Should You Pay for Reviews?
A problem that many new bloggers and website owners face is building up traffic and readership right from the start. So, what can one do to get traffic and gain readers early on? The simple answer is that there are numerous ways to drive traffic to a new site or blog, and there are many things you can and should be doing to gain exposure.
I’ve been talking lately about writing reviews to earn affiliate commissions or directly getting paid to write reviews. But, what if you simply reverse the idea and now think of yourself as the advertiser paying a blogger to write a review about your website, blog, etc?
You’re basically paying a blogger to write a review about your site. There are a lot of people that pay for reviews, whether it is for a new product, service, or a new website or blog to get exposure.
Is this method of advertising ideal? Is it worth spending that kind of money ($500 is a lot)?
Here are what some other bloggers have to say about paying for reviews:
Jason Pereira at TUK states that “You Are a Moron if You Pay for Reviews.”
Fabien at Small Fish Big Money reports that “Paid reviews are good for exposure and publicity…nothing more, I repeat, nothing more.” Check out Fabien’s Shocking Revelations post to read more.
Disadvantages of Paying for Review Posts
The most obvious disadvantage is actually forking over all of your hard-earned money for a review. The amount differs depending on the blogger you plan to have write the review. For high authority blogs, you can expect to pay $300 and up, or if you want a review on John Chow’s website, you’ll have to hand out a whopping $500. For small to medium sized blogs, $50 is around normal.
The other disadvantage as pointed out by Fabien is that the amount of exposure is actually very dismal. Not only that, any exposure you do get will be gone within 24 to 48 hours. Buzz only lasts as long as the subject is still being talked about. Since the review is a one-time thing, as soon as the review is written and published, any buzz created will be gone soon after it’s read.
All in all, I think if done right (promoting the review yourself and building buzz about your new site/blog), and you choose the right blog, this can be beneficial to gain traffic and readers right from the start. You’ll have to weigh the pros and cons and see if the money you’re about to spend will justify the amount of exposure you think you’ll get.
Something else to consider is that there are sites out there that will review your site, blog, etc. for free. Anthony Dinh of Diaries Of A Blogger asked the question, “Why Pay for Reviews When You Can Get Them FREE? In his post he shares a list of sites that will write reviews about your blog for free.
I urge you to check it out these other blog posts before you pay for reviews. A better method, in my opinion, and something Jason touched on, was writing guest blog posts. I’ll talk about guest blog posting in an upcoming post and explain how you can get much better exposure than paying for reviews, all for free.
What do you think about paid reviews? Is it worth spending the money? Leave your comments below and let’s discuss it.
Tags: Advertising, blogging, blogs, guest blog post, paid reviews, pay for reviews, reader, review, Reviews, traffic
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Tagged with: Advertising • blogging • blogs • guest blog post • paid reviews • pay for reviews • reader • review • Reviews • traffic
Filed under: Advertising • blogging • Resources • Reviews
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Twitter: DennisEdell
says:
Well, I guess this ends the “will Alan advertise paid reviews” question. LOL
Just to chuckle for a minute – “Paid reviews are good for exposure and publicity…nothing more, I repeat, nothing more.”
Well, umm, isn’t that, wait a second, the whole point to them?? lol
.-= Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..UPDATED: @DennisEdell It Is! TWEET TWEET!! =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing,
LOL… yeah pretty much. I have no plans of doing so.
Well… yes and no. Yes, the point is to get publicity and build buzz. But, did you read that post I linked to? The amount of traffic wasn’t all that great. And, getting that traffic to subscribe or do anything else (like buy, sign up to a list, etc.) was futile.
I would say the majority of paid reviews have the sole purpose of getting traffic in hopes of making sales or at least getting that traffic to take some sort of action on the blog or website. That doesn’t seem to happen.
[Reply]
Dennis Edell from Direct Sales Marketing
Twitter: DennisEdell
@Alan Mater, Dunno man. While I haven’t paid for one yet, I have had reviews written for/about me and always received traffic…more then a trickle.
.-= Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..SpyShelter Giveaway Contest on Dragon Blogger! =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing,
But what did that traffic do once they landed on your site? Did they subscribe to your blog, buy something, etc.?
[Reply]
Dennis Edell from Direct Sales Marketing
Twitter: DennisEdell
@Alan Mater, I got subscribers; didn’t have anything for sale.
.-= Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..Theme Customization 4 – NEW Social Media Icons & RSS/Newsletter Subscription Box(s) Coming – You Need to Settle an Argument! =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing,
That’s great then. At least you benefited in some way.
I plan on checking out some of the free review sites to see what kind of results I get.
[Reply]
Dale from Party Buses
@Alan Mater, Yeah I agree with you on this. I have had a decent amount of traffic but nothing that I can see resulted in long term repeat visits. I am sure some people have had some success with paid reviews but I’ve always felt its a waste of money.
