Home How to write effective product reviews that sell
Local

How to write effective product reviews that sell

Contributors

businessMarketing to consumers online is a tricky business. In the past, the internet has been a kind of digital wild west and was a hotbed of unethical marketing practices. This has largely changed now. The architecture of the internet has evolved to a point where, while adverts and marketing play a critically important role in the ecosystem, they have been integrated into the experience so that users feel comfortable with them. For the most part anyway.

Product reviews can form a key pillar of an effective digital marketing campaign. They have the potential to engage with customers in a way that other types of digital marketing simply can’t match. Writing great product reviews isn’t easy though. A poorly written product review, even a glowing one, can end up deterring customers from the product.

The following tips will help you to bring the standard and effectiveness of your product review writing up with barely any conscious effort.

Know Your Audience

Whether you are writing product reviews for your own business, or as an outside contractor offering your services to another business, it is important that you understand your audience. This means knowing both who the audience for the product in general is, and what subset of that audience you will be writing for. This latter consideration will be determined by the place your review is published.

Know the Product

This might sound obvious, but you would be surprised how many people write reviews while having barely any experience of the product. If you don’t have any understanding of, or thoughts on, the intricacies of the product, your review will be limited to generic remarks.

As an adjunct to this, you shouldn’t even try writing a product review for a product that you haven’t experienced firsthand. For example, if you don’t know anything about guns, don’t try and write a review recommending the best Ar 15 Upper. Doing so may ultimately damage your reputation in the long run.

Keep it Natural

Marketing can broadly be placed into one of two categories – organic, and non-organic. Organic marketing refers to marketing materials which are not obviously marketing materials, product reviews fall into this category.

Organic marketing tends to be more effective because it doesn’t raise the usual defense mechanisms that consumers have against marketing. For example, when you see a commercial on television that tells you a product is “the best thing ever”, you understand that those words are coming from someone who wants you to buy their product. Compare this to your friend telling you that the product is “the best thing ever”. This is the difference between the two types.

Keep this in mind when writing your reviews. Don’t make it too laid-back, but if you are overly formal then it will end up reading more like a press release.

Find Your Voice

When product reviews are too generic or clinical, they don’t have the same impact on the reader. A reader is much more likely to buy a product if the review that they read is emotive and demonstrates a distinct voice. The only way to find your voice is to keep writing and keep practicing. As you develop your abilities, you will gain a better idea of what does and doesn’t work for you.

Product reviews can be a very valuable marketing tool, but only if they are done properly. Like all writing, it is important that you consider your words and make sure that you are pitching to the appropriate audience.

Contributors

Contributors

Have a guest column, letter to the editor, story idea or a news tip? Email editor Chris Graham at [email protected]. Subscribe to AFP podcasts on Apple PodcastsSpotifyPandora and YouTube.