What is a blog review?
A blog review is when a blogger tests a product and then posts his or her impressions of said product on his or her blog.
How does a blog review work?
Either a company or public relations person will contact the blogger or a blogger will contact a company and request a review of a particular product. The company sends a complimentary product to the blogger. The blogger has no financial obligation for the product or shipping. The blogger is under no obligation to write a positive review, send the product back or review the product at all.
What should I ask a blogger if he or she requests to review my product?
How many Google Friend Connect friends do you have? The reason you have a blogger review your product is for exposure yet a blogger with under 100 Google Friend Connects may still give you the exposure and word of mouth you are seeking.
How many page views does your site get a month? This number will help you determine if the review will be seen by enough people to make sending a free product worth it. A blog may have hundreds of followers but is low in actual readers or vice versa.
Who is your primary audience? Obviously, this will determine if your product will be seen by your target audience.
How long does the process take from the point you receive the product to when the review will be published? The time to review a product will depend on the product. Curriculum may take several weeks to review while a straightforward product should take about two to three weeks.
Will you send me a link to your review? Make sure you get the link sent to you to check if the links work properly, that you were represented properly and so you can show the review to your potential clients if the review is positive. If it is negative take it as constructive criticism and maybe take heed of it.
Will you link back to my site? You will want to make this a requirement to review your product.
Do you Tweet or Facebook reviews? Many bloggers will charge for this aspect or ask for some type of compensation. If they have a large group of followers it may be worth it to you.
How do I determine the right blogger to review my product?
Select a blogger only after reading several posts and reviews on the blogger’s site. You want to determine that the blogger is fair and objective. Bloggers who love everything are not always taken seriously. Yet, many bloggers only post reviews on products they love and some select wisely. So read other posts and such to determine the friendliness and genuineness of the blogger. You also want a blogger who reaches your audience. If you sell curriculum ask homeschool bloggers to review it not bloggers who review pet products no matter how many followers they have.
Lastly, determine the cost to you to send a product. Mostly likely the cost of the product and shipping is worth precious word of mouth. As a product reviewer myself, I know I have driven the sales of many of the products I have reviewed. People like hearing from real people on products.