Reviews can be a great source of helpful information.

Information to help YOU make better and more well-informed decisions of your own.

A good and honest review can go a long way toward helping you decide whether to use a particular product, company, person – or anything else for that matter.

Perhaps the best-known reviews are those found on Amazon.

Amazon reviews have been around for many years and many other companies and people are now modeling their systems in part at least.

Looking For Patterns

When I read reviews I always like to see as many as I can and look for patterns.

A great review or a terrible review here and there doesn’t mean much – but when many different people are saying very similar things over a longer period of time – take note. whether that be good or bad – it is a pattern and when enough people say the same thing over time it is more likely than not true.

Also, look at the dates of those reviews.

It is quite possible for a bad company or product to be improved over time and get better – and likewise a once good product or company can go the other direction too. So reviews that are years old – alone – do not mean much.

 

Spotting FAKE Reviews

Any platform controlled by the subject company or person is automatically suspect.

Why?

Because THEY CONTROL IT. That means they can simply delete or modify any reviews they do not like.

It means they can create their own fake reviews – as many as they like!

Beyond that, there are many other ways to get fake reviews on ANY platform including the mighty Amazon too. a nefarious person can go on any number of job boards and other places and hire people overseas for a few dollars to create hundreds of false and fake reviews on anything. If you read reviews closely these are easier to tell because they are usually very vague and worded in such a way as they could be talking about a toaster or a car or anything in between – because they are NOT specific at all and they are not detailed.

The in-depth detailed reviews are the ones you want to look closer at and to take more seriously as they are far more likely to be true and to be more honest.

Affiliate Marketers

Affiliate marketing is when an individual sells a product on behalf of another party for compensation – basically. In other words, they are independent salespeople selling stuff to earn commissions or fees.

They love to write reviews.

some are honest too and very well researched and in-depth.

Others not so much.

Some (not all and not even most – but some) are nefarious and they write a “REVIEW” slamming a particular product then at the end pitch their “Better” or “Best” recommendation. It just happens to be the thing they are selling and for which they get a commission if you buy it.

But they want you to know… they are not biased in any way.

Yeah, right!

By the way, I do affiliate marketing too as a part of my overall business plans – and I am biased on the things I market! I do NOT market crap so if I market something that means I believe it does add more VALUE than the other product – and I will let you know that up front so you understand where I am coming from.

I see no problem with this approach either.

The problem and the shady scammy part is when other people ACT like they are UNBIASED and they are some INDEPENDENT SOURCE of information – yet they get paid by the other party.

Believe what you like, but their information is far more likely to be heavily influenced by those paying them than not.

The point is for you to know these things and take them all into consideration – then make your own decisions.

Reviews On Products and Services Never Used

This one always amazes me too.

Someone rights a review – either slamming or praising a product, service or company, etc.

Yet they themselves have NEVER USED IT!

W T F!

How exactly can you tell me all about a meal you never ate, a car you have never driven, a course you never took, a book you never read…

The answer is – You CANT!

These reviews are all Bull Shit and should be disregarded if and when you can tell – and the honest ones will at least disclose somewhere in their review that they have never actually used said thing. The nefarious ones try to HIDE that fact.

Anyway, that’s about all for now – but I intend to write a lot of reviews – on stuff I actually use – from now on. I might write some research pieces about their stuff and ask for YOUR opinions and assessments IF YOU have actually used the thing in question too – but that will not be a REVIEW of mine and whatever it is – it will be clearly disclosed up front.

Have a great day and make it count!

 

Best regards,

L.D. Sewell