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How to Make Money Writing Reviews Online

1. Ways to Earn Money by Reviewing Websites

Everyone has an opinion and it doesn't take special skills to share your opinion with others. If you can provide good, well-written, honest reviews, you can earn a tidy income by writing reviews. Gone are the days of writing reviews on paper and scanning them or (even worse) snail mailing them to a company. With the uprising of the internet, companies are looking for consumer feedback more than ever. This is good news for writers because it means there are more review writing opportunities than ever! Many of these opportunities can be found on review sites or forums.

There are plenty of websites available that provide monetary compensation to professional and freelance reviewers for their feedback on consumer products. You can say that writing reviews is one of the easiest ways to earn money because many websites are looking for quality reviewers. In this article, we provide some helpful tips to get you started earning money from writing reviews.

1.1. Top websites that pay for writing reviews

Dooyoo - Dooyoo is not just a review site, you can write reviews but you can also answer questions or review a product. The goal is to share your insights with other Dooyoo members and in the process, you get paid. The rates vary with Dooyoo, it's best to check the site to see if it interests you. epinions.com - Members write reviews on services or products and earn a base rate based on the amount of reviews that are read. In addition to the base rate, users also earn a variable rate for every person who reads their review. The reviewer will keep earning money for as long as people continue reading that review. reviewstream.com - This is a site with very straightforward payment. Every review that is written and posted about a product, service or destination will be paid from 40 cents to $2.00. Any review that is written is subject to being bought by an advertiser or a brand. If the review is bought, the contributor will also receive a bonus variable payment decided by reviewstream.

1.2. How to sign up and start earning

There are a few distinct ways to earn money by reviewing websites. In most cases, the process takes some time to build up a following, and it may be a few months before you see any real income. One of the most popular ways of making money from reviews is the following method. This method involves creating a website designed to market a product or service and generating income through increased sales. In the long run, this has the potential to maximize profits, as one can charge a higher price for the review and the added sales will provide long-term income. The downside to this method is the requirement to invest money in web hosting and a domain name. This method also takes a lot more work, as the whole website will need to be tailored towards the goal. This involves not only the review itself but the design of the site and search engine optimization to attract targeted traffic. This may not be suitable for everybody, especially those only looking for a small amount of supplemental income. An alternative approach is to seek out a website that offers reviews on a product or service they are offering. In some cases, they may hire freelance reviewers and people can simply get paid for their review or opinions about the product. Finally, another popular method is to write reviews on a blog or a large article submission site. In the case of the latter, it is possible to earn ad revenue from the page itself if the site is registered to a program such as Google AdSense.

1.3. Tips for writing high-quality reviews

Stay focused on the subject and your opinion. Only include useful and interesting details and information. Usually, consumers will be interested in the lower prices of a product or the best feature to compare to the competitor's from the words of its creator. You are not required to write a sales pitch or try to encompass every feature and detail of the product. A good, high-quality review which compares products can be just as useful to a consumer as the best one. Saying "x is better than y because it is cheaper" can be as useful as listing every feature and comparing it to the equivalent y feature. Remember that you are rating and reviewing the product, not the manufacturer, and the manufacturer does not care about heaping praise on the product; they care about the feature which sells it. A review which draws comments from the manufacturer is more likely to be biased and less useful to consumers. An example of this is a review on a £1299 mountain bike which drew comments from the manufacturer stating "We've never seen a better review of our bike!" This review is not useful to users looking at purchasing the bike because it is more of a pat on the back for the manufacturer. A more useful review would comment on the price of the bike compared to others or detail the features of the bike compared to the price.

Include useful.

2. Earning Potential: How Much Money Can You Make?

The main factor influencing how much you can expect to earn is the amount you will be paid per review. If you are lucky enough to have been employed by a publishing company or similar, you might be paid a fixed rate for each review written, regardless of its success. More commonly, however, a reviewer will be paid based on a percentage of the advertising revenue generated by that review, or they may even write reviews on their own blog in order to drive traffic and sales at their own company. In the latter case, the reviewer could expect to earn little or no money initially. It takes a long time to make a self-employed review writer a feasible career choice, but the potential earnings can be enormous.

The amount of money you can expect to earn from writing reviews can vary greatly depending on your circumstances and the work put in. Those at the top of their game could expect to earn significant amounts of money, while writers just starting out will earn far less. It is, however, possible for a highly motivated reviewer to steadily increase their earnings over time.

Factors that determine your earning potential

2.1. Factors that determine your earning potential

Step up review writing is the next level in terms of compensation and requirements. It is often product reviewing directly for a company by use of items sent to you or occasionally through an item received in game or directly through software. This level offers the chance to often keep the product that is reviewed and a review writer may occasionally be able to get outstanding items to keep, but the items received are the only compensation given.

