Writing Guidelines and Tips
Reviewer Guidelines
- Be Yourself: Good reviews have personality and life. Speak in your own voice and tell your story. Help readers understand who you are so they can put your review in context.
- Be Honest: Be fair and objective in sharing your opinions with others. Always share if you are affiliated with the product/service/place you are reviewing.
- Be Respectful: Even when sharing a dissenting opinion, be respectful. Debate the point, don't attack the person. Refrain from using offensive language.
- Be Accountable: Be accountable for your reviews. Know that others are basing their decisions on your insights. Never plagiarize any part of your review or misrepresent yourself in any way.
- Be Organized: Strive to be succinct, organized, and relevant. Make certain your review is easy to understand, readable and organized.
- Be Specific: Please stay on topic and be very specific in your comments. Bring the product, service or place to life. Make comparisons and provide tips.
Top 10 Tips for Writing a Great Review
Contributed by Patty Therre
- Remember that the reader may not know all you do about the product or service. Give as much information as you can to educate the reader about the pros and cons of the product or service you are reviewing.
- Your sound bite should sum up your experience but also entice a visitor to read your review. Be creative and draw the reader into your experience when thinking up a title.
- Write reviews as though you were telling a good friend about your experiences. Let your personality shine through while still giving pertinent facts to back up your opinion.
- Never rant. If you hated a product or service, share your experience but do so in a manner that will allow readers to understand why you feel the way you do.
- Write tight. Every sentence should inform and educate consumers about the product or service you are reviewing. Remember to stay on topic.
- Formatting is key. Avoid the use of all caps, excessive bolding or other distracting markings. Break reviews into small, digestible paragraphs for easy readability.
- Are you an expert? That's great and many consumers are reading your review to gain knowledge. Remember to write for the masses not just those who are very familiar with the topic. Share your knowledge!
- If you are not sure of a fact or feature, research it or leave that information out. Inaccurate information could cost you credibility.
- Thoroughly proofreading for typos and grammar errors allows your words to look as powerful on paper as they sound in your head.
- Take time to read your review and to make sure it says all you want it to - before you publish it. Often a few edits will make a good review an excellent one.
