5 Things for Product Review Bloggers to Remember

It’s not a secret that a lot of beauty blogger/vloggers get free products in exchange for honest reviews. This has been going on since advertising has been created. With the change in trends of advertising (as in, people ignore ads on websites, people ignore commercials on t.v., people trust recommendations from humans over a commercial), companies have to become more creative with their advertising dollar.

Something that I have started doing recently is reviewing products.

Something  that I’ve noticed is that companies are absolute pricks to bloggers. They look at the majority of people who blog as bottom feeders grubbing for free products and abuse them. There’s a notorious character called “Amazon James” who treats people on his facebook group like absolute scum. He’s a prick. Flat-out. He seems to take delight in humiliating and demeaning people. Yet, people still go to him because they want to review and don’t know how to get started elsewhere.

People think that “mommy bloggers” are idiots that can be pushed around because they are desperate for products and an urgent need to be the next “Pioneer Lady”.

So here are five things I think that should be discussed when we talk about reviewing products in exchange for product and the advent of “Mommy Blogging” as a career.

 Your time is worth something.

I know that it’s very easy to think of blogging and reviewing as a hobby, and therefore it’s a hobby and if you don’t make any money at it, so be it. But your time IS worth something: Even if it’s a 5 dollar bottle of moisturizer – if you write something, you deserve to be compensated.

A disturbing trend that I’m seeing is a lot of product people are saying things like this:

“Okay. So We'll do only non-purchased reviews from now. I'll be needing honest reviews on all products. no freebies or giveaways. So you can leave the group if you are not ok with non-purchased review.Why i'm doing this: Because we given away lots of products and ended with getting most of the reviews removed. So We only lost our product and what we got in return?? NOTHING. I know its not your fault neither its mine. So its a final decision. you are free to go if you don't want to do non purchased reviews here.”

Let’s get past the unprofessionalism of this post and look at the heart of the matter. This person is asking you to write copy for them, for free.  The professional copywriters’ network in the UK and US suggest rates at about $150.00 per piece for copy.

Obviously a new copywriter is going to earn less than a seasoned one, but remember the next time a company wants you to give them free reviews, testimonials or descriptions: That review is worth an average of $150.00 if they were paying an advertising company for it.

  Know what is legal and illegal, and don’t take a supplier’s word for it.

The FCC has very strict guidelines regarding promotional considerations in writing and blogging. Ever wonder why some manufacturers ask you to publish a review for a product you’ve never even touched? Because the FCC won’t come after them – they’ll come after you. And it’s YOUR livelihood that is on the line.

 Here’s the thing: Not every product review is a promo. Sometimes we pick up a cleaning product at the store and it flat-out SUCKS, so of course we’ll bitch about it on our blog. The problem is that these posts can tend to blur together with sponsored posts, sponsored vlogs, promos and other types of considerations. Suppliers take this fact for granted and ask for reviews that promise compensation after publication.

If you’re ever unsure of the legality of what you’re being asked, reach out to your network and find out. Look up the FCC rules (in fact, those should be bookmarked!!!) and if something doesn’t fall into line with what you’re reading, ask the promoter if it’s legal. Their response should let you know if this is something you should continue to do.

If it falls into a grey area, it’s your choice to do something or not, but that leads us to the next point:

 Your integrity is everything – don’t compromise it.

Take any sort of market survey now and many will include a line of questioning about your preferred advertising:  Are you more likely to buy a product based on your friend’s opinion?

That’s right – “friend’s opinion”. People who come to these blogs and are loyal followers of you really do build a connection with you. They enjoy the rapport of speaking with you in comments or watching your interactions on social media. Like it or not, they think of you as a friend. Not just that, but as someone they can TRUST.

Let’s say you’re looking for a new vacuum cleaner. You mention this to your friend, who tells you about the CleanLady3000XLB. She tells you that this vacuum is well worth the expense, better than other vacuums on the market, and cleans like a dream. You go ahead and purchase it, but alas, the vacuum is crap. It’s terrible. It breaks almost the minute you  get it, and you spent what equals a few car payments on this thing because of what your friend said.

Then you go back to your friend and ask them why they would recommend something like this to you! Your friend tells you, “Well, I never actually USED it before, but I have read reviews about it online and the company told me they’d give me a free one if I got you to buy one first.”

I can do an entire series on ethics in blogging and reviewing, but I won’t do that in this post. I will leave this be, with a final thought: How trustworthy is your friend to you now, especially since you have that behemoth of a vacuum in your closet rotting away?

It’s okay to not like something – and talk about it.

That’s right: You can hate a product. You can be frustrated that something doesn’t do what it should. You can express that the price for something is too steep for the quality. You can talk about the disgusting brown color it comes in. Just because you got a free product doesn’t mean that you don’t get to talk about the downsides of a product.

Everyone that has been doing this has a tale about a company who got upset with the blogger when the blogger had to post the negative review.

This goes back to the ethics thing again. If a company has a sucky product, you have a job to say why it sucks. There’s a polite way to do it and of course, a company is within its rights to try and resolve your issue to change your negative into a positive – but you certainly have no obligation to automatically struggle when you get a product and realize it’s not what you were hoping for.

Yes, you’re a blogger. That doesn’t mean you’re dumb. Don’t be minimized. 

I can’t stress this enough. Remember at the end of the day, companies are using you as an alternative to advertising budgets and traditional venues of marketing. The trick is to remember that they need you more than you need them. You’re not a vapid, vain person simply because you found a loophole in the system that allows you to get free products . You’re not selfish because you are selling your time in exchange for copy. You’re not dumb because you are a SAHM who does this, or a professional who does this on the side. Don’t let them treat you like shit. If you come across a seller who likes to treat you or a group of bloggers poorly, fuck them. Free stuff isn’t worth getting demeaned or looked down on. You get to set the terms of engagement with yourself, NOT a seller.

It’s worth repeating: You’re not dumb. Don’t be minimized. They need you more than you need them. 

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Agree? Disagree? What are some things you wish you were told when you first started out? Feel free to discuss below!