The bottom level of review writing is freebie writing. This involves writing product reviews for small items or software that a company may send you free of charge. It is often an easy method of acquiring various products, but offers no real compensation for review writers. Usually all that is required is to post a review on a public forum. Writing on one's own blog is also another basic form of review writing that won't offer much in terms of compensation. Ads on a blog don't generate much money unless there are many hits on the site and the amount of hits can be hard to increase without spending money on advertising. This can be done for products of your choice, but there is no guarantee that you will be able to get free products for review or that your blog will be seen by enough people to make money from it.

Clearly, there are many different levels of compensation for review writing. There is a need to distinguish the opportunities that are worth time invested and that offer anything but an exceptional compensation plan. If you are aiming to make a living through online review writing, it is best to be well informed about what options are available and what is required for each different level. Ask yourself what you are trying to achieve, whether it be extra spending money or a career, and then honestly assess your own writing ability and commitment level. Different opportunities will be suited to different people, based on how they answer those questions.

2.2. Average income from writing reviews

Writing reviews can be a good source of income, but seldom is it very lucrative. An informal survey of the writer's own community, conducted to determine what writers in his community are earning from writing reviews showed that most freelance reviews are paid between $5 and $50 per review. Prices ranged from a low of $1 (often products of first time writers) to as high as $100. On the extreme low end of the pay scale, reviews may not even be paid for but the reviewer will still receive a complementary copy of the product. Magazine and newspaper reviews tend to pay better but are more difficult to obtain, especially for beginning writers. At $5 to $30 per review, professional writers can sometimes make a reasonable wage, but it often takes many hours to write a review if the product or item being reviewed is complex, so the wage may end up being less than desirable. Articles pertaining to world issues and product reviews concerning technology tend to be more pressing and often pay well, but the average review of a consumer product or item is unlikely to fetch more than $20. The best paying reviews tend to be writing website, game, and book reviews. It is not unusual for a 600-word well-written review to net over $50, and rates of $100 to $200 for reviews are not unheard of. Unfortunately, these higher paying jobs are usually reserved for more experienced writers, and there is often a limited number of these reviews available. On a positive note, should a writer write several reviews of a particular type for a specific client, their efficiency at being able to produce further like reviews will usually make them able to charge more for each subsequent review.

2.3. Strategies to maximize your earnings

After you have identified the type of products that will pay you well, you need to select the actual products themselves. You should aim to promote products that are in high demand. An example of a product in high demand is antivirus software. Everyone needs this type of software. A product like this will give you a good chance to make sales. Now, the best scenario for you would be if you were promoting a product that is both high demand and a great product that everyone likes. Aim for the best of both worlds. Choosing a quality product is crucial. Imagine you were to promote a product that didn't work well, and then your referral sales lead to unhappy customers… you won't be getting repeat business and hence it's not a sustainable income. Always trial products yourself before promoting them and be sure to check out independent product reviews. High paying, in-demand products, done right will really maximize your earnings.

In order to maximize your earnings, you must adopt the right strategy. This can mean the difference between earning $100 a month and $1000 a month! Firstly, you need to focus on products that have high paying referral programs. If a small company is giving you $10 per sale, and a large company is giving you $1 per sale, it would still be easier to make more money from the small company, since they have fewer customers than the large company. However, products like electronics, software, and financial services usually have the highest paying referral programs – so focus on these types of products and you can make serious money. If you are doing a review of a product but it doesn't have an affiliate program, then contact the company and ask them to set one up. This can often be the case with companies that are not web-based. Helping them to set up an affiliate program suggests that you can send them many customers – so it is a win-win situation.

3. Legitimate Opportunities for Product Reviewers

If your ultimate goal is to get paid writing reviews, then you need to figure out the best way to do that. Product reviewing can be a legitimate way to make money. There are many reputable companies who value your honest opinion and want someone to review their product to make sure its quality. The challenge is finding these companies and getting hooked up with opportunities. In the vastness of the internet, these great companies can be hard to spot, and therefore it's too easy to get mixed up with some of the shadier organizations out there who don't actually have a product to sell and are merely offering 'opportunities' to scam others. Before you start, you need to be aware that although there are many legitimate opportunities for product reviewing, there are twice as many scams. You should never have to pay to be a reviewer. There are plenty of legitimate opportunities that require no money to get started. If you are asked to pay a fee or purchase a so-called 'product', it is likely that you are being scammed. Other tips to avoid scams include never giving out credit card information, and if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Always use your best judgment to avoid these companies.

