While I was researching this post, I came across a post talking about this very subject –ways to make money writing product reviews online.
I was surprised to see, that they included a lot ofsurvey sitesin their list of ideas.
Last time I checked, completing an online survey does not really involve writing a product review?
Because survey sites generally only include multiple choice options and usually don’t involve writing very much at all.
Anyway….. rest assured, I’m not including any typical survey panels in this post – AT ALL!
Below I’ve outlined 6 different ways you could potentially make money writing product reviews…
Some will make you a very small amount ofextra money online,whereas other options are more long-term ventures and ones you could build into afull-time incomeover time.
#1 Brands Pay *Influencers* For Reviews:
Once you have ablog, or website,you can sign up to certain platforms that can link you with various companies.
Obviously, this really isn’t going to work for a new blog, the more visitors you have – the more companies will want you to write sponsored posts for them.
Typically, this could be a review of their product or service on your site, for a set fee.
This could also involve you sharing your review, or their business, on social media.
How many connections you make, can depend a lot on your niche.
So, if you have a lifestyle related blog, you have quite a wide scope of things you can talk about and I know many people in that space who have managed to get some great freebies.
It’s not unusual for the company to send you products to review and keep, so it can be a nice bonus.
The following websites connect bloggers with companies, so they may be worth checking out:
- Famebit: is a well-known leading market place.
This platform puts a big emphasis on video and you will need a YouTube channel, or social media account with a minimum of 5,000 followers to apply.
There are hundreds of brands and products available and you’re able to look through them yourself and directly apply.
You come up with your own rates and make proposals directly to the company you’re interested in.
Famebit only takes 10% of your earnings so, it’s not bad.
For some additional options you can also look at:
There are tonnes of platforms now that you can sign up to if you have a blog with a large social media following, or you have plenty of traffic coming into your blog.
What will take time initially is to grow your website or blog to that level.
While it takes work, it really is worth the effort.
If you have a blog within a well-defined niche, this will influence what sort of companies you partner with and promote.
If your blog is a close match with a product or service, this can make you more attractive to clients.
For example, if you have a blog in the running niche, this will match well with running products and brands that are related to this, or can compliment your content.
I go into that more over at option #3: creating a niche site or blog.
#2 Write Reviews Online For Products & Services:
Amazon holds a multitude of ways to make money online – from Amazon affiliate program, Amazon FBA and Merch By Amazon and Kindle Publishing on Amazon.
On the Amazon platform, reviews are incredibly important.
Products can succeed or fail on the back of good reviews and remember, that customers often filter the results to have the best reviewed products first.
Therefore, of course companies are going to be interested in paying people to write good reviews for them.
However, this is actually AGAINST the Amazon rules now, but companies will still try and get around this anyway.
Many sites out there pay people to write reviews of e-books – but in order for the review to be verified, you have to also purchase the book.
Usually what you’re paid covers both your fee for the review and enough for you to buy the book also.
The difficulty is, it’s hard to find places openly saying they’ll pay for reviews, because it’s against the terms of Amazon now.
If you take a look at e-book reviews on Amazon however, you can often spot the people who are writing reviews for money.
For one thing, they’re likely to have written many different e-book reviews and these could be in a whole variety of genres as well.
You could contact them on Amazon and simply ask who they went via to do it.
Obviously this is not the best way to get paid for reviews at all, but it is something that continues to go on.
Aside from approaching reviewers yourself, you could also get recognised and poached as a reviewer yourself… IF you manage to become a top reviewer on Amazon.
Apparently it’s not uncommon for companies to contact people directly, even though this is against Amazon’s T&C’s.
While it’s an option, it’s a bit of a risky one!
In any case, Amazon is only ONE place that people write product reviews online.
- A Better Option – Advertise Your Own Services:
If you check out somewhere like Fiverr.com, you will see there are lots of people offering reviews in a variety of ways.
If you do a search on there for “review,” nearly 2000 results show up! See here.
If you’re in the UK, we also have Fivesquid.com and there are plenty of people offering reviews there as well, see here.
While you need to start off as a new seller selling your services for $5, (or £5 at Fivesquid) you can start charging more and charging additional for extras once you gain experience.
#3 Creating A Niche Website Or Blog:
If you have a blog or website online, you can make money from writing reviews and not just with Amazon products.
The way you can do this, is by being an affiliate to companies online.
So, if you’re an Amazon affiliate, you will get a commission whenever someone purchases anything after going via your special affiliate link that they give you.
