How to Write Product Reviews That Convert

Since our recent blog post detailing our November income from Amazon, we have had a number of requests from people asking us to provide more detail on what we did to actually achieve that amount of money.  So I started to write up a blog post for it last week but it turned into a bit of an epic….I am at over 3000 words so far and I haven’t even scratched the surface.

So we’ve come to the conclusion that it really needs to be put into an ebook. However, we realise that many of you would rather not wait around while we do that and would prefer to get into it and start making money with Amazon as soon as possible. So we have put together this blog post to tell you how we structure our reviews for maximum conversions to help you achieve the same success.

Value First…Money Second

Now many of you who are regulars to this blog will know that I do tend to go on about providing value to your readers. With product reviews it is even more important. If you want to convert your visitors into sales you need to provide as much information as possible to help them make an informed decision as to whether the product you are promoting is the right one for them.

People want to be told what to buy and most don’t want to do the research themselves so they love it when they see a page of content that concisely puts together everything they need to know about that product.

So here are the steps we use for creating quality product reviews that convert. Bear in mind, that at this point we assume you already have a product in mind for review.

Step 1: List the features of the product

The first thing we do with any product we review is to list the features and functions of the product. So say for instance we are going to review the iPod Touch (my favorite toy at the moment) – these would be at least some of the features/functions:

• on/off button
• sound control button
• earphones
• colors available
• technical specifications
• password protection
• battery life
• apps store
• watching videos
• using the internet
• touch screen control
• using email
• itunes
• listening to music
• clock/alarm function
• settings
• Google maps
• calendar function
• contacts function
• notes function
• photos

Try to be as detailed as possible when you are writing up the list, even if it seems trivial. Remember that when buying online, a person can’t physically hold the product so detail is important.

Step 2: Add Content

Now take each of the features/functions in your list, create a heading for each and write a paragraph or two about it. This is where your research comes into play. Remember that you don’t need to own the product to write a good review (although it helps) but you really need to research, research, research. This means scouring the net to see what other people have to say about each of those features. The best place for this is Amazon and in particular the reviews left by real people who actually use the product.

It can also mean contacting the manufacturer for more detailed information.

At this point, you may be thinking that this is all going to take time and just seems a little like hard work….BUT, just remember that you only have to write the review once and it could potentially make you money for years to come.

When writing this sort of content you don’t want to just rehash the features and benefits that can be found on any website. You really want to get into as much detail as possible.

The trick with writing these reviews is not to write it like you are trying to sell something. To start with we wrote a lot of reviews like this and they were really not that effective. Instead we find the best way is to write the review as if  you were telling a friend about the product.

Step 3: Add Your Introduction

The goal here is to get your readers to read your entire review and the introduction is critical to that success. You could start your review off by saying “Today I am going to review the iPod Touch…but that’s kind of boring. Instead try using a real life story.

For instance I might write something like: ” When Wanda and I were in the US attending a conference, we happened upon the Apple Store in New York. If you’ve ever been there you’ll know what an experience that is, but we happened to be there the day after the iPhone was released to the world, actually we were on a hop on hop off tourist bus and when the guide pointed out the iPod store – we hopped off.”

I would then go on to say how great I thought the iPhone was but since I didn’t want to buy into a phone plan I waited and eventually ended up buying an iPod Touch instead. That would then lead me straight into the review.

You’d have to agree that it sounds a little more interesting than simply saying “Today we are going to review the iPod Touch”.

Step 4: Add Your Affiliate Links

The final step is to add affiliate links. This simply means finding about three or four spots in your review to add a link. We generally add the first link in the second or third paragraph of our content. So for our iPod Touch review we might add an Amazon link when the phrase ‘iPod Touch’ first appears in the second paragraph.

The second link may appear somewhere around the middle and the third right at the end of the review. This final link would be part of a sentence that tells the reader where they can purchase the product. You can do this in a couple of ways:

1. Provide a list of merchants who sell the product so that the reader can do their own price comparison. Note that you wouldn’t actually add the prices here as they can change and you would be forever updating the page – just list the merchant names and a link to each.
2. Provide one link to one merchant – we always use Amazon as they generally have the best prices.

Although we do use both options, we tend to go with the second option more often as Amazon convert extremely well for us.

Some final tips…

• Although you want to be completely honest with your review, you don’t want to focus too heavily on the negatives….after all, your goal is to make sales. To avoid this, try and choose products that get excellent ratings so you don’t have to worry about the negatives.
• Don’t ever make things up. In other words, don’t say the product is good when it clearly isn’t. Your goal is to get your readers to trust your opinion. And don’t say you have the product if you don’t. Your readers will pick up on this sort of thing and you will lose their trust.

And finally…

One thing to remember is that a majority of the reviews on the net are of poor quality and lack the detail that most people look for in a good review. Just try and add as much value as you can to your reviews and you will be streets ahead of the rest of them.

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