Today your task is another writing oriented challenge - you're going to be writing some kind of 'Review' post. Learn why review posts are powerful and discover some tips on how to write them in today's post. Once you've read the post and written your review post - come back here and let us know about it with a link as well as how you found the task.
ProBlogger, DPS & TwiTip
I couldn't agree more! The post I wrote about EZ Combs (a hair accessory that women seem to be clamoring for) has given me at least 25% of my traffic since I wrote it (this according to Google Analytics.)
It's called EZ Combs Review: You had me at hello
http://www.cardiogirl.net/?p=986
Most of the comments are pro EZ Comb but toward the end a lot of women have been very frustrated by the ordering process. It seems the company sends extra products, charges for those products and then the phone number provided does not work. Not a glowing statement about the product.
But then a national drug store, Walgreen's, started to carry them for $10 so a lot of people began to comment on that sharing the beware of the ordering scam information.
It's all been very interesting to watch unfold.
How funny... I just did this a couple of days ago about the kind of camera I use: http://randalswife.blogspot.com/2009/05/cameras-cameras-and-photoshop.html
Charmaine @ Randal's Wife... Charmaine's Life
Last summer, I participated in Ed Dale's 30 Day Challenge - awesome program, by the way! - and one of the assigments included writing "slippery copy" to sell an item. I wrote a blog post about the experience, with links to the video explaining how to write a review. See Is It a Book Review or Affiliate Marketing?
@sandrafoyt - Learn, Grow, Explore, Change the World - On Living By Learning</p
I've done this several times in the past.. but will think about what to write this time.. from a "more informed" perspective..
given the eclectic blog it helps and yet doesn't.. I'm wideopen... and I'm wide open.. I did a book review recently that tied into a story line of what was going on in my immediate life.. neat that i could connect the two and say what I wanted... http://delicacies.wordpress.com/2009/04/26/passion/
and on a semi-related note. I'm finding today that people are clicking on the links to prior posts I've put in new posts.. cool..!!
This is great, I just wrote a review of a podcast about rare and random events last night. Our current financial crisis is considered a rare event.
@Sandra, I enjoyed the post you linked to. As schools seem to be getting to be a more dangerous place for your children, I don't blame people for wanting to home school. Private schools are too expensive and you should have the right to expect that your child will be protected while in school. Sadly this is not the case and teachers complain loudly about why they need to do anything except teach.
I am sorry that you think affiliate marketing is sleazy. It is not sleazy, some marketers are sleazy. Believe me with the exception of "digital prodcts" the slice of the pie you get is very small compared to the effort. Driving traffic to a web site that only converts 1% of high targeted traffic is not very profitable. Most offers don't pay enough to run a ppc campaign on Google.
I hope I don't come off as too defensive, but there are some of us that are performing a service to both the consumer and the merchant by putting quality content and truth on our web sites. Mine is www.investingmind.com it is for new investors to help them learn the concepts and jargon. It's just that I need to eat and have a roof over my head like any one else.
Here is a review I wrote around Easter time for a Craft Book that has great activities for kids. The book is called The Toddler Busy Book it's a great book that I really enjoy so I thought I would write about it and use one of the ideas for my post. I will have to write a few more with your suggestions, which are great!
Loving 31dbbb! Onna @ Toddlercraft -resource for crafts & parenting advice
You read my mind as I'd just written a review post. I do a couple of different types of reviews on my blog. As I've been approached to write reviews and get products or giveaways for them I'm upfront about this and say so, as with the 'How to pose for photos without showing your double chin post.
And I also periodically do reviews for things I've bought that I really like, like the 'Plastic bags - be gone' post about reusable shopping bags (especially pertinent in South Australia where supermarket plastic bags are banned as of today).
Blogging at Semantically driven
I just posted book reviews, Get Caught Reading: 2009 Reading List, as a recommended reading list for Get Caught Reading Month.
@love_the_game
wow I just posted a review for a product I recently brought, I was so impressed I placed it on my blog
http://outbackselfhelp.blogspot.com/2009/04/twitter-traffic-machine-bill-crosby.html
FINALLY! I am a head of the game on my daily tasks. I wrote reviews on both my blogs. This week on Just Chick Flicks, I started a series of blogs call A Chick Flicks Guide to Summer Action Movie. I reviewed the new X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie. http://justchickflicks.com/2009/05/01/just-chick-flicks-reviews-x-men-origins-wolverine/
On my Concierge Lifestyle blog I reviewed Frost/Nixon, which was playing in Dallas last week. http://lifestyleconciergeservice.net/blog/2009/04/the-great-debate-frostnixon-at-the-majestic-theater/
Just Chick Flicks
@Clarabela
Just for fun...I was going to write about this anyway, so decided to make this my "Review" post. Thanks for the prompt.
http://callwhenyougetthere.com/cold-comfort-vicks-to-the-rescue/
Likewise, I did a review of an online calendar system - http://kevincumbria.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/rainlendar-consolidating-tasks-and-diaries/ - that I found very useful but I will be doing more on stuff like online collaboration tools in the fure so will keep Daren's tips handy.
