Have You Ever Written a Glowing Review Knowing The Product is Rubbish?
Last Update: June 18, 2012
It's a bit of a weird question, but have you?
I spend the majority of my time writing reviews for myself or for other people and these get displayed on a variety of websites.
They are all totally original and written by myself.
Sometimes I get to choose what I write about, other times I don't, I just get given a website url and off I go doing the necessary research.
By research I mean, making notes of what I consider to be the relevant good points about a website and the negative ones as well.
You have to include everything without being overly critical, although at times I have been.
For sometime now, I know that what I am writing about is something I personally wouldn't touch with a ten foot barge pole......lol
In other words go anywhere near.
But when you are writing a review it doesn't matter what you necessarily think, it's down to what your readers think.
One thing I should add here, is if a product is completely shady and is absolutely no good at all then it isn't recommended.
Just thought I should make that clear.
But at times I have thought to myself, would you really buy that?
Most times I wouldn't.
So why do I tell people that something is a recommended product when I wouldn't Buy it myself.
This is where it get's interesting;
It's because I am an Online Marketer and that's what my job is.
What do I mean by Online Marketer?
It's someone who works online, I know a vague description but in reality I am not an Online Marketer, I am a Reviewer.
I review products, software and courses in fact anything that can be used by people to help them to make money online.
Some of these are diabolical and do not get approved but some which might be okay, do get approved.
But for the most part I would not use any of them.
I have bought some that I review because it can really give you a better insight into what is being offered.
Plus I have been suckered into purchasing by the very cleverly made video, even I get caught out.
Not very often I will say, but it does occasionally happen!
Before buying anything always do the necessary research BEFORE you commit your hard earned money, because sometimes you can not always get a refund!
Cheers
Neil
I spend the majority of my time writing reviews for myself or for other people and these get displayed on a variety of websites.
They are all totally original and written by myself.
Sometimes I get to choose what I write about, other times I don't, I just get given a website url and off I go doing the necessary research.
By research I mean, making notes of what I consider to be the relevant good points about a website and the negative ones as well.
You have to include everything without being overly critical, although at times I have been.
For sometime now, I know that what I am writing about is something I personally wouldn't touch with a ten foot barge pole......lol
In other words go anywhere near.
But when you are writing a review it doesn't matter what you necessarily think, it's down to what your readers think.
One thing I should add here, is if a product is completely shady and is absolutely no good at all then it isn't recommended.
Just thought I should make that clear.
But at times I have thought to myself, would you really buy that?
Most times I wouldn't.
So why do I tell people that something is a recommended product when I wouldn't Buy it myself.
This is where it get's interesting;
It's because I am an Online Marketer and that's what my job is.
What do I mean by Online Marketer?
It's someone who works online, I know a vague description but in reality I am not an Online Marketer, I am a Reviewer.
I review products, software and courses in fact anything that can be used by people to help them to make money online.
Some of these are diabolical and do not get approved but some which might be okay, do get approved.
But for the most part I would not use any of them.
I have bought some that I review because it can really give you a better insight into what is being offered.
Plus I have been suckered into purchasing by the very cleverly made video, even I get caught out.
Not very often I will say, but it does occasionally happen!
Before buying anything always do the necessary research BEFORE you commit your hard earned money, because sometimes you can not always get a refund!
Cheers
Neil
Join the Discussion
harrycurtis
Premium
bigman: are you sure that what you really mean is rubbish? You know if that is true, what goes around tends to come around. Of course I am a newby, but I have been running my own businesses since 89 blah blah blah... Of course " selling the sizzle" that ain't lying, ex: several years ago shotgun news had these ads for second rate mauser k98's, they were called yugo mausers and sold cheap, cheap. I had to laugh when I saw this big, very cool ad in an NRA publication describing the same thing as "Serbian" k98's, describing them as venerable collectables; the best thing since sliced bread, ( and for only 3x the price they were in sgn a couple of years ago. Would you say those marketters were hyping rubbish or were they just presenting a product in in a more favorable light? harryc
Bigman
Premium
Yes, I do. If saying a product is something more than it really is, then technically you would be telling lies. I know nothing about shotguns but the principles in any advert description should be correct and not misleading. Here in the UK that comes under Trade Descriptions and they take a very dim view of misleading advertising, usually resulting in a trip to the Court followed by a Fine.
mission0ps
Premium
Well here goes my 2 pence worth..