3.1. Trusted platforms for product reviewing

For beginners, an ideal platform would be Amazon. Amazon offers numerous features designed to help customers make purchase decisions, with each product category offering helpful information tailored to a specific type of purchase. A great platform for reviewers with a strong knowledge of a particular product type and need to find recommendations on what to buy. In order to keep their site as consumer friendly as possible, they require every product in a category to be reviewed (4-8 is the usual range) before new products are featured. Step one is to build up a product review history that shows a bias towards helpfulness and eventually you can apply to be a "real name" reviewer on the site. This essentially allows a reviewer to make their name a brand identity as opposed to just a random individual typing up a review. The actual specifics on how you become a full name reviewer are a bit hazy since it seems it's a manual selection that takes your review history into account. These are but a few ideas and I'd love to hear more from the readers! ZeroConstructorReviewstream is one of the most popular paid to review site on the Internet. As the name implies, you can write reviews for books, movies, whether the more traditional stuff or Web 2.0 products, and host of other products for other companies as well as Reviewstream itself. You get paid 50 cents for every accepted review whether it be positive or negative in its nature. This may sound like a small amount but writing a review and having it rejected means it was a waste of time, and Reviewstream's rate of any review being eligible for payment is rather high compared to other paid review sites.

3.2. How to avoid scams and find legitimate opportunities

There are a number of different ways to spot a scam when it comes to product reviewing opportunities. The best thing to do is to get in touch with someone who has already been doing product reviews online and has experienced it for themselves. There are also a number of product reviewing communities where the members will be more than happy to offer advice and information on the best places to look for work. If the opportunity guarantees a large sum of money for a very small amount of work, you should immediately consider its validity. An opportunity which appears too good to be true usually is. It is also advisable to avoid websites or companies that require payment to join their program. A product reviewing position should not require any form of initial monetary investment. Keep a lookout for email and web addresses that appear to be amateurish or unprofessional. Companies that are offering proper product reviewing employment will generally have their own domain name and a professional webpage.

3.3. Popular niches for product reviewing

Another largely diverse and profitable reviewing niche is home and garden. Everything from home appliances to power tools, to home electronics, to simple and complex gardening tools have expert review sites, and most are looking to add new reviewers to their payroll. If all else fails in choosing a niche, it's always safe to review simple health or self-help products. These are some of the most highly searched items on the net, and search engine traffic means ad revenue. If a company has a product aimed at a certain problem, they'll often look for reviewers to directly compare it to its competitors. An example might be a company that's made a new type of antivirus software. These types of comparative reviews are likely to bring in extra money. That being said, these types of jobs aren't often offered to newer reviewers, and the product may be difficult to obtain.

With that in mind, automobiles and car accessories are often fantastic to review. Manufacturers will often pay you in the thousands to review their vehicles, while smaller auto-part manufacturers will pay considerably less but generally still more than an internet/affiliate marketer would pay you to review a similarly priced item in another niche. Items related to technology and computers also fit into the more expensive equals more review money idea. This is a very broad niche, as there are many, many things that fall under the category of technology or computer hardware, but it's a safe bet that if it's new, it needs reviewing.

Despite popular misconception, virtually everything can be (and is) reviewed online. The possibilities are near endless. However, some reviewing niches are more lucrative than others. The more expensive a product, generally the more money you'll get to review it. This isn't always the case, but consumers looking to drop a large chunk of change on something want to be assured it's the right decision and are more inclined to seek out and listen to expert opinions on the product.

3.4. Building a reputable profile as a product reviewer

Building a reputation as a high-quality reviewer opens up many doors to making money online. Many people and companies will want you to review their products, compare them to others in the same field, or just write up a sponsored post giving your honest opinion on something. A well-known reviewer can increase their income by doing brand sponsorships. This can range from a couple of dollars up to thousands of dollars per post or email. Companies know that a well-written review by someone in their field can greatly influence the opinions of the consumers, and they are willing to pay for that exposure. Once you have a strong readership for your reviews, many companies will actually start sending you products to review for free. Where you take it from there is up to you. You could review the product and send it back, or keep it as a freebie for your efforts. Another opportunity for well-established reviewers is focus groups. You may get invited to participate in one either online or, in some cases, at a location where you get paid for your time and input. This all hinges on you maintaining a reputation for honesty and reliability. Always maintain credibility with your readers and be honest about any sponsorship or free products you've received. This doesn't mean you have to like every product that you review, but a negative review should always be backed with strong evidence and a suggestion for how the product could be improved. Always respond to inquiries and emails about potential review opportunities and be willing to work with companies to work something out that benefits both of you. Building a reputation in the reviewing business can be a slow and tedious task, but it can lead to a reliable part-time or full-time job that is both enjoyable and profitable.

4. Getting Started: Online Review Jobs for Beginners

The key with entry-level online review jobs is being in a place where you can write and keep writing. The true underlying mission is to become a powerful writer. If you're in it just for the quick cash, you're not going to get anywhere. But if you truly understand the concept of being a good writer, you will likely take a review job to a higher level of understanding and cash potential. This is why it is important that you always strive to move ahead. Once you're comfortable with your writing skills, take the time to look for a better review writing job, always increasing the income from each published review. Writing is a cumulative process, and the result of your past efforts will be compounded in your present and future opportunities.

