Here’s more evidence that consumers use online product and service reviews to guide their online purchases. A recent report by Nielsen Online shows that a massive 81 percent of consumers read reviews before shopping online.

And, it seems, consumers tend to treat such reviews seriously. 71 percent of those surveyed by Nielsen said the reviews they read made them ‘more comfortable’ about buying a product.

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Okay maybe “trash” is exaggerating (although see my example below!). Still, Internet marketing blogger Yaro Starak makes a good argument that you can (and probably should) write a product review that reveals the flaws of a product… and still expect to sell it through your affiliate link.

Yaro explains that while most Internet marketing product reviews are sales pitches - and that part of his motivation in writing product reviews is to sell products - by explaining the negatives as well as the positives, he ends up selling more.

I’m reminded of a product review I wrote on another blog a year or so ago. I called the product lame… and I still got an affiliate commission out of it! I’m not sure whether someone forgot to clear their cookies… or really did want to buy a lame product… or dismissed my product review… but it just goes to prove anything’s possible!

In any case, Yaro indicates that it IS possible to write genuine product reviews AND sell products if you follow these four guidelines:

1. Pick products you’re interested in that are relevant to your audience.

2. Write a thorough review after studying the product.

3. Build up credibility as a trusted source in the industry.

4. Build a large audience so that when you say something, enough people listen.

This is pretty much the approach we take at Kikabink News. I will say, however, that apart from the strange example above, we won’t write promotional product reviews UNLESS we genuinely endorse the product.

(No, I DON’T believe you can trash a product and sell it!)

Bottom line: if you plan to run a review site, be sure to discuss the cons as well as the pros of a product you review. Chances are you’ll build up more credibility and, in the long run, more affiliate sales.

Source: Yaro Starak, “Why Writing a Bad Review is Sometimes a Good Idea”, Entrepreneurs Journey, November 11, 2008

Research conducted by JupiterResearch for BuzzLogic indicates that blog readers tend to respond to ads on blogs, with 40 percent of people reading blogs taking action as a result of viewing an ad on a blog, and 50 percent of frequent blog readers taking action.

Of the action taken, 17 percent read product reviews online; 16 percent sought out more information on a product or service; and 16 percent visited a manufacturer or retailer Web site.

Perhaps not so surprisingly, 25 percent of the blog readers (people who read at least one blog per month) said they trusted ads on a blog, compared with 19 percent who trusted ads on social networking sites.

The survey also found that consumers are influenced by blogs at the moment of purchase decision. According to BuzzLogic and JupiterResearch, blogs play a greater role than social networks because bloggers establish themselves as an authority on a topic, particularly in niche areas, and create a relationship with the consumer.

Source: Enid Burns, “Study: Blogs Influence Purchases More Than Social Sites”, The ClickZ Network, October 28, 2008

Right now, Mike Filsaime is promoting his limited edition software product, Review Crusher. As at writing the product has not sold out, but that may change by the time you read this.

I guess the title of this article is somewhat ironic given that during his promotional video Mike condemns Google Adwords ads with headlines that appear to be critical of his name and the names of other high profile marketers. I hope you can see, though, that my headline is not in any way critical - it’s just based on a simply reality:

Mike Filsaime’s Review Crusher software won’t make you money. Only YOU will make you money.

Here’s why I raise this issue. Based on the popular business model of using product reviews to sell affiliate products - i.e. where the affiliate attracts prospects to their site by promoting reviews and then entices people to buy through their affiliate links - Mike has created software to automate the process of constructing such websites.

Mike’s contention - made in his promotional video - is that while the successful review sites he’s aware of manually build their websites, his software will make it easier for someone to build their own review site.

I say: so what?

Does his software bring qualified traffic to your site? Does the software make visitors buy from you?

Mike’s software is just… software. Sure, it may make it easier for you to create a product review site than if you used an HTML editor or blogging software like Wordpress.

But it’s not the construction of the site that is going to be your biggest challenge as you build a business based on product reviews. Your biggest challenge is going to be the same challenge faced by EVERY Internet marketer: getting lots of qualified traffic to your site and converting them into customers that, ideally, come back to buy from you again and again.

Personally, I think Review Crusher has a few bells and whistles that might make it worth getting. But if you decide to get it, please, whatever you do, customize the look and feel of your site. Do NOT use the same templates out of the box.

I can only imagine how many other people will get this software, use the same templates, and end up trying to sell the same products. That’s a recipe for getting crushed… not crushing others.

Put it this way, by definition, this product is aimed at people who don’t have the time, money or ability to create their own review sites… so you can bet that many of them also don’t have the time, money or ability to customize the look and functionality of their Review Crusher site!

On the other hand, if you do have the ability to customize the look and feel… before you take out your wallet for Review Crusher, you may want to consider customizing a Wordpress blog into a review site… After all, Wordpress is free!

Of course, you don’t get all the support Mike is offering if you use Wordpress, but the bottom line remains: Review Crusher won’t make you money.

Once you’ve installed, configured and customized the software, you need to get traffic and convert it into customers. An underlying that, you need a sound business and marketing strategy.

And just in case you’re wondering, this article is not a product review! It’s more like a “concept review”. I haven’t seen Review Crusher for myself and I am not an affiliate. I AM a fan of Mike Filsaime and think he is super-smart jumping on the review site bandwagon with this software product.

But the chief editorial aim of this Internet marketing newsletter is to empower you with news,\ comment, research, tools, tips and more to help your business become more profitable. And your business won’t become profitable if you get Review Crusher WITHOUT having a solid strategy for acquiring traffic and converting that traffic into customers.

Source: Review Crusher

Yesterday, well known Internet marketer John Reese launched his much anticipated Traffic Secrets 2.0 internet marketing course.

I was impressed with the original Traffic Secrets course (bought a few years ago) and have since respected John Reese for both the way he thinks and the way he run his business. Although I have not seen the new version, I have every reason to believe that it will be a high quality course.

But who else would like to see a genuine, objective review of this (and other courses put out by Internet marketers) to help inform their buying decision?

No, not a “review” by an affiliate or a friend… an objective review by someone who is (a) qualified to comment, and (b) doesn’t have anything to lose or gain by giving us their honest opinion.

Do high profile Internet marketers actually make their products available to respected, independent people to review? My guess is no - mainly because they probably have little to gain, and possibly a great deal to lose, by providing their products for review.

Perhaps Internet marketers are smarter than those in the software and entertainment industries where product reviews are prevalent. Perhaps they know that there’s more to gain by turning reviewers into affiliates and affiliates into reviewers. And perhaps would-be reviewers also like the idea of providing a review that ends with an affiliate link.

But I still see the potential for this to change. Product reviews - both by experts and peers - are being used by an estimated 83 percent of online consumers. And with the growing popularity of Internet marketing product review forums such as the Warrior Forum’s Internet Marketing Product Reviews & Ratings sub-forum, we may see more info-product consumers demanding objective guidance before they hand over their hard earned cash for something.

If this happens, expect to see more product launches involving a pre-release to non-affiliate, independent, reviewers, as occurs in the publishing, music and movie industries.

In the meantime, I WAS impressed by the audio review of Traffic Secrets 2 given by Andy Jenkins, co-founder of StomperNet. StomperNet IS an affiliate for Traffic Secrets but the review was very thorough and convincing. You can listen to it here: http://www.stompernet.net/TSReview/ (and no, this is NOT an affiliate link!)

Source: Anna Johnson, “83 Percent of Consumers Use Online Product Reviews”, Kikabink News, July 10, 2008