Professional reviewers: Pay-to-review
June 5th, 2008The idea of paying someone to write a review certainly isn’t new: newspapers and magazines have employed food critics for decades while magazines like Consumer Reports employ dozens of professional reviews who test hundreds of products and services each year. But what about the online space: Does the pay-to-review model have a place online?
Most online reviewers are not paid for their work; it is passion (good or bad) for a product that drives most users to share their two cents. Many bloggers choose to use their blogs as a platform for sharing their opinions on products or services and may indirectly receive payment via advertisements on their site, though rarely are they paid directly for their reviews. Some companies have attempted to pay bloggers to say nice things about them online, though once the word gets out it can become a PR nightmare.
And then there are sites like EchoTV that pay reviewers to post video reviews on virtually any household product you can think of: bicycle pumps, cleaning products, etc. Reviewers are paid for the initial submission PLUS they get a cut every time the video is played. The thing is, before I even knew reviewers were being paid, I felt like most of the videos I watched on EchoTV weren’t genuine, as if the people were just going through the motions. It turns out their motivation to review wasn’t that they had feelings about the product either way - they just wanted the cash. I can just imagine one of these reviewers looking around her living room for things to review - TV, couch, books, lamp, etc. - anything for a shot at earning some money. Because of this the video reviews seem to fall flat.
Aside from being paid to provide reviews, some bloggers and online reviewers may receive complimentary product samples from manufacturers. I’ve been sent a number of bicycle-related products to review on my own blog and each time I write a review I feel a bias to say mostly positive things about the product, even if it’s just so-so. Some companies send “loaner” items for review which actually makes me more comfortable since I know I won’t be influenced by the manufacturer’s supposed generosity.
In the end it’s important to find the best way to motivate your reviewers and to consider how different arrangements may influence the outcome of the review. For bloggers and online reviewers it’s a good idea to give full disclosure about compensation when possible to build trust and to keep your readers coming back for more honest reviews. Stay tuned for some of our tips for motivating your reviewers without resorting to pay-offs.
June 19th, 2008 at 10:49 am
[...] posted a couple weeks ago about “pay-for-review” programs that some websites are using these days and how this can often provide the wrong incentives for [...]