Dale@Party Buses´s last [type] ..Getting the Most out of a Party Bus Rental
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Dale@Party Buses,
I fully believe guest posting is the way to go. Thanks for the input, Dale.
[Reply]
Twitter: DennisEdell
says:
Me too. I didn’t know there were so many.
.-= Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..TweetMeme Installed! I Have Some Questions… =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing, I didn’t know there were any… LOL. But, I never took the time to look and research it. Now that I know they’re there, I might as well make use of them. Can’t hurt any.
[Reply]
Twitter: clickonportal
says:
For a business maybe it’s a good strategy, but there is such a thing as paying too much, like seriously! For a blog that would be dumb cause you can guest post for free if you have excellent content submitted.
.-= Mici @ Click On Portal´s last blog ..Time Blogging You Can’t Get Back =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Mici @ Click On Portal,
Yeah, I would prefer to guest post as it’s free, but as you said, there are many companies that pay for reviews. One of the reasons is that you’ll see many blogs don’t accept review type guest posts. So, the only option is to pay the blog owners if you want a review written.
[Reply]
Twitter: clickonportal
says:
There’s the option of hiring Ghost Writers. Did a few of those cheap and they got in good blogs. Not exactly sure if it’s worth it.
.-= Mici @ Click On Portal´s last blog ..A Nightmare on Elm Street- Thinking of Sleeping Think Again- =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Mici @ Click On Portal,
Depends on the results you got. You can do the same thing with guest posting.
[Reply]
Twitter: jakewidmer
says:
I agree with Dennis, they are only for exposure. I personally dont use them as it can get pricey and I prefer all of my own traffic methods.
The Traffic Bandits´s last [type] ..The Traffic Bandits Bonus
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@The Traffic Bandits,
Agreed. I would much rather do guest blogging, which can get the same if not better exposure for free.
[Reply]
I agree, those who run blogs can very well do guest blogging to get the exposure. Paid reviews is all about publicity and though it is a very effective technique for the business community it may not be that beneficial for the blogging community. It was a pleasure reading this article Alan and I’ll look forward to read more of your articles.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Brian@Denver short sales,
Ahh… well said, Brian. I like how you differentiated between the business community and blogging community. There is definitely a difference, and I agree that paid reviews would not benefit the blogging community much.
Thanks for the comment!
[Reply]
I believe that guest posts is a much better way to go. It’s free, you can write better texts (paid texts usually stink) and you show your personality resulting in more people subscribing for your blog.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Marcus @ Proteinpulver,
I couldn’t agree more. Thanks for the input.
[Reply]
Twitter: guruofhowto
says:
I agree with Brian. The reviews is an effective technique to promote their products or services to the public. Let say, I have a product that I want commercial it at the market. In order to advertise my product, I rather paying someone to review my product rather than advertising it on the internet, TV or any advertising platform since the cost to paying someone is cheaper compare than advertising it on mass media. If the person that I gave the paid review found out my product is good, I believe he/she will spread it out to their family, friends and other community. Means that I got a free advertising from “word of mouth” technique.
Danial@Diamond Engagement Rings´s last [type] ..Makeityourring Diamond Engagement Rings
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Danial@Diamond Engagement Rings,
Absolutely. Word-of-mouth advertising is the best form of publicity anyone can receive. Thanks for the input.
[Reply]
Paying for good reviews is not bad idea, but You can always do guest blogging.
Mary Burke´s last [type] ..Dr. Mehmet Oz to talk about the dangers of belly fat
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Mary Burke,
Exactly. I guess it depends on what you’re trying to accomplish, along with the audience you’re trying to target.
[Reply]
I will not pay for reviews on my own blog. I figured if the review is about my blog or a business I currently pursue including promotions, the best person has got to be me not someone else. I have always written them myself and don’t see that I will change.
JaneP@Hip Replacement Surgery Video´s last [type] ..Using Chiropractic To Better Your Life
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@JaneP@Hip Replacement Surgery Video,
That’s the best approach I feel as well, Jane.
[Reply]
There are so many different ways to leverage free reviews out of other websites or have them post your own by cultivating relationships. I’m on board with keeping the money in your pocket and reaping the rewards anyway.
[Reply]
Every payment should be done very carefully. Only white hat promoting. Don’t play with Google, it can ban!
[Reply]
I don’t see any bad in paying some review, that is if your to busy to do it by yourself. Reviews can easily be made by you so there the only reason your paying to do some review is because your busy or to timid to do so.
richard´s last [type] ..By: Things Women Should recognize About Their Gallbladder | Spetselectro.com
[Reply]
I would just like to know if I can have paid reviews on my blog as well as adsense or if paid reviews will result in my account being suspended by adsense.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Harry@ Decidebay,
As far as I know it’s okay to have paid reviews along with Adsense ads.
[Reply]