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Product Reviews

If You Can Only Read One Sentence….

If somebody gives me a freebie product or service they get my gratitude, but not necessarily a positive review – positive reviews on this blog are not for sale, at any price.

If you have a bit more time….

I occasionally review products. Sometimes this is because I recently read a book, and I want to share it with you. Much more rarely, this is because a product creator sent me something to look at. Any way you slice it, the point of these reviews is to inform you about a product or service. Some products are wonderful. Some are garbage. Most are somewhere in-between.

Some Simple Promises

Reviews will always be clearly marked, usually with a post title that begins with “Review:”

Sometimes people send me freebie copies of things to review. When they do this, I’ll look over both the product and the accompanying information – and then I’ll decide whether to do a review. Reviews will contain my perception of the product. This may be good, bad, or somewhere in the middle – I strive for as accurate a review as possible.

As I mentioned above, the content of reviews is not for sale. I will absolutely not accept a list of talking points and shill for the product creator.

I Read And/Or Use What I Review

I won’t review anything sight-unseen.  If I haven’t personally experienced the product, it doesn’t get reviewed.  There are no exceptions to this rule.

I May Use Affiliate Links

If I link to a product or service that has an affiliate program available, the link may be an affiliate link. This isn’t to be sneaky or dishonest; it just makes economic sense.

E-book authors and many online retailers build a percentage into *all* product sales for affiliate commissions.  You’re already paying for it; when you use my affiliate link you’re just ensuring that that percentage goes to me.

This helps to support my writing, and does it in a way that doesn’t cost either of us an extra penny – it’s win-win.

If you’d like me to review something

There are some simple guidelines that I use for determining whether I’ll review a product.

  • It should be priced fairly. This doesn’t necessarily mean “cheap”, but it does mean that it provides value commensurate with its price. I’m not going to waste everybody’s time by writing a review of a product that’s obscenely overpriced.
  • It should be relevant to my audience. 
  • I need to experience it.  I don’t review products that I haven’t used and/or experienced, books I haven’t read, etc. no exceptions.
  • I need lead time. If your product launches tomorrow, today is the wrong time to be asking me about reviewing it for launch day.
  • I insist on editorial discretion. If you’d like me to mention a release date, a sale, or some other piece of relevant information, please let me know – but I will not accept a list of talking points.
  • You need to understand that a free product doesn’t guarantee (or even contribute to) a positive review.

That all being said, if you’d still like me to consider reviewing your product, hop on over to the contact page and send me an e-mail – I’d love to hear from you!