How to Get Review Content for Your Website

review 

If you’re planning on starting a review website, it can be a daunting task to site and write all the reviews yourself. While you’ll likely be creating plenty of your own content, there are other great sources you can use to fill your product review website.

NOTE: If you do receive free products or you pay someone to help write reviews for your site, make sure you include the appropriate disclosures and that you’re legally compliant.

 

How to Get Free Products to Review

Buying all the products you plan to review can get expensive, so try these ways to get free products for your website.

 

  • Look at other sites that review products in your niche and look for disclaimers saying they received the product for free. When you see certain products being reviewed regularly, it’s quite likely that the company readily gives away product in exchange for review.

 

  • Contact companies directly and let them know that you would like to review their product. Include honest information about your website demographics and traffic. You can also show them a sample review, so they know how you approach your reviews.

 

  • Place a product review request form on your website. Once your traffic grows, you will find that companies will be contacting you for a review.

 

Remember, keep your reputation intact. Never promise a positive review in exchange for free product. Always include object information in your product reviews, whether it is good or bad.

 

Do it Yourself

  • Write product reviews. Make a list of products you plan to review, the key features you should be looking at and start writing.

 

  • Write product comparisons. Consumers are always looking for help on making an appropriate product decision and comparisons are one way to help them make the decision. Create categories of products (ex. smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc.) and put together comparison charts and other useful information.

 

  • Take photos of products. While photos are rarely enough on their own, they can certainly add a wealth of information to a product review. Take and publish product photos readily.

 

  • Create screenshots of products used on your computer. A similar idea to photos, you can also take a picture of your computer screen and share. You can do this with software, websites you want to demonstrate and more.

 

  • Take a video of yourself demonstrating the product. If you don’t feel like writing, show your readers how the product works through video.

 

  • Take a video of other people talking about the product. If you’re not familiar with a product, but you know someone who is, ask them some questions and ask them to show the product in a video.

  

Free Reviews 

  • Use the Product Reviews features of the Amazon Associates program. This allows you to display review details from Amazon on your website. NOTE: This doesn’t include actually text from the review, but shows ratings and a number of reviews, so users can click through to see them.

 

Just log into your Associates program and when you create an image or text only link, you’ll see the option for adding product review information.

According to Amazon, “When users hover over a preview-enhanced link, either a text link or image link, a small window appears containing valuable content and information about the product you’re advertising. Our test results show that visitors who see a Product Preview have high click-through and conversion rates — helping you earn more fees.”

When setting up your link, choose “Text Only” or “Image Only”:

1-text-only

The first piece of code is for your text or image:

 2-link-code

 Then there is another optional piece of code that allows you to add the Product Review component.

 3-review-code

 When you place both pieces of code on your website, the link looks something like this:

4-link

When your user hovers over the link, a box like this appears:

 5-hover

  • Check the affiliate program you’re working with to see if they have any reviews available for publishing. They might have a product profile sheet or customer submitted reviews, so ask.

 

  • Allow users to submit their ratings and reviews. One of the best ways to enrich your website content is to let users participate, so make it easy for them to share their opinion.

You can use the GD Star Rating WordPress plugin to automate this for you. Here’s a sample of how the plugin can look on your website. You can do a lot of customization with this plugin, so you can decide exactly how users can participate.

6-gd-star

  • Embed YouTube videos into your website. Simply search YouTube for “[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][product name] review” and find something that you find relevant to your product review page.

When you find a video you want to put on your site, look for the “Share” link on the video page. Then choose the “Embed” option below. It will give the code you need to put on your website to display the video. You can choose the size of the video screen and other options before you copy and paste the code.

Once you’ve published the review on your site, consider adding your own thoughts about the video to give your readers a fresh and unique perspective from your website.


Review Template

 

[Insert Product Name] Product Review: [Add Brief Opinion/Benefit]

 

[ADD PRODUCT PHOTO] Add introductory paragraph to explain what the product is, why your reviewing it, its main benefits, etc.

 

About [Internet Product Name]:

[Make a bulleted list of features and any benefits you’d like to highlight. The bullets below are a guideline and may not suit every product]

 

  • Description:
  • Format / Size / etc.:
  • Seller:
  • Price:
  • Main Features:

 

[Next Include paragraphs that address factors like durability, usefulness, quality of information, performance, user experience. Use a subheadline for each factor you discuss. Examples below:]

 

Entertainment Value [for example – could be another factor]

Insert details about entertainment value. Write down how you determined the entertainment value, if you took opinions of others, etc.  

 

Efficiency [for example – could be another factor]

Insert details about efficiency. Insert details about efficiency. Talk about how you tested the product, where you gathered further information about efficiency from other users.

 

Who This Product is Suitable For

Insert details about who would most benefit from this product and even include an honest warning for whom it’s not suitable for. Ex. Advanced users; those who are more concerned about price than quality, etc.

 

Feature & Benefit Comparison

If you can, add a little comparison with another product, so your readers can make the best buying decision possible.

 

Overall Opinion

Summarize your opinion and add some further suggestions on how to use the product. Don’t forget to tell your readers where to buy the product again.

 

Note to Review: Add plenty of photos and if possible, a video, demonstrating the product. Show how the product is used for the best review possible.