Like you Bigman I can be found any given day of the week writing a review or 2 but I have to say that if I look at my writing style I'm as transparent as you can get. If I like a product you can certainly tell by the end of the last paragraphs, and same if I think a product is lame.
I think that folks look at YOU as well as your reviews... I personally had a hard time putting MY face to MY name online but decided that a "real online marketer" with integrity who has failures as well as success was a far better "role model" to take online advice from than a geezer who hides behind a fake name and phony image. (which was what I was doing B4)
To be honest I steer away from SmartDad now as I was marketing with little integrity, and thought apart from my pocket....
So do I ever write a review that rates a product that I think is crap ... nope.
And lastly just to say it, I REALLY hat it when so called guru's say something and all their sheep jump n the band wagon, even if the original statement has flaws... that REALLY get's my goat.
Like you Bigman I can be found any given day of the week writing a review or 2 but I have to say that if I look at my writing style I'm as transparent as you can get. If I like a product you can certainly tell by the end of the last paragraphs, and same if I think a product is lame.
I think that folks look at YOU as well as your reviews... I personally had a hard time putting MY face to MY name online but decided that a "real online marketer" with integrity who has failures as well as success was a far better "role model" to take online advice from than a geezer who hides behind a fake name and phony image. (which was what I was doing B4)
To be honest I steer away from SmartDad now as I was marketing with little integrity, and thought apart from my pocket....
So do I ever write a review that rates a product that I think is crap ... nope.
And lastly just to say it, I REALLY hat it when so called guru's say something and all their sheep jump n the band wagon, even if the original statement has flaws... that REALLY get's my goat.
kyle
Premium Plus
I think you are confusing the term "online marketer" with an "online scammer". There is nothing in the guide of online marketing ethics that says that you have to be shady with your representations of products and services. You do not have to be dishonest within your reviews and you do not have to tell people to buy something that you wouldn't.
In fact, quite the opposite. That should be your goal within the online world, to help people, not to sell people. If you can honestly tell someone that a product is no good and they shouldn't consider it, then you can effectively point them to something that is good.
Over the years a large group of unethical folks on the Internet have taken the "opportunity" and become ruthless in their endeavors, making money at the cost of the consumer. This is the reason why the term "internet marketing" has such a bad name and all of the GURU's that you have come to know (and perhaps respect) are not much better.
In fact, quite the opposite. That should be your goal within the online world, to help people, not to sell people. If you can honestly tell someone that a product is no good and they shouldn't consider it, then you can effectively point them to something that is good.
Over the years a large group of unethical folks on the Internet have taken the "opportunity" and become ruthless in their endeavors, making money at the cost of the consumer. This is the reason why the term "internet marketing" has such a bad name and all of the GURU's that you have come to know (and perhaps respect) are not much better.
Bigman
Premium
I am never dishonest, however the majority of products I review I would never buy myself.
The unfortunate thing is that the "online marketer" has been associated with unethical forms of marketing whether we like it or not.
I have learnt from here on Wealthy Affiliate from yourself that we don't sell anything we advise, we teach and we give.
I will never be a rich man but at least I will be able to sleep at night knowing that I never ripped anyone off!
The unfortunate thing is that the "online marketer" has been associated with unethical forms of marketing whether we like it or not.
I have learnt from here on Wealthy Affiliate from yourself that we don't sell anything we advise, we teach and we give.
