Do you know why reviews work so well to sell affiliate products?  It’s because a review is the new ‘word of mouth.’  When somebody is shopping online for something that will improve their life, they want to hear about it from someone else.  It lends the product ‘social proof’ and also gives them a clear idea of what to expect.  If you can’t ask a friend who’s used the product before, you can at least read reviews.

Keep It Real

The important thing to keep in mind about reviews is that they pre-sell the product; they don’t sell it.  The sales page you’re sending them to will sell the product.  Your job is to pre-sell, and that means no hype.  Just tell them about the product.

Split testing has shown that people respond better to reviews that are not blatantly promoting the product.  If you write a review that’s total sales hype, it will turn off your prospects.  They’re not ready to be sold to.  They’re still shopping around and gathering information.

One thing this means is that you should mention honest negatives along with the positive features and benefits.  It may seem counter intuitive; after all, why would you mention something bad about the product?  But it works.

Focus On The Customer

Just like when you’re writing ad copy, focus on the results of using the product rather than its actual features.  When you describe its benefits, tell the reader how it made your life better or solved your problem.  When you’re describing the honest downsides of a product, tell them how it made things tough or inconvenient for you.

The reason this is important is that people are reading products and trying to imagine what it will be like for them.  In other words, they don’t just want to know that an ebook is written in layman’s terms; they want to hear that it was easy for you to understand and digest the information.

Use Reviews

The great thing about writing reviews is that you don’t need to do too much research.  Amazon is a great source of product reviews by real customers and there are also lots of other impartial review sites that you can use.  You only have to read the product information and get info from them.

Just make sure to quote your sources.  You can say things like, ‘Some customers reported that…’ or ‘According to Amazon reviewer Tom…’  This way, you’re giving them real information and you’re quoting your sources so there’s nothing unethical about it.

Split Testing Reviews

There are lots of factors that change depending on the niche or even the product itself.  For some niches, longer reviews work better while for others they should be short.  The best way to find out about specifics is to split test.  Create two versions of each review and see which one gets more conversions.  It’s a little bit time consuming, but the results are well worth it.  You’ll really get to know what kind of reviews your niche likes.

Reviews are really hot right now because people want honest information about products before they buy.  If you provide them with this, you’ll see more sales.

Tony

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