The Rise of Consumer Reviews and How You Can Profit

The Marketing Research website Emarketer recently published an article that claimed that "user" reviews are now the single most important aspect in determining how well a product will sell. People are beginning to move away from 'expert' reviews as they tend to be biased, self-promoting or prejudiced and instead 'user' reviews are becoming more and more popular in the advertising war. Over 50% of e-buyers said that they considered user reviews to be the deciding factor on whether or not to buy a product.

Why has this sudden shift occurred? For one the socialization of the internet has had probably the biggest effect. Myspace, Bebo, Facebook, Twitter, MSN all of these and more social networking sites and utilities have meant that word of mouth is faster than ever before. As almost all internet users will have visited one of these sites at some point then you can see why they have become intricate to online marketing.

One bad review of a product can spread like wildfire across all of these networks and in an instant that product has been sunk, the company loses money and it will be condemned to the rubbish pile. It might some a bit Armageddon-esque but it is true. The power that these social networks have over the future of advertising and marketing is immense.

As Garrick Schmitt, Vice-President of Razorfish marketing agency, explained: "It's clear that new Web technologies have put consumers in control."

At the same time a good product review can make a product into a marketing sensation. 11% of American customer satisfaction was higher amongst those who had read a user review first before buying the product and up to 70% of customers will actively seek a review before buying. A few good reviews and, through these online social mediums, a good product can turn into a great product as its name is spread through messages, emails, tweets and even pictures.

Where does this leave you? Writing customer reviews can be a lucrative business. If you are a part of a social networking site or own a blog then the potential is there to make a profit form basically giving your opinion about certain product or service. However quality reviews, i.e. the ones that companies pay for, are a little more complex than this. Don't let this put you off however because help is at hand and it comes in the form of a report: "The Elements of Writing Profitable Reviews".

In "The Elements of Writing Profitable Reviews" you will discover how to effectively write a quality, informative and critical reviews that can set you on your way to becoming an esteemed product review writer. You don't have to be a great writer to start off. You don't need to be Hemingway or Dickens or Dostoevsky to write high quality product reviews you just need to be prepared to do a little research and understand how to connect with the audience.

Give it a go, honestly, what is the worst that could happen?