Are You A Professional and Ethical Product Review Blogger?
One of the hottest online marketing trends for big and small businesses online is to use the services of a product review blogger. With businesses reaching out to us each and every day, it is important to remember that professional business ethics do come into play.
Every product review blogger needs to present themselves and their blog in a professional manner to attract the businesses who want to sponsor them to networking events, donate products to them for reviews and these same businesses often times will purchase advertising space on reviewer’s blogs. With that said, here are a few things that professional bloggers need to remember.
1. It is your responsibility to always write the truth about a product you are reviewing. Just because a company donated the product for you to review, doesn’t mean you have to fudge the review to their liking. If the product or business service you are reviewing has some issues, it is your job to speak truthfully about them but do so in a tactful manner. If you feel very negative about a particular product or service, speak to the company before posting it to see if something can be worked out. Give them the final decision on whether or not it should be posted.
2. When you write up your thoughts and opinions about the products or business services, it is your job to write it up in great detail. What do I mean about that? The company and your readers deserve more than a few sentences or a paragraph. Take your time writing it and give your readers the informational facts that they need to make an informed purchasing decision.
3. When you are promoting your reviews on various social media outlets and representing a company and their products or business services, it is your job to do so professionally. Way too often when I see reviewer’s promoting a company’s products on XYZ social media site, they are inter-mixing in offensive language or inappropriate postings between the marketing posts for that company. I can tell you for a fact that company’s feel that you are representing them and you need to remember that when you are posting XYZ in between your marketing posts.
4. If a company requests that you do something or for you to say something in your write up that you are not comfortable with, then don’t do it! Personally, I have had company’s ask me to harvest emails for them from commenter’s or they have asked me to turn over my newsletter email list to them. This would be unethical to do since email harvesting is illegal. Furthermore, you never want to represent a company that has a shady reputation just because you want to receive a free product in return. In this type of business, reputation is everything and I wouldn’t want to tarnish mine by dealing with a shady company. You have the right to turn down any unethical requests made by a company.
As you can see…these are just 4 important reminders that all professional product reviewers need to keep in mind when they are accepting sponsorships and donations by company’s who are seeking them out to market their products for them. It is your responsibility to always be the professional.
This article was written by Shelly Hill, copyright 2011, All Rights Reserved. This article can not be reprinted unless you attach our official author’s resource box which you can obtain my emailing us via our web site contact form.