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E-Commerce: Should you pay bloggers to review your products?
Results so far:
| Yes | 53% | 54 votes | Total: 102 votes | |
| No | 47% | 48 votes |
Yes
by Doreen Martel
Created on: February 04, 2010 Last Updated: February 26, 2012
Recent legislation now dictates product and service testimonials that bloggers are posting for review of your products. In the past, bloggers were free to post about any product or service that they felt warranted attention. Today, the FTC requires a blogger to disclose if they were given the product free or if they are paid for a testimonial about a product. So you might be asking yourself why you should pay bloggers to review your products. Here is why:
Most bloggers are not blogging for fun, they are blogging to earn extra money or to make a living. You have three options which are:
You can send a blogger a sample of your product and ask for a review
Remember, under the new rules the blogger is required to disclose they received your product at no cost. However, if you are offering the product free you will most likely find more bloggers willing to write a review.
You can offer an hourly wage for the blog post (or a one time fee)
If you do this you will most likely have more control over the content, but it still must contain the disclaimer that it was a paid testimonial. Do not forget, if a blogger does not like your product, you may not be happy with the review.
You can send the product and also pay for the time
For most bloggers, this is the option that they are most likely to ask for. In general, bloggers are not going to spend money to purchase a product they would not normally purchase.
Why pay for reviews?
• If a blogger is inclined to write a product review or a review of services, they may refuse to be swayed by the person who is selling the product or service. This option is a "you take what you get" proposition and you might not be too happy with the end result.
• Paying means you have more control over the content. Unless you happen to accidentally stumble over a blogger who has used your product (or service) and has really liked it, you may not get a testimonial or review that you really want.
• Most bloggers (not all) are professionals. If a blogger is a paid reviewer, chances are they receive the product (or service) at no charge, they write the review and are paid for it, and they are likely making revenue for their site as well.
• It is an insult to a freelance writer who happens to blog to request that they buy your product and then write a review. Many bloggers who are approached to do reviews of products or services will flat out turn you down for this reason.
Bloggers are often paid for their work. If you are approaching someone about writing a product review, you should discuss their expectations. Failure to do this could lead to misunderstandings. Before you ask a blogger to prepare a review, it is a good idea to read the Federal Trade Commission rules and be aware of the restrictions.
Learn more about this author, Doreen Martel.
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No
by Naomi Nakashima
Created on: March 17, 2011
Reviews offer potential consumers an objective look at what services or goods they are considering. The idea of objectivity is crucial for the review to be worth anything to either the service or the consumer. Paid reviews are rarely a good idea.
First, there are a lot of reviewers available. Most of the reputable reviewing services do not charge for their reviews. If there is a charge for a review, that charge is generally for something else such as expediting your review within a specific amount of time. For example, a book reviewer will review your book for free, and you can expect that review to be finished within six to seven months; but if you'd like that review to be completed within two to three weeks, you can pay a sum of money to expedite their review and move you to the head of the line.
In most cases, regardless if you've paid for an expedited review or opted for the slower, free review, the review that you receive is the same - the only thing you paid for was time.
Second, for consumers to be able to trust that review, there can be no gains from it. If a consumer believes that someone was paid to write a review, they will generally believe that the same person was paid to write a favorable review. If they can't trust that the review was objective, they will likely either try to find another review site or try to find another product. Additionally, if you pay a blogger for his or her review, there's no guarantee that he or she will have tried your product prior to writing that review.
Angie's List, a relatively new site that allows consumers to rate businesses in their area, mastered this idea. Although members have to pay to list their reviews, businesses do not pay to be included in the list. That means that the reviews that are posted there are objective, based on experience rather than being based on a pay check.
Third, too many people out there feel badly about having to give a bad review if they've been paid. Even if they hated the product, many would feel obligated to give it a good review because they've been paid. They don't want to risk the company asking for its money back so that the bad review can be taken down. Again, this feeling of obligation leads to some serious trust issues.
Instead of monetary payment, the better solution would be to send them a reasonable sample of your product and ask them to write about their experience. There is less feeling of obligation this way, while you can still ensure that you will receive a review. And consumers can feel better knowing that not only did the blogger not receive any monetary gains, but they truly used the product in question.
Learn more about this author, Naomi Nakashima.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
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