Looking to get paid to write reviews online? There are upsides and downsides to this online business – the latter of which can have serious consequences.
Online reviews have the power to make a business boom or, inversely, crush a company.
Great reviews are gold – and this is exactly why companies invest heavily in resolving online complaints from disgruntled clients. Some even go so far as to pay for phony 5-star reviews.
Consumers are finicky, and a badly besmirched business is a sinking ship.
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Why are reviewers so in demand?
Studies have shed even more light on how integral positive reviews are for businesses: around 90% of shoppers read a review before deciding on a purchase, while around 94% of shoppers have been turned off by an unsatisfactory consumer experience.
Review writing is a massive online industry, and for aspiring moneymakers looking for gigs, sharing your opinions online can be a very lucrative side hustle. But don't jump in too fast.
There are review writing jobs that you should steer clear of. I list four of the best ways to make money writing reviews, with insights on what to avoid and how to begin.
A note about writing faking reviews
In 2013, around 19 search engine optimization companies offering reputation management services were fined from generating fake reviews for their clients – they agreed to pay fees that ranged between $2,500 to around $100,000.
While companies have long dipped their toes in the questionable practice of paid reviews, thousands of freelancers dabble in the business too.
In 2015, Amazon sued around 1,114 fake reviewers on Fiverr, a popular freelance marketplace. Without considering the many implications, thousands of reviewers around the world have given in to the temptation of writing fake reviews for money.
The risk is not worth it as the consequences of being exposed can be detrimental to your career.
Today, search engines and job marketplaces like Upwork and Fiverr have issued crackdowns against fake review writing, but phony reviewers, and the demand for them, still promulgate today in a plethora of online avenues.
We at Financial Wolves recommend all aspiring reviewers to only do real and honest work – get paid to write reviews for products or services that you actually use.
Below, I listed four of the best and most legitimate ways to earn money for reviews. Ready to make money online? Read on below.
Get paid to review on your blog
At the top of the list is blogging – this method takes the most work, but will also rake in the most cash if you stay motivated and consistent. 3
Blogging gives you the most versatility: you can share your opinions on almost any product or service (given they fit into your niche).
Making money writing reviews on your blog requires a bit of strategy. Here’s how to start:
1. Select your niche
Your niche should be a profitable topic you are passionate about. If you're planning to monetize your blog, you need to write about a lucrative niche that attracts genuine interest.
The types of products or services you can review will depend on your niche. Try to see if businesses or brands are advertising for your keywords.
If they are targeting keywords related to your niche, you've selected a good topic. Here is a list of top niche blog ideas for you to consider.
See Related: How to Start a Niche Blog [7 Steps to Crush It]
2. Build your Website
How you build your website is integral to success. I suggest using hosting sites like Bluehost with seamless WordPress integration and budget-level pricing, especially if you're just getting started.
Bluehost will give you a FREE domain name and it costs only $3.95/month to get started.
The platform's uptime guarantee also means you'll rarely experience website downtimes – this is essential if you're looking for traffic.
3. Write reviews for money
Pitch to brands: You'll have to build a sizeable following and readership before brands consider you a good promoter. Once you've developed a good amount of traffic, prepare your stats and media kit. Then send a pitch to brands who will readily send you products if they find your audience a good fit.
Try affiliate networking: Affiliate networks are platforms that act as intermediaries between you and merchants. Platforms like FlexOffers will pay affiliate marketers to help them generate leads and sales. Learn more about the platform in our FlexOffers review.
You can promote services or products on your blog using a special link provided by the affiliate network, and for each sale that happens through your link, you will earn a portion of the revenue.
Hit up a product review site: Websites like Tomoson, BlogPRWire, and SheSpeaks will pay you for testing and reviewing products. Offers depend on your niche and website stats.
Want to learn how to create a blog and earn real money? Join my free audience building course.
You'll get my free nifty blog post profitability calculator to determine the value of a post BEFORE you write it.
Get paid to review Amazon products
Potential earnings: While you won't be able to get hard cash for your reviews, Amazon “pays” Vine Voice reviewers with a free or discounted product to review.
One of the only legal ways to get paid for reviews on Amazon is to review for Amazon Vine. Amazon Vine is a community of Amazon's most trusted reviewers who post their opinions on both pre-launch and new items.
Vine Voice reviewers are allowed to write both positive and negative reviews.
How can you join Amazon Vine?
While it's possible to get paid to write reviews for Amazon, the downside is that you cannot join Amazon Vine voluntarily – the program is only accessible through invitation.
Members are chosen through specific criteria which include the following:
- A demonstrated interest and expertise in various products
- The usefulness of past reviews
- The number of reviews they have written
See Related: How to Make Money as a Freelance Writer
How can I increase my chances of being invited?
There's no clear science behind how consumers are invited to the Amazon Vine program apart from the facts listed on their website, but this is what I've found.