I will never be a rich man but at least I will be able to sleep at night knowing that I never ripped anyone off!
kyle
Premium Plus
Sometimes what you are not trying to sell will sell though because people are convinced that is what they want. That is OK, but if you are true to yourself than that is all you can do. Just make sure you have your affiliate links set up on products that you don't recommend as well as people will still buy them.
Apina
Premium
Jay suggested I read a book, "Confessions of an Advertising Man" by David Ogilvy. I have faithfully bought it and about to devour it for the second time.
One quote in there I think would make sense with this, though the language is a bit old:
"you may advertise a spurious article and induce many people to buy it once, but they will gradually denounce you as an imposter" Phineas T Barnum
My short interpretation of this is, if you market a crap product your brand will suffer.
Of course if its a one off site, does it matter? Well then its an ethical question.
One quote in there I think would make sense with this, though the language is a bit old:
"you may advertise a spurious article and induce many people to buy it once, but they will gradually denounce you as an imposter" Phineas T Barnum
My short interpretation of this is, if you market a crap product your brand will suffer.
Of course if its a one off site, does it matter? Well then its an ethical question.
kyle
Premium Plus
It absolutely is an "ethics" question. It also comes down to whether or not you want a brand, many online marketers don't care about their brand as they show no transparency in your promotions. Although you can earn money not being transparent and through ripping people off, you can earn a lot more and retain a long term business by being ethical and helping people out.
You could earn money robbing a bank, does that make it a good idea?
You could earn money robbing a bank, does that make it a good idea?
DABK
Premium
I used to be a real estate appraiser. I appraised houses I wouldn't move into if they gave them to me for free. But the scope of my job was clearly define: base my value opinions on what the neighborhood (buyers and sellers) liked and didn't like, and disclose physical defects.
If your reviews disclose assumptions you make and what, exactly, you are doing, if, in other words, readers of your reviews know what you're doing and not doing, you're fine.
If you claim to give a partial review, and give a partial review, I have no problem.
Even if it's a product you wouldn't buy.
For instance, a product that gets you 6,000 backlinks in 2 weeks from blog networks and you say you tested the product to see if, indeed, it delivers 6,000 backlinks in 2 weeks and find that it did. If you found out that it delivered, and you don't mention anything about whether the 6k backlinks helped you or not, you'd be okay. Because you told me upfront that that's all you're addressing.
Now, if you said, buy it it's great, it will help you with your ranking, well, that's another story...
A lot of reviewers I've come across don't mind that other story. Some of the recommendations to buy I've gotten came from people well respected in the IM world yet were crap. And the product had tons of good ones.
So, researching doesn't always help with new products. With older products, you tell Google to show you blogs and articles and discussions that happened 3 months or longer after the product launch, and you get real users telling you their experiences. Here, too, you have to sift through biases... some people will dislike a product for something you can live with or actually like.
If your reviews disclose assumptions you make and what, exactly, you are doing, if, in other words, readers of your reviews know what you're doing and not doing, you're fine.
If you claim to give a partial review, and give a partial review, I have no problem.
Even if it's a product you wouldn't buy.
For instance, a product that gets you 6,000 backlinks in 2 weeks from blog networks and you say you tested the product to see if, indeed, it delivers 6,000 backlinks in 2 weeks and find that it did. If you found out that it delivered, and you don't mention anything about whether the 6k backlinks helped you or not, you'd be okay. Because you told me upfront that that's all you're addressing.
Now, if you said, buy it it's great, it will help you with your ranking, well, that's another story...
A lot of reviewers I've come across don't mind that other story. Some of the recommendations to buy I've gotten came from people well respected in the IM world yet were crap. And the product had tons of good ones.
So, researching doesn't always help with new products. With older products, you tell Google to show you blogs and articles and discussions that happened 3 months or longer after the product launch, and you get real users telling you their experiences. Here, too, you have to sift through biases... some people will dislike a product for something you can live with or actually like.
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