For example ——>this is an Amazon affiliate link.
The above link I created on Amazon Associates, to link to search results page on Amazon for “making money with Amazon…”
You can create affiliate links to any products on Amazon, or any search results pages you choose.
So, if you were to purchase anything on Amazon after going through the above link, I would make a small commission, (between 4% – 10% depending on what you bought).
There is only a 24 hour cookie with Amazon though…
Which means that, if you clicked the link above, but then didn’t buy anything for 25+ hours, I would not make any money.
Many other affiliate programs are different though – many will have 30 day cookies, 60 day cookies, or even longer.
So, lets say you had a blog in the gaming niche.
You could write reviews on your site of new games, or gaming accessories and link to Amazon, (or various other sites you’re an affiliate for) and you can make affiliate commissions from those reviews.
The great thing is, you write a review once and you can earn from it LONG into the future.
- Do you need to purchase things to review them?!
You may be thinking that you have to purchase loads of things in order to review them.
While you could certainly do that and it would give you an edge – there are many sites that do not purchase everything they review.
Instead, they will gather a lot of information that they can via Google and behave more as a curator.
You can also create things similar to reviews – like top 10 list posts, or top 20 list posts, that are popular types of material that can be very shareable on social media.
I gave gaming purely as an example; however you can go into anything you’re interested in.
(As long as other people are interested in it too!… You don’t want to be writing to tumbleweed, but similarly going into a hugely competitive space means it could take you a longer to generate traffic to your website).
For some advice about choosing a niche blog topic, try this post.
One of my old neglected websites is in the kids room decor space, (while I knew it had potential, I didn’t enjoy creating the content for that particular site).
Anyway, I tend to do posts on there that will list a lot of different products.
Posts on how create a certain type of look or theme, for example.
For any product that I mention during my post – I will include a picture and an affiliate link to the product.
I have also found that attractive product images share really well on Pinterest and it can generate a lot of traffic and repins.
Pinterest is still largely dominated by females – but don’t let that stop you getting on there if you’re a guy!
Pinterest is like a big search engine for blog posts… It’s not meant to be, but really it’s what it has become!
Search for any subject and you will find bloggers.
So, it’s really easy to find out if anyone in your niche… Just search for related phrases to your niche and you should find people.
- Quick Recap:
So, in order to earn money writing reviews from a blog you will need:
- To choose a blog topic, (niche).
- Write targeted content about your niche, including product reviews.
- Apply to relevant affiliate programs and include affiliate links in your site.
- Attract visitors and traffic to your blog.
- Make sales!
The above is a simplified version of what you need to do, but essentially those are the basic steps.
So, for example… you can’t just write any old content and hope it makes it to the first page of Google.
You’ll need to be targeting specific search terms that people are looking for.
To gain an understanding of all this, this program will explain it in much more depth. You can check it out for free.
Ultimately, this is something you need to build over time but there are many people making a full-time living from writing online reviews in this way.
It’s far more profitable than writing product reviews for other people.
What’s more, you can also sync this up with the first option I mentioned.
Once your blog/website is established, you can become an influencer online and companies can pay you directly online for reviews and sponsored posts.
The more posts you write, the more traffic you can bring in and the more money you can make.
It also has a snowball effect because, as your authority grows as a site, so does your traffic and so will your income.
#4 User-Testing – Test Websites Online For $10 A Go!
Website Link: User-Testing
This platform is one of my favorite extra income sites.
so, it’s a far smaller opportunity online, but it is definitely worth checking out.
It pays way more for your time than things like survey or reward sites!
The only reason some people may not do it, is because you have to record your voice and computer screen…. I think this may just put some people off getting started.
But once you do that first nervous test online, you realise it’s actually fine.
Apart from my first test, I’ve had five star reviews and I give you some pointers about how to get rated well over here.
Basically, you are given tasks to follow while looking at a website.
Often these websites are brand new and may not be complete, so your answers can have an influence over the finished product.
Therefore, your feedback is really valuable and this can make the tasks even more worthwhile.
Each test is around 20 minutes and you will make $10 per completed test.
How many tests you’re sent can really vary, but the higher your score, the more tests you’re likely to get.
It can get a lot busier at certain times of day and the tests go really quickly…
The best way to get tests, is to actually keep the website open on your browser and keep checking back.
Yes, most of this type of test IS NOT writing, it’s speaking.
However, there is a section at the end where you can write your feedback.
While it’s not *writing* reviews in the typical sense, I still felt it worth mentioning.