To be considered for participation in Amazon Vine, you need to provide helpful reviews. This means that you shouldn't be offering extremely brief opinions of the products you've purchased.
A good review lists both positives and negatives (if any), as well as provides points for improvement.
Amazon scours reviews and sees how each review is received by other customers. Those with comments that are consistently marked as helpful will have greater chances of being invited to Amazon Vine.
You'll also want to consider sticking to one category of products only. Amazon is looking for consumers with expertise and interest in a specific category – most especially those who have become a recognized expert in their field.
See Related: 20 Best Side Hustles to Earn Extra Income
Get paid to review products and software
You can get paid to write reviews for software and product review platforms on the internet.
Most of these websites require reviewers to have actually used the software or product before making a review, so this requires real work. Here are the best options.
Capterra
Potential earnings: Around $10 in gift cards for each approved review
Consumers shopping around for software are likely to go to Capterra to read reviews before making a purchase. Capterra is one of the largest players in the field of software reviews, and they're looking to pay people like you to leave an authentic review.
Capterra vets all reviews and only pays for content that passes their requirements.
As a reviewer, you will have to verify your identity with LinkedIn, and you may even have to send screenshots of the software you're reviewing to provide proof that you actually used it.
Gartner Peer Insights
Potential earnings: Around $25 per verified review. You can only write 10 reviews per year.
If you're using a lot of software, you can write a review and get paid on Gartner. Gartner is a leading software and technology review website that aims to help consumers get the most value out of their software. Hence, genuine reviews are essential.
The platform covers around 300 technology markets and 3,000 vendors.
All reviews made on Gartner are verified before they are published to ensure that consumers get real insight about the products they intend to purchase. Gartner’s FAQ page provides more information about how to begin.
See Related: 8 Ways to Get Paid to Play Video Games
G2 Crowd
Potential earnings: Around $5-$15 per review. Reviewing niche software may earn you $25 per review.
This crowd-sourced review website boasts 700,000 verified reviews, making it one of the most popular software review sites on the internet.
The platform features a stringent review moderation process where each review is manually checked. Just like Capterra, you'll have to verify your identity through an established LinkedIn account. New accounts will not be accepted.
ReviewStream
Potential earnings: Around $0.50 to $2.5 per review.
The website is clunky and horrendous, but you can nevertheless get paid to write reviews on ReviewStream, a product and service review website launched in 2005. Consumers can get paid to write a reviews for thousands of different products in various categories, from art and airlines to books and baby care.
After rating the product from 1-10, you will be instructed to write a review of at least 250 words. A minimum of ten reviews is needed before you can cash out your earnings.
While payment is straightforward, there's more to this payment scheme. After writing a review, your work may end up in two categories: bulk or review.
Good reviews end up in the review classification, which will earn you the regular rate. Reviews that need more work end up in the bulk section, which will earn you only a fifth of the normal pay.
See Related: How to Make Money Online
PinchMe
Potential earnings: PinchMe won't pay you hard cash, but it will send you an assortment of goodies every month for free.
PinchMe is a free sample program that mails consumers free product samples for them to review. The products are entirely free, with the only requirement being that you review them. You can select a new box of samples every week and leave your review on the website after trying them out.
Membership is free to anyone living within the continental U.S. I've read numerous reviews of boxes being sent late and a dwindling sample supply that cannot keep up with the demand.
But for free goodies, it's still worth a try signing up!
Get paid to review books
Voracious readers who are also good with words can get paid to write reviews on various book review websites.
There's a lot of competition in book reviewing, and these jobs aren't the easiest to secure, but if you do get in, you'll find that it's an easy way to make extra money.
Kirkus Reviews
Potential earnings: According to Paysa.com, the average freelance Kirkus book reviewer makes up to $41,955 a year.
Founded in 1933, Kirkus Reviews is a book review magazine that offers opinions from trusted readers around the world. If you're looking for a solid side hustle, the company is looking for experienced book reviewers for both English and Spanish titles.
You'll be reading and reviewing books from self-published authors, and will have to churn out 350-word reviews two weeks after the book is assigned to you. You'd have to be a fast reader to succeed, and solid writer to encapsulate your opinions about an entire book within just 350 words.
Online Book Club
Potential earnings: Book reviewers are generally paid between $5-$60 per book review.
The Online Book Club is a website that features book and reading forums as well as exclusive, original reviews submitted by a professional review team. Thousands of authors send their books to OBC for review, and there's a demand for good reviewers who are also dedicated readers.
You can sign up to be a book reviewer on OBC and get two perks. You will get a free copy of a book that normally costs money to purchase. In some cases, because reviewers are in such great demand, you can get paid for your review.
While the platform admits that writing for them will not make you rich, it's a great way to make a couple of hundred dollars a month if you're a determined reader.
OBC is looking for honest reviewers who can write genuine reviews – highlighting both the bad and the good.
Looking for more ways to earn extra money? This step-by-step email course has everything you need to know about increasing your income online.