DO YOU WANT TO WRITE OPINIONS ? (What is opinion writing all about?)

Member Name: thingywhatsit

Product:	What is opinion writing all about?
Date:	01/11/06 (353 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lets you have your say.

Disadvantages: You get very involved.

WHAT'S REVIEW WRITING ALL ABOUT.

We all see sites where makers advertise their gear. Of course, to them, their product is the best thing since sliced bread, and they tell you as much. Do you automatically believe what you read on websites before you decide to buy something ? Review writing takes all shapes and forms. On Amazon for example, a review is a small synopsis of what a book or record is all about. Anyone can write one if they feel strongly enough about a product. It tells the public what you as a consumer thought of your purchase.

When I first started my Internet experience, I was naive, and to a certain extent probably still am a little wet behind the ears, but I learnt what makes a review valuable to the public. Many times, we buy things. We enthuse about them, or get angry because they didn't live up to expectations, and review writing gives us, i.e. People that buy things, a chance to say what we thought.

Having had correspondence with people that wanted to know what review writing was all about through my site, I thought that a category such as this would be a handy place for members of the public to find information to enable them to decide if review writing was for them.

I would not purport to be the expert, though there are certain criteria that need to be met before you can write a review which will help those people that want information.

1)Know your product. That sounds a bit daft doesn't it, but it's not meant to. You cannot buy something one day, review it the next, especially if it is something complex, because by day 2 your review would lack experience of the product itself, unless of course it is something like food or drink that you either like or hate, a wash powder or something that is easy to describe and that one use would enable you to know it sufficiently to review it. Here, many people think that the moment they buy something, it's the time to write a review, and it doesn't always pay to do so, since after a couple of weeks or months, you may find that the product concerned doesn't live up to your first experiences, and people want to know long term how good something is. Writing a review before you know the product lives up to its promise doesn't give an accurate picture of its performance over a period of time.

2)Description of a product. Describing what you bought helps. Yes, makers have their own sites, but by doing a full review of the product in this manner with a description of what it is means that someone looking for information doesn't have to scout around for a little bit here and a little bit there. Full information is more useful.

3)Your experience. Explaining your experience of a product is of paramount importance, because what you think of it is more valuable to a consumer than what the makers think of something they are trying to sell. Trying to make a review clear and concise, so that a member of the public can find the information that they seek is imperative, and much more useful than random thoughts. Some are a little nervous of writing about products in a negative way, although negative reviews are every bit as valuable as positive ones.

So you want to be a review writer. How does one become one ?

There are many sites on the Internet that take reviews from individuals. Those that spring immediately to mind are this one, Dooyoo, Ciao, Trivago (travel reviews) and Epinions.

Getting started.

It is always a good idea to search around the site, get a feel for what review writing is all about. Read reviews. Sign up and become a member, but you don't have to start writing reviews straight away. For example on Ciao, as a site, you can be getting money simply answering surveys whilst you research. Researching is pretty easy. Read reviews on the kinds of products that you think you may write about, and look for what content gets the best ratings for each site, as each site has its own criteria. Remember always that you are not writing for members. You are writing to inform the public, and that really is important, but what is more important than that is that you develop your own style as an individual, although your reading around the sites will put you in good stead for learning what information needs to be included in a review.

Writing the first review.

Always write your reviews directly into Word or equivalent. Too many people write them on a site, and get cut off and lose all their hard work. It has happened to me a couple of times, and I don't do that any more. Spell check your work. Lay it out so that it is easy to read. For example, capital letters are not useful as they look unprofessional and bunching all the paragraphs together makes your work hard to read.

Once you are happy with your effort, post it onto your chosen site, and you will be able to gage from the ratings you receive whether you need to put in more effort. It takes time and experience to get it right. Never be disheartened by bad ratings, because they are a learning process and by people rating your work honestly, you learn what areas you are weak in. Besides anything else, on most sites, you do get a chance to edit reviews as and when you think you can improve upon the information contained there.

Ratings and why they are there.

What happens when you write a review is that other writers on your chosen site read it, and judge what rating it should have based on how helpful it is to the public. On some sites what this does is help the site to put the reviews in some kind of order so that the public get the top reviews to read. It doesn't work like that on all sites, but it does give an indication of the usefulness of a review, and that is why people rate your work, and it is important to rate back, thus creating a rapport with your fellow review writers.

It gets addictive. It's fun, but most of all one should never forget the reason for review writing, i.e. That the public need information. Look at areas in which you have expertise. For me, it thrilled me that many people read my reviews on animals because it meant I was giving them information that they were seeking about their pets. Likewise with illness, many of the readers contacted me by email to say they were grateful for the information, and it is these experiences that make the whole review writing worthwhile. You have a voice and should never be afraid to use it.

Earning pocket money in this way really is a bonus as sites do pay for your work, and this is usually based on the number of member reads that you get.

I hope that the information contained here will help someone to decide to become a review writer.

Rachel

Summary: A good passtime that helps people be more informed.