You can also write reviews at epinions.com. Epinions has a large community and a big revenue share potential. This is because the more reviews you write, the more you earn. People can rate your reviews as being useful or not useful, so the key here will be writing a lot of reviews that are actually credible in some way and building a good reputation around the site. Epinions review online job

4.1 Entry Level Online Review Jobs If you are asking "how can I make money writing" and you are completely new to online writing and don't really even understand your own writing power yet, this will likely be your ticket. There are tons of low-paying writing jobs out there. A popular one I always recommend is Demand Studios. You won't be writing reviews, but the sheer volume of what you will have to write will take you to a place where you DO understand your writing power, and then you can start targeting the right writing gigs.

A key concept of our book is that the query "how to make money writing online" requires that a writer change their expectation and state of mind, understanding that the true key to successful cash-making in the online review world is about strategically planting effective product reviews in great places. And by "great places" I mean either on a popular website or on a site that you will be able to promote effectively. The latter will be the future of your own blog, but even with your own blog, affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is when you place a link on a site with the anchor text being a specific keyword, and when someone clicks on the link it takes them to said product.

4.1. Entry-level review jobs without prior experience

Several websites target beginners to write reviews on all kinds of products in an effort to help companies build their brands or understand what their market wants. Some popular ones include ReviewStream, Dooyoo, Ciao, and Epinions. Writing reviews on general consumer products such as mobile phones, books, DVDs, etc. can provide a good source of part-time income as these sites usually pay on a revenue-sharing scheme. Although sometimes money earned on revenue-sharing schemes can be minimal, it is a great place to start for a beginner as it serves as good practice for when they move onto better things. Usually, anyone can sign up and you don't need additional expertise to write these reviews. Another popular place to find review writing jobs would be on freelance websites such as the jobs section of Gumtree, Craigslist, and Freelancer. Employers posting ads on these websites are often looking for content writers to write product descriptions and reviews. The good thing about these jobs is that there is potential for a continuous stream of work as the nature of the e-commerce industry means that products are being released constantly, therefore companies are always in need of people to write about them. This type of job usually doesn't pay much to start off with, but as you build your experience and reputation, you will be able to find higher-paying jobs.

4.2. Training and resources to improve your reviewing skills

As this is obviously a never-ending learning process, people who are very into reviewing can try to find some professional tutoring in writing and journalism to improve at a much faster rate.

Last but not least is to find someone up to the task. Someone who can compete with you and both can learn together. You can try to start some personal competition with your friend, and a learner's ability is always faster with the existence of a rival.

A less taken approach is to actually contact and go after an experienced reviewer. It is a fact that today's reviewers are very busy people. They are not difficult to find, but you will normally need to be in their community or forums to catch one. Contact them and ask if they are willing to provide you with some guidance. Remember that you are not trying to be spoon-fed. Try to show your articles and ask for tips and feedback.

Next, you should try to participate in forums. This is a good way to find feedback on your article and whether you have understood the reviewer's situation. Otherwise, the ability to express two different opinions in one article can spark a discussion among other forum members, and you can determine your success through the number of forum members and arguments involving your article. Usually, articles with a lot of criticisms are the best practice to improve, as it indicates that people are reading your articles and are concerned about what you have written.

There are several write-ups on the internet that provide guidelines in writing a review. Some are simple and some are complex. At the beginner level, a simple look at the articles nearest to you and trying to analyze them will do. As you progress, you can never rely on this step. You should try to equip yourself with the knowledge of different writing styles and structures. Through surfing the web, you will be able to find various reviews and articles ranging from casual to formal writing. Try to look for examples of hybrid writing style articles. This is because you are required to write a review based on given events, products, etc. Reading a review based on an event and trying to hold two different opinions in your article is tough. So try to find sample articles that are more relevant to your situation.

4.3. Building a portfolio and gaining experience

Most established review websites look for people with experience, usually on a national publication. So why would they take a shot with you? The way to get around this is to create your own personal review blog, covering anything from music to food, using your experiences you have encountered over the past and applying them into your reviews. Building up a collection of reviews, be it 20 or 200, these can be used as a reference to your reviewing style and quality during application processes to paid positions with review websites or magazines. With this, you have to make sure your blog is presentable and easy to navigate. If the reviews are good enough, this might be enough to set your foot in the door, as this is exactly how I got started. It is important to keep in mind, however, that a paid position might not be available for some time, so keep writing and never give up. Another good practice for starters are user review websites, including anything from Reevoo to Ciao. These sites consist of writing bite-sized reviews on any products you have, often with the possibility of being given free items to review. While these aren't the most exciting of review jobs, it is good practice for inexperienced writers and can also be used as material when applying for paid review positions.