If you’re like me, the first reaction when you see any kind of paid review on a blog tends to be a groan. You see, I don’t believe much in paid reviews… there are better, and there certainly are more cost effective (think sponsoring a contest) or even free (think guest posts) ways to get your name out.

However, there will always be people interested in buying paid reviews, and if you are interested in earning money you’d be foolish not to take it. The downside is that paid reviews tend to annoy readers, especially since they’re usually for unimaginative, boring projects that no one except the creators could care about.

There are some things that you can do to make paid reviews that your readers actually don’t mind reading… let’s look at them below.

Only take interesting websites to review.

Although money is a big part of life, it certainly isn’t everything… and as a blogger, you can usually afford to turn down the odd review down. If the advertiser wants to spend a truckload of money on a paid review, by all means take it… but if you’re getting the standard rate and you’re not short on funds, make sure you turn down reviews that don’t interest you.

As people that read a blog tend to hold similar ideals to the blogger that runs a blog, if you aren’t interested in the project… your readers probably won’t be either.

Also make sure you don’t do reviews so often that your readers get annoyed… no matter how interesting the reviews are, people subscribe or visit a blog for its content, and should it be lacking they will unsubscribe.

Use proper formatting and images.

In the past, my reviews of websites tended to be a block of text… with nothing else. Something I’m almost certain my readers hated.

Space out your review into a series of short paragraphs, bold titles of different sections and make sure you use images… a combination of the three makes your review easier to read (and therefore more likely it will be read) and allows your readers to skim over it.

You can easily get free images at stock photo websites or simply use the logo of the company you are reviewing; it is up to you.

Although the advertiser will want the most possible for his dollar, remember that the longer the review, the less likely someone is going to read it… do not make it only a paragraph or two, but do make it of a length that is long enough to explain what the advertiser is about but concise enough to grab interest.

Add opinion and involve your readers.

No matter what the company, a review that is entirely factual based is boring. No one wants to read 500 words or more of plain facts, so add some opinion to your review.

No review should be all positive, as everything has room for improvement… make sure you offer constructive criticism for the advertiser and give reasons why changes are needed when you find issues.

Also involve your readers in the review – you can ask them to lend their opinions in the form of a question or two and this will not just be appreciated by your readers, but also the advertiser as s/he’ll be getting more feedback. A simple question asking what my readers thought about the website reviewed has lead to one or two reviews showing up amongst my top commented posts on other blogs.

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