I think that’s a well-written review.

While you end up recommending the book, you’re honest about what you didn’t like about it and why that’s important to you, but maybe not so important to someone else.

Nicely done.

Act on your dream!

JD

You asked me about a particular review I’d said I was going to write; I’ve written it: http://www.ttmitchellconsulting.com/Mitchblog/wisdom-of-the-flying-pig-a-review/

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I think Steve Pavlina is a very good model for how to build a high-traffic, high-profit site.

If I remember correctly, he decided recently to remove Adsense from his site, even though he was making thousands of dollars every month from their ads.

I agree that he writes about things I find to be uninteresting, but I keep reading because he also writes some very interesting, helpful articles.

I don’t have time to spend on his forum, but I drop in now and then to see what’s going on.

I read his book a few months ago and I’ve been working on a review, but I’m still not ready to publish the review.

My main reason for linking to his review is that I believe one high-quality, reasoned, balanced review such as Steve’s review of the Kindle, will be more effective and profitable than dozens of short blog posts or any pitch.

While I don’t intend to follow his lead in eating raw foods and doing a lot of juicing, I admire his willingness to try something for 30 days to see how it affects him. If he feels better, he continues. If not, he’s off to something else. (That’s a superficial overview of my understanding of what he does.)

Act on your dream!

JD

However, I have to say I stopped reading Pavlina’s blog once he started his series on juicing; just wasn’t interested anymore.

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In this thread, we’ve talked about reviews and what I call pitches and how I differentiate between the two.

Today, I ran across what I consider to be a good, balanced review, written by someone who has personal experience with the product and who talks about both the good and bad aspects of it.

I’m a regular visitor to Steve Pavlina’s site. I’m a real fan of his balanced reviews of the products and services he recommends.

Yesterday, he posted his Amazon Kindle Review and I think this is a model for a good, balanced review of a product.

Yes, he’ll get paid if someone purchases from his affiliate links, but he also talks about why some may want to buy the product and others may not.

He also demonstrates his personal knowledge and use of the product for some time.

While many of us are aware of the Kindle, most of us don’t have much (or any) experience with actually using it.

Which do you think would be more effective in selling Kindles and collecting affiliate commissions? Someone who writes a generic “review” with no experience, or Steve Pavlina’s review which demonstrates in-depth knowledge of the product?

Act on your dream!

JD

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I was referring to the marketers who contributed to the book, but, in fact, I was mostly pulling your leg and was smiling as I wrote it.

I should have put in a smiley face winking at you.

Of course it’s not necessary to compare all of them in a short review.

Maybe I need to add a new “Duh!” category to this blog. I have a gift for stating the blatantly obvious, sometimes.

(This time I’m sitting here with a lop-sided silly grin and don’t know the smiley to show it.)

Act on your dream!

JD

Marketers within the book or other reviewers like me?

If you mean, some of the “tips” aren’t s good as others, doesn’t that fall under, duh! LOL Seriously though, all 100 can’t be expected to make everyone rich….is that really something to write in the review even if I had read the entire book?

Dennis Edell´s last blog post..Would Even The Slightest Hint Of Porn Stop You From Advertising?

Thanks for the examples of all positive reviews.

I agree with your review of Yan’s blog and I liked the way you handled it when questioned about an all-positive review.

I enjoyed reading your review of Pete’s book and all the comments on it. It was clear from the start that you got a freebie to review and that you’d be earning an affiliate commission if it sold (as well as giving a 25% rebate).

Since you believed in the quality of the book and what was in it, I don’t see a problem with it being all positive, but I still suspect that some of the advice was not up to par with what other contributors submitted.

Still, in both cases, I agree that there’s no reason to nit-pick and find problems when you really don’t think they’re detrimental to the product.

I also agree that a review should be useful and unnecessary criticism may not be.

Thanks for the examples. I appreciate it.

I also think there is a big difference between an ebook with basically 100 marketing ideas for a buck each and a service that we may use as a central part of our business and for which we’ll pay hundreds of dollars per year (such as Aweber).

As usual, your comments prove to be thought provoking.

Act on your dream!

JD

Dennis Edell´s last blog post..Would Even The Slightest Hint Of Porn Stop You From Advertising?

Personally speaking, I always try to give the good bad and UGLY throughout. I also state this very clearly on my “wanna get reviewed” page when I had one up. lol. making sure people knew what they were in for.

That said, to answer your question, yes to date I believe I’ve given two all positive reviews…

1. A blog review. Someone in the comments actually did call me on it. even though he was pretty much kidding, I felt it prudent to respond; something to the effect of, “Ok I didn’t really like the header font styles he used on some sidebar widgets…but a tad too nit-picky too mention.

2. An eBook. First I made it CRYSTAL CLEAR I did not finish the entire 400+page book before reviewing (understandable I think, lol).

Considering it’s an “interview” style book, the review was basically on the premise of the whole thing anyway, which I happened to find extraordinary.

Basically there is definitely a difference in the style of product/service being reviewed.

Dennis Edell´s last blog post..Would Even The Slightest Hint Of Porn Stop You From Advertising?

I can hypothetically imagine an all-positive review, but think it is unlikely if the writer has done his/her job.

Maybe some of us are more positive than others and are more likely to overlook potential problems with a product.

Maybe some of us have been trained for decades to look for problems (and their solutions), so we’re more likely to spot things that are detrimental to a product.

As a programmer and analyst, it has been my job to anticipate, find, and fix problems in a variety of systems and I think that carries over into my style of reviewing something.

Others have different experiences, personalities, and writing styles.

Still, with all that said, if I read several reviews of the same product and they are all glowingly positive without mentioning anything on the downside, I would be less inclined to trust them (and their authors) than I would a review that is more balanced.

Even products and services that I love, use, and happily recommend, such as Macintosh computers, Aweber, and Site Build It! have their downsides and are not a proper fit for everyone.

I honestly cannot think of a single product where I could write a completely positive review.

Can you?

Act on your dream!

JD

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Hello FTC. LOL

Dennis Edell´s last blog post..Would Even The Slightest Hint Of Porn Stop You From Advertising?