What Makes a SuccessfulProduct Review Blog
Jason ElliotOutdoorInformer.com
What to Expect• About me• What makes product review blogs
popular• Investing in your blog• Building credibility• Who and how to request products• Rules & regulations• No and low cost promotion• Q&A
katesrealfood.com
Editor of OutdoorInformer.com
• Outdoor gear review and news site• Went “live” February 2010• 11 contributing writers/reviewers• Partnering relationships with 150+
outdoor products/services companies• Publish 4+ articles/week• Monthly features
– Depth of Fields: Profiling an adventure photographer
– Guest Blogger Review: Feature gear review by a prominent outdoor blogger
– Gear Giveaway: Enter to win outdoor gear
What Makes ProductReview Blogs Popular
For a Company & PR FirmsCheap advertising
For a BloggerEstablish industry credibility and respectabilityFree schwag
For a ReaderNon-biased consumer information
Invest in Your Blog
• Be ready to spend $$$ – not a lot though• A little investment will go far in establishing
credibility
Spend your cash on:• Professional designed logo• Website template & extensions• Professional photos and/or graphic design
Choose a Blogging Platform
Hosted vs Self-Hosted
Not So Good:• Hosted Options From:
– Blogger– WordPress– Tumblr– Posterous
Choose a Blogging Platform
Good• Self-Hosted Options From:
– WordPress– Joomla!– Drupal– MovableType– Plone
Site Structure
• Plan site structure• Don’t forget to include pages for:
– About Us– Contact Us
• E-Mail• Mailing Address• Phone#/Skype
Build Credibility• Write news articles from press
releases for initial posts• Set-up newsfeeds for:
– Pitch Engine– PR Newswire– PRWeb– PR.com– Business Wire– Market Wire– PR Leap
Build Credibility
Use proper:• Grammar• Punctuation• Spelling• Sentence structure• APA Style
Steripen Sidewinder Challenge
Who and How to Request Products to Review
• Your contact point with each company is:– PR/Marketing Rep or– PR Firm that’s the Agency of
Record• Identify PR contact from press
releases and from press/media section on company website
• E-mail contact to request a ‘media sample’
How CompaniesAnalyze Your Blog
Site analytics• Alexa.com• Google Analytics & Page Rank• Quantcast• Social Media Channel Numbers
– Facebook Page Followers– Twitter Followers & Klout Rating
How CompaniesAnalyze Your Blog
• Creative and organized site layout and design
• Posts that are similar or complimentary to their products and services
• Quality and quantity of comments on articles• Background of site contributors• Age of site
Rules & Regulations
Federal Trade CommissionNew media must disclose how a product being reviewed was acquired
Internal Revenue ServiceClaim free products as income
Federal, State & Local Lottery LawsRequired to follow with giveaway and contest promotions
Rules & Regulations
Mass Media Law• Libel• Copyrights• Trademarks• Plagiarism
Protect Online Identity
Reserve the same name for the following
• URL - .com .net .org• Facebook• Twitter• YouTube• Flickr• And any other applicable social
media channel
No & Low Cost Promotions• Monthly & Weekly Features• Contests & Giveaways• Guest Blogging• Guest Appearance on Radio &
Podcast Shows• Cross-Promotions• Guerrilla Marketing• Of Course….Social Media
Channels
Q&A
Tram Bar Video Star Sweepstakes