websites are monitored so they’re up to standard. Majority of company promoters are encouraged to open an account with Angie’s list. They can contacted via their email.
#2 CNET
Cnet is the blog to go when it comes to product review on electronics. The articles are presented in a slick manner with highly informative reviews. They monitor the latest technological advances and how it can enrich their readers lives.
With editors worldwide, they compile various reviews all over the internet and merge them into compact reviews to help buyers with the exact information they need. They place more emphasis on professional reviews than user-reviews, although they take both reviews seriously.
Conclusion
Product review is an expanding market and will continue to grow in the foreseeable future. Internet shopping is safe and reliable and has become our preferred purchasing method. However, buying online does not always give us all the detailed information about a product.
Honest product reviews fill this gap in the market. They don’t cost your viewers anything and will furnish them with the information they need. Product manufacturers and suppliers realize this and increasingly collaborate with product reviewers.
To get to the stage where your business is attractive to these clients, you will need to build up your website traffic and YouTube viewership to a level that interests them. You can do this by increasing your followers on Facebook, who will then be directed to your website. The more unique content and informative reviews you produce, the more credibility and loyalty you will gain. Keep your reviews honest, and always put your followers first. If you do this, you are sure to build a successful business.
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