Because it pays quite reasonably and is more interesting than other low-income type sites and does involve some writing.
There are a bunch of other sites very similar to User-Testing, you can check some of my other reviews below:
- Usability Hub,
- UserBrain,
- WhatUsersDo,
- Testing Time,
- UserFeel,
- UserZoom.
Check out 15 websites that pay to test….
#5 Slicethepie – Write Mini Reviews For Cash:
Website link: Slicethepie.
Slicethepie isa way that you can earn a very small amount for writing reviews and is really more of a site for a bit of fun, rather than anything serious.
Slicethepie, used to just be all about music.
However, the last time I just logged in, there wasn’t actually music to review, but other categories.
It’s changed a lot since it first started.
Originally, budding musicians would upload their new tracks, you would listen and then give your honest opinion. You’d be awarded with a mini amount of cash.
However, now you can also review other things and those categories seem to change quite often.
For example; I’ve written reviews on clothing, home-ware, toys and mobile accessories in the past.
I now see there is also the option to watch video, (adverts).
Typically you may only get under 10 cents now per mini-review, (that take seconds to write).
However, often the categories will have “bonus” under them and this means you can earn more than usual.
For example; I took a bonus video category today and that gave me 18 cents.
No, it’s not much at all, but it only took me seconds to write.
I took another test that showed me a trailer for an up and coming series….
It was a series that looked interesting and something I would watch, so watching it and completing a mini review was not a chore.
Also, I’m a really fast typist, so it takes me no time. If you’re a fast typist too, you will find it even easier.
You can read my full review here.
#6 Content Mills & Freelancing:
I bunched these two in one.
The key difference being… With Freelancing you can choose your rates and you need to find your clients.
You may also need to apply for projects on freelance sites, or directly with clients.
In a content mill, all the jobs go into a pool of jobs and it’s a first come first served situation.
If you see a job you like and grab it, you will have a limited time to complete it and it will then be sent to the client for approval.
The pay is already fixed and if the job-poster doesn’t like your work, they’re entitled to reject it without paying.
While content mills are not ideal for writers at all, some people do find them a way to get regular work and prefer using them to trying to constantly seek out clients.
Also, if a client likes your work on a content mill, they can favourite you and pitch jobs to you directly.
This is a way that you can potentially make a lot more money, because you can set your fee higher for people pitching to you directly.
For example; I had a writer create an article for me from Hirewritersfor around$20 and he was a skilled writer and I got lucky that he picked up the job…
But if I was to directly request 2000-3000 word article from him, I’d have to pay $60.
He’d completely be worth the money as well.
So, it can also be worth paying more, rather than running the risk of a less skilled writer picking up your job.
So, many writers do build up a bunch of clients who *favourite them* and will request their work time and time again.
This is a way you can write product reviews, because there are tonnes of bloggers and website owners that need product reviews written!
Of course the better option would be to have YOUR OWN blog/website…
But plenty of bloggers also supplement their income by writing for other bloggers while they build up their traffic and income as they go.
Some content mills include:
- Hirewriters, (where I have been purchasing content)
- Iwriter,
- Textbroker.
As a freelancer, you can seek out and contact bloggers and website owners directly, but you will need a portfolio of work, or some examples to show.
A way you could build up a portfolio is trying out somewhere like Upwork…
Upwork is a place where many freelance writing gigs are posted.
You need to set up your own profile when you sign up, so can also be contacted by clients directly and this will need to include examples of your work.
It is the case that many clients are still looking to find the cheapest deal and I believe it can be difficult to get your first initial gigs.
But once you’ve done that, you can start to build up a client list and have more clients coming directly to you as well.
Once you have some experience, you can get more by pitching for your own jobs.
It’s also a good idea to have your own website, where you can showcase your work.
It looks professional to have your own website and is a simple and efficient way of showcasing your work, who you are and what you have to offer.
While I’ve been talking about product reviews for the purpose of this post, of course this will work whatever you’re writing – it’s not just going to be product reviews, but there is a demand for that too!
During this post, I’ve covered six different ways that you can make money writing product reviews online.
It means you’re not just exchanging your time for money.
Because, your reviews on your OWN website can be viewed time and time again and bring you in an income long after you first wrote them.
Like I said, I have a little site that I’ve neglected for a while, (a couple of years actually!!) and yet it STILL brings me in some money every single month.
There aren’t that many things that you can do just once and that can continue to pay you for years into the future…
This is really what is known as passive income.
