6 Ways to Write Professional Product Reviews

6 Ways to Write Professional Product Reviews

Set yourself apart from the blogosphere with these 6 easy steps to writing polished product reviews every time!

Do your research. Take a few moments to visit the company website to learn more about their products & philosophy. Read the packaging or label – there is often a surprising amount of information you can glean, just by taking this extra step!

What an informative yarn label!

What an informative yarn label! Photo courtesy of Commuter Knitter blog.

Go beyond liking. Share specific information which educates consumers about the product to help them make an informed decision before they buy. For example., “This yarn is ideal for…..” or “This blocking tool saved me time and yielded professional results” is much more valuable to your readers than simply saying how much you loved the product…although that’s always nice to say, too!

Take great photos. Rather than relying on the company’s photography, take a few of your own “action shots” to show the product in a new and different way. For more information about taking great blog photos, read this post from the Stitchcraft Blog archives or check out Caro Sheridan’s Shoot It! class on Craftsy.com.

photocomparison

Can you spot the difference between these 2 photos?

Make your post evergreen. Time permitting, include a quick tutorial or some other freebie (such as a simple pattern recipe or stitch demonstration) starring the product. Tutorials and patterns are a great way to refer traffic back to your website long after the “newness” of the product wears off. Staci Perry of Very Pink Knits does an excellent job of keeping her content evergreen; for example, in her recent “Find Your Needle” series of videos for Knitter’s Pride, she does a great job of introducing viewers to the features of each product while also providing them with information about how to choose the best needle to fit their style of knitting, choice of yarn, and type of project.

Be careful with comparisons. While this type of content is often popular and useful to your readers, many companies shy away from actively promoting reviews which mention their direct competitors, even if their product is being shown in the most favorable light by comparison. Most companies also make it a practice not to promote any reviews which include negative comments about their competitors, so keep that in mind, too!

Embrace the unexpected. Unplanned surprises can be an excellent opportunity to educate consumers – you just might learn something yourself! When things go snap or you experience a craft fail, it doesn’t have to mean that all is lost. Let’s say your first choice of projects wasn’t ideal for the yarn you were given to test out; this is an excellent opportunity to educated your readers about how to match yarn and fiber content to project for the best possible outcome! You can talk about the properties of the fiber or fibers, explore the effect ply has on the finished item, discuss the ins and outs of working with hand-dyed vs. commercially-dyed yarns….the possibilities are endless! Lastly, in the unlikely event you experience an issue with the product, this is a wonderful time to contact the company and learn about their customer service and/or warranty policies. By sharing your experience with your fans and letting them know exactly what they need to do should they encounter a similar situation, you are reducing the likelihood that unhappy customers share their negative comments publicly while also ensuring that folks are able to resolve their issues more quickly and painlessly – it’s win-win!

Product Reviews

 

If you are interested in reviewing products on your blog, we’d love to hear from you! We have many clients looking for designers and bloggers to review their products. Click here to learn more and apply to our influencer network.

How it works:
  • Email outreach@stitchcraftmarketing.com with your blog stats: how many hits per day and your social media stats
  • Let us know which types of product(s) you’re interested in reviewing (i.e., yarns, pattern collections, knitting needles, etc.)
  • We send you product(s) for review
  • You email us when the review is up (within 6 weeks of receiving your sample) and we promote your blog through all of our social media channels!

This post was first published in 2014. It was updated in 2023. 

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