How to Review Things You Don’t Own

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My Review Writing Experience

I’ve mentioned it a few times on here, but my first real online money came by way of reviewing products online. I was an absolute beast on Ciao.co.uk – placing second in the list of highest earners for a few years – thanks to just over a thousand individual posts. I started on the site shortly after I turned 16 and spend at least the next three years basically doing nothing but writing.

I found my niche – albums. I found my rhythm – writing song-by-song breakdowns. And I got busy.

The site was taken down a while ago now, so I can’t check. However, I know I had about 1,100 reviews on there both and on dooyoo (a site where you could cross-post on). I’d say that about 10 of those were of products that I actually physically owned.

There was no need. You don’t need to own a physical CD album to be able to review it. So I took full advantage of it and wrote non-stop on every single album I was listening to. I was going through the full history of Hip Hop at the time, so it was fun being able to get paid to listen to the first Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five album, knowing I’d be able to turn my thoughts on it into a few pounds.

I went through hundreds of Rap, R&B, Funk, Metal, Acid Jazz, Pop and Grime albums – past and present – and was getting paid to write down a few words about each, essentially just based on first impressions.

Fast-forward a few years and, although I’m not penning down my opinion of the latest releases any more, I still regularly find myself having to write reviews on products and services, in order to further my cause. On this site (as I’m using my own identity here), I only review things I know and use, but elsewhere I may still have to review things that I don’t actually use.

How to Review a Product or Service You Don’t Own

Always Remember

What you need to concentrate on here is your ability to sound convincing. Your words have to look as though they came from someone that had actual experience with the product and/or service. Keep that at the front of your mind. Maybe even get someone else to check them, to see if they believe you. After long, you’ll now exactly what you’re doing.

Read the Product Description

First things first – go straight to the description that the product manufacturer or service provider came up with and think of creative ways to reword their phrasing. You need to know how it works, what to look out for and

Check Other Reviews

Read a handful of reviews and you should get a good idea of what you need to say. From there, it may even be worth watching a YouTube video review too (if there is one) as people phrase things a lot differently in speech than they would in writing. You will be able to tell which ones are real and which ones are regurgitating things they just read from the product description.

Add Specifics

The thing that is really going to convince people that you’re reviewing something you own is by adding specifics that they may otherwise not be aware of. You’re only going to find these things out by checking other reviews and hearing what these people have to say.

Should You Review Things You Don’t Own?

Once you realise just how many product reviews online, you will get over the ethics of this. If you will gain from creating positive reviews in any way, go for it. If more positive reviews mean that you rank higher on a particular marketplace, write them to distribute to your friends. If creating a review for an affiliate product will earn you commission – and you can convincingly write about it – do it.

There are so many benefits to writing positive reviews, even if it’s of a product that you don’t have any personal experience with it. I don’t really know about the landscape of get-paid-to review sites these days but I know that there’s plenty of opportunity to get your earnings up by writing product reviews of things which have a decent affiliate commission structure. If you’ve found one, and you fancy your chances at creating content that will convert, do it.

Those that don’t put their ethics aside for a little extra cash will be a step behind all of the ones that are willing to. That’s just the truth. You don’t fight the mountain of fake reviews with a few real ones, because they’ll get drowned out.

The only time I’d say you shouldn’t write reviews of things you don’t own is if your reputation is actually at stake. If you have created authority in a particular niche or industry which relies on you being truthful and accurate about the services you use, don’t do anything that may jeopardise this.