Guide on Writing Product Reviews What to Do, and What Not to Do While Writing a Review

I have been writing reviews since I first learned about Epinions back in 2001. At first I was lost, I didn't know where to start, and even after viewing others reviews, I was still confused on exactly what I had to do to make my review as helpful as possible to consumers.
It took me quite some time to get the knack, and once I had the knack; or formula I should say. I was pumping reviews out that were all extremely helpful to those reading them.
I figured I may as well share my knowledge with those of you who are new to writing reviews.
1. Always start off with a reasoning as to what made you buy the product. Was it the price? The labeling? or just something you felt you needed? This is basically your opening line. Try to make it fun, and try not to bore those reading the review. If they are bored within your first paragraph, be aware that they may not read the entire review, and just skip it.
2. DO NOT WRITE LIKE THIS. People who stumble upon your reviews will get annoyed with the capital letters, and skip right through it. Not only that it is a strain on the eyes.
3. Do share where you got the product. If you tell people to 'BUY THIS', and you have a great review all about the product, the consumer is not going to know where in hell you got it. Extra research on the consumers part is just annoying. Be sure to give details on where you got it, and let them know if it is available online for purchase. Provide a link to sites selling the product.
4. If your product you are reviewing has ingredients, add them in. Not everyone is interested in ingredients though, so usually I will stick them down at the bottom of the review, for those who may be interested.
5. Describe the packaging the product comes in, in full detail. Say you are reviewing dog food, be sure to give details on the bag color, the picture on the bag, and how many ounces comes in the bag.
6. Tell consumers how to use the product. Not everyone knows how to use what you may be reviewing, so give a detailed explanation on just how to use it.
7. Add in any tips or facts about the product.
8. Be honest! Don't butter up a review, or slam it because you are angry with a sales clerk at Walmart. We're reviewing a product, not how rude Molly the manager was.
9. When writing a good or bad review on a product, always be sure to weigh out it's pros, and cons.
10. Create your own grading criteria within the review if you want. With video game reviews, be sure to add every little detail, such as graphics, sound of the game, re-play value, what the game is about, and the type of game it is. Then grade each one based on a 1-10 grading criteria. 1 being the lowest, 10 the highest.
11. After you have mentioned the pros, and then the cons, next give everyone your personal overall opinion. You can't just write a review on a product without an opinion. What good would the review be without a personal opinion?
12. After giving your overall opinion, be sure to add in whether or not you would recommend this product or not to others.
13. If you are reviewing a website, be sure to add in shipping charges, what the site sells, ease of navigation on the site, how well a product is packaged, how long it took the package to arrive. After reviewing the site, you're on your way to reviewing the product you bought in a separate review.
14. Don't sound like a broken record, be fun with reviews. No one wants to read a review that seems like it was written by Ben Stein.
15. Another major NO, is reviewing a store and only mentioning how horrible customer service was. This can always be a pain in the butt for consumers to read. I have seen tons of reviews on McDonald's that mention how horrible 'Jane' was as the counter lady. For one, most consumers are not going to go to that very same McDonald's where Jane works, and secondly, no one cares about Jane, or how stupid she was.
Try not to get too personal when it comes to reviewing stores. Mention their selection, prices, isle sizes, line wait times, cleanliness, and staff. But do not focus on just one when writing a store review. Never, ever, mention last names, phone numbers, or any other personal information about the staff, no matter how mad you are at them. This is illegal, and it could land you into a lot of trouble with the law!
16. When you are upset with a company while writing a review, do not beg for others to follow lawsuit on them, or file with the BBB. This is not a review, this is a whining rant.
17. Do add in extra helpful information such as when and where this item is on sale, give consumers links to online coupons if you find any. Any extra helpful information is sure to make for a successful review.
18. Refrain from cussing. This offends some, and they may totally ignore all of your future reviews if you use foul unnecessary language. Words like sh** and bit** may even upset some. So use caution when bleeping out words. Whenever I see excessive cussing in product reviews, I will either block that person from my mind, and no longer visit their pages.
If the site I am reviewing for does not allow cursing, I will report the foul mouthed member. There is enough foul content on the Internet, why add more?
19. If you just had a bad experience with a product or service, give yourself a 24 hour cooling off period. If you write a review in this state of mind, to consumers it is going to look like a whining baby like rant. Keep it professional sounding, no matter how angry you are. You want to write a review, not a complaint. I have come across far too many reviews that are nothing more than complaints. They mention little to nothing about the product or service, and only focus on the thing that made them angry.
20. Feel free to add in your name, or user name to the bottom of your review. This way when you google your name it will come up. This is also a fool proof way to seeing who may have stolen your work. There are many reviews that are plagiarized, so keep your eyes peeled for anyone who may have stolen your reviews!
21. Always add in any warnings that may be written on the product.
Basically when writing product reviews, don't just toss an opinion out there and figure that is all you need. I have seen many reviews where reviewers simply mention how much they love this about the product, and how great it is, and it's so wonderful. All these people mention is their opinion, yet they mention nothing about the actual product. Reviews like this for one, sound as if they have been written by a small child, and secondly no one will come back to read your future reviews.
With these simple tips you will be writing excellent reviews in no time. Just remember, take it slow, create your own formula when you are comfortable.
Here is the formula I use:
WHY I BOUGHT IT:
PACKAGING:
COST:
HOW MUCH AM I GETTING, OR HOW MUCH ROOM DOES IT OCCUPY IN MY HOME:
HOW TO USE IT:
HOW IT WORKED FOR ME:
WHO WOULD BENEFIT FROM USING THIS:
WHAT I LIKED:
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
WHERE TO BUY ONE FOR YOURSELF:
OVERALL OPINION:
RECOMMENDATION:
INGREDIENTS IF ANY:
WARNINGS IF ANY:
Give each section a good well written paragraph or two, and you will be on your way to writing excellent reviews from here on out.