Regards, Kevin
Web2 and More - Bringing Technology and New Ways of Working Together
http://web2andmore.net/blog
I had actually asked for a guest review of a site called Textbroker, so I've published that for yesterday's task - http://getpaidtowriteonline.com/textbroker/
kitandcaboodle
Member
Finally wrote my review post. It was a great assignment, and I put a link to the product from Amazon.com. I wrote about my time saving crock-pot and wrote it specifically for busy home school moms. I love sharing what works for me, and I can see that in the current economic times, more people are going to be researching before purchasing items. We recently bought a refrigerator on-line and chose one based on the reviews it received.
You can see it here: http://kitandcaboodleblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/time-money-and-dinner-saver.html
I've done one review so far:
Reclaim your dreams an eBook by Illuminated mind's Jonathan Mead.
A great read for anyone who like the idea of nonconformity.
Mind the beginner A blog on beginning, it sounds so simple but it’s quite complex
This will take a a bit of time- still keeping up, though!
Keep smiling! @ Coolwired
Oops! I didn't edit that comment.
I'm busy setting up my RSS feeds, for our collaboration project, with Christiaan ,et al, & checking out new Twitter follows.
Finally posted my book review of The China Study. Funny, my readers had been practically begging me for this on Friday. Timely task!
Summer Tomato - Upgrade Your Healthstyle
I find more and more that when I find an awesome product, I feel compelled to share it with others. This especially holds true as a parent, since it seems you're constantly buying stuff for your kids and I get tired of wasting money on products that don't work or wear out in no time, etc.
My blog has a coastal/simple living theme to it, but I did do a post about things parents would love.
http://threebysea.typepad.com/three_by_sea/2009/03/things-im-loving-the-parental-edition.html
Tomorrow I'll be doing a post of great stuff to take to the beach (I have an awesome cooler, blanket and wagon for hauling it all!)
I often write reviews on my blogs about products but I find that unless I”m doing a giveaway that is associated with the review, I don’t very many comments on my review posts even though my stats show that those posts generate traffic. I do the ask a question in the post, etc. but it still doesn't generate a lot of comments on my review posts. Any ideas?
I think that I found this task the most challenging of all. This was my first review post, and I wanted to keep it fun and light, so I reviewed a graphic novel.
I realize that comics are still considered low culture in the English-speaking world, but don't judge a book by its cover! "Paul Goes Fishing" is really about a couple having problems conceiving, and the themes will resonate with urbanites everywhere.
http://akamamma.blogspot.com/2009/05/graphic-novel-paul-goes-fishing-by.html
Please let me know what you think in the comments. Thanks Heather
Excellent timing on this topic. I wrote a review article on an affiliate program that I've had success with and though I believe I have followed good strategy, etc., I'm having difficulty getting EzineArticles to accept it.
Below is my article...any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
http://9001ventures.com/200903/affiliatize-affiliate-program-review/
-Scott
Well I managed to skip some of the daily tasks/challenges that Darren recommends. However, I did give this one a go and it works well for my niche in the anime industry.
I wrote a review about the Transformers 2 file that's recently been released in all the theatres around the globe.
Here's the link:
http://www.generationmechjournal.com/2009/07/05/transformers-2-movie-review/
It's my first review post, so I don't expect myself to be a great critic on many mecha-related or super robot-related products yet. But I'm planning to build it up long term.
Any suggestions for improvement or feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Andy
I am drafting a review of Dolphin Quest, a place I went to yesterday. I am still drafting it.
I wrote the reveiw and posted it. It felt empowering to state that the photos they took were disappointing. When I search on Google my post either doesn't come up or is in so many thousands of others I gave up looking.
http://jbvadeboncoeur.info/category/review/
any suggestions? XD
When I started writing review posts, my blog traffic about doubled. Now I make it a priority to find things to review, which is pretty easy in my field. So far more than 20% of my posts are reviews... I'm going to have to leave day 28 soon! Here is an example of one of mine below. I found it helpful to always include "Review" in the headline because users search for reviews.
Showit SEO: Search Review for Web Sites, Display & Slideshows
I do review posts on personal finance books, but this time I decided to give a detailed review on TurboTax for tax season.
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