Did you know that 82% of adults use online reviews to make purchase decisions? That’s a lot of people.
In today’s world, with the evolution of social media, online reviews play an even bigger role in consumerism. Thanks to platforms like Amazon, which is owned by Amazon.com, Inc., and Yelp, which is owned by Yelp, Inc., the world is now just a few clicks away from reviewing any product or service.
So, if you’re trying to decide whether or not to purchase a product or service, you should consider reviewing it first.
Here are some tips on how to write an effective online review that will encourage others to learn more about your favorite products and maybe even buy them.
Be Professional
When writing an online review, it’s important to keep things as professional as possible. Avoid using slang words or written spelling errors as you would in a casual conversation. Spellcheck is your friend.
Writing a business review that’s full of spelling errors and amateur slang will make the reader assume you haven’t put much effort into it. They’ll also likely wonder if your reviews are even real. For this reason, you should edit all spelling errors and fix all slang before publishing your review.
Keeping things as professional as possible will also make your review more valid. If you’re using an online review company, make sure they are a reputable company with a good reputation.
Diction
Diction is important when writing a review. When you use the correct grammar and diction, your review will sound more polished and professional. You’ll also make the reader more inclined to believe your review is legitimate.
For example, if you’re reviewing a to-do list app and you say: “The writing was fine, but the spelling was awful. Sometimes, there were three words that didn’t belong there. It was distracting”, your reviewer will most likely hesitate to trust your opinion regarding the app.
On the other hand, if you say: “The writing was excellent, and the spelling was flawless. It was a pleasure to read”, your reviewer will likely be more inclined to believe you. They’ll also think you must have spent a lot of time researching the app before writing your review.
Research
When you’re writing a review, it’s important to do your research before you start posting. There are a few tips you should follow to make your review as complete and as helpful as possible. First, find as many instances of the product or service in question. Second, try to find reviews from different perspectives. Third, don’t just look at positive reviews. You should also look at the negative reviews too. This will give you a sense of the overall sentiment regarding the product or service.
For example, if you’re writing a review about a book and you find only positive reviews, you might assume the book is amazing and will likely end up recommending it to your friends and family. However, if you also research the bad reviews, you’ll learn that some people didn’t like the book because it was too long, and some complained about the writing being poor. In this case, the overall sentiment is somewhat mixed, but by following this tip you’ll make your review more complete and help the reader decide whether or not to purchase the book.
Style
The overall style of your review is important too. There are some styles that are usually effective when reviewing products and services, such as:
- Firstly, try to keep the review as objective as possible. This means avoiding using too many adjectives and instead, using specific, measurable results. For example, “My review of the {product name} is based on how easy it was to use, and the clarity of the screens. Overall, I was impressed.”
- Secondly, make sure your review is formatted in such a way that it’s easy to read. This means either using larger font sizes or keeping the text on multiple lines. In terms of voice and style, you should match the language and cadence of the company you’re reviewing. In other words, if you’re writing for a website that frequently uses big words and lots of sentences with complex structures, make sure your review also uses big words and a complex sentence structure.
- Finally, you should write the review in a way that is unique to you. This means not simply copy/pasting content from elsewhere and changing a few things here and there. It also means using your own experiences to guide your review. For example, if you’ve never used a certain product or service, you’ll have a harder time comparing it to other products or services you’ve used. However, if you’ve used a product or service like it, then you can better guide your review. In this way, your review will be more useful to the reader.
As you can see, there are a few things you can do to make sure your review is as effective as possible. Make sure you cover all the bases by including everything from the product’s specifications to its price, as well as whether or not it was what you expected. Don’t forget to provide a useful review that will encourage others to learn more about the product or service you’re reviewing. For more tips on writing a review, check out the review writing tutorial over at Tressider.