***Updated October 10th 2016***
Amazon no longer permits sellers to send free products in exchange for a review. So I’ve removed all the Amazon review information from this post.
However, brands and companies offer free and discounted product in exchange for you sharing information about the product on your social media sites! Since Amazon changed their policies I’ve removed all that information from this post and am instead giving you information on reviewing products OUTSIDE of Amazon.
While blogging was instrumental in becoming a reviewer, I rarely post reviews on my blog. If you aren’t a blogger, you can still be a product reviewer!
First of all, a Few Questions:
- Do you like to try new and different products?
- Do you have an active Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram account?
- Do you enjoy leaving reviews (good or bad) that help other customers?
- Do you often share different products with your friends?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, then keep reading because I’m going to share just how to become a product reviewer!
How to Become a Product Reviewer (without being a blogger)
Reviews For Social Media Influencers
If you consider yourself an influencer on social media, check out the following sites.
Klout. Sign up and connect your social media accounts. Klout then sees your follows, likes, shares and comments and measures your “Klout”. I do very little with this site and every couple of months or so I receive an email saying I’ve been “perked”.
I can claim the perk and share my thoughts on Twitter or I can ignore the perk if I don’t want it.
BzzAgent. Create an account, link your social media accounts and set up/connect your MyPoints account. While you can earn MyPoints doing all sorts of things all over the web, I only earn points by filling out BzzAgent surveys and when I get a BzzCampaign I earn more points by bzzzing and sharing.
BzzAgent is very user-friendly and I would recommend starting with this site.
Tomoson is a nice place to find paid reviews for blogs and youtube, as well as getting lots of discounted products in exchange for social media shares!
Sign up, fill out ALL of your profile, connect your social media channels and start applying. When looking for products to review, make sure you tick the little box that says “only show me promotions I qualify for”. It definitely makes things simpler.
I don’t do many paid blog reviews through Tomoson, but here are a few that have paid well and I really loved the product.
What Makes a Good Review?
- Proper spelling and grammar. I cannot stress this enough as you want brands to see you as professional.
- Diplomacy. If you honestly dislike a product, don’t be rude and bash it. Be honest but kind, and share why you were disappointed.
- Be Helpful. Try to answer questions you may have had about the product, or share a trick you learned when you used the product.
- Photos and Videos. Videos in some cases they are very good to have, if you have a YouTube account, all the better!. Take clear photos of you using the product or product features that you like or dislike.
- Contact the Company. If you end up with a product that you cannot in good conscience leave a 3 star or higher review reach out to the brand first and see if they can fix it. Then once you write your review you will also be able to state how the company handled the issue. Very very helpful info for other buyers.
- Disclose! Per FTC (Federal Trade Commission) you must tell others if you received a discount or got the item free in exchange for a review. Honesty is the best policy always.
Psst!!! If you enjoyed How To Become a Product Reviewer, you may also like my post on how to use Ebates and earn cash back on your online purchases.
Other posts studies say you will like!
Great post! I love Tomoson. I also like Influenster. I have had good luck writing to businesses that I would like to work with, as long as they are relevant to my blog, and a small business.
I am going to trying Snagshout 🙂
Tomoson is great! I’ve not had luck with influenster so haven’t been there in over a year.
I would have luck writing to businesses if if worked for free. Since I don’t I rarely contact them anymore.
How do you follow people on amazon?
Wow, this is a whole new world for me! I wonder whether some of these (or other) websites deal with Brazilian reviewers… I’d love to become one!
I don’t know about Brazil. I’m sure they are out there but don’t know where to direct you. Tomoson does have a few promotions on there that say UK only…
And thanks for the “helpful” votes. That makes my day 🙂
Oh and by the way… just opened an amazon account and am voting some of your reviews as helpful. They really are!
Thank you for the wonderful post, I signed up for many of these today, so hopefully I’ll get some great things to review!!!
Awesome! Just make sure your Amazon profile is looking good as that’s what companies look at first many times. Good luck 🙂
Just a quick question? When it comes to the paid influencer how do you know how much to charge? I have no clue about this part!
That is such a challenge. In the first year, I often wrote for product only as I was gaining experience. After that I began charging. There are many charts online that will give direction on how much to charge. I probably don’t charge near enough (I know I don’t lol) But many times I’m writing for small businesses that I already love and wish to support so I’m okay charging only a small amount to pay for my time.
Thanks Kendra for the informative post! I signed up for a few today because I’ve been shopping on Amazon for years and have done some reviews just because!
How did you make out with Reviewiso?
My Amazon profile is here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A1SACEQ688XBTN?ie=UTF8&ref_=profile_avatar
I followed you and also found some of your reviews that I really liked 🙂
Hi Jane,
I still haven’t heard anything and just requested another deal. Since it’s rare to get every deal you request I’m not surprised at all. Just how it goes. Even though I get quite a few deals from Tomoson, it took awhile for that to happen.
The best thing is to keep reviewing on Amazon and get a good helpful ranking and things will eventually pick up.
This was a super helpful post. Thank you! I’ve been looking at Tomoson this week, but I wasn’t sure about it. There are so many scams, you know? I’m going to go ahead and sign up with them. I may use some of the others as well. I’ve reviewed a lot of books, and sometimes I do get offers by email. I have also written to a couple of companies and requested a revew with success. When I do, I write a note including important blog stats.
I’m going to look at some of your reviews and give you some “helpfuls”.
You can find my profile here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A2S4NVVN84TKXB
Thanks so much for sharing this helpful information.
Blessings,
Laura Lane
The trick with Tomoson is to get your profile filled all the way out and add some hashtags so certain social media posts can be picked up in your profile. Then go for the free or deeply discounted things first, so you get build up a good reviewer rating there.
I get paid posts through there as well at times.
What do you mean by add hashtags? On Tomoson or on my social media posts? I don’t really understand what they’re for. #confused
Actually on both.
In your Tomoson profile there is a place to add hashtags.
I added hash tags that I normally use in social media posts like #toddlerlife #recipe #homemaking etc. Tomoson then sees those tags in my sm posts and pulls them onto their site so those posts show up in my profile, and brands can see the the quality of posts I put on social media.
Hopefully that makes sense to you 🙂
Yes Kendra, it does make sense. Thanks so much!
Laura
It looks like Tomoson is only for bloggers?
Yes. However as stated in my post above, most of the reviews don’t require you to post on your blog. A friend of mine has an old blog that she hadn’t updated in a couple years and just listed that one.
I’m going to look at some of your reviews and give you some “helpfuls”.
You can find my profile here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A2S4NVVN84TKXB
Thanks so much for sharing this helpful information.
Blessings,
Laura Lane
I looked at your profile as well and liked your review on some products I am familiar with. It looks like you have a good grasp on reviewing.
Chip,
https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A1Q21V4FNV3PBC
as amazon reviewer myself i would recommend never adding your profile anywhere.
some bad apples will be thrilled to downvote every review you have just because you get products at a discount. they think that is automatically a “fake” review. It is sad.
I would love to be able to become a product reviewer on amazon please help.
Hi Tina,
What do you need help with? I’ve tried my best in the above post to explain how to get started.
My Amazon profile is https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A2TDRXQJT54XH0 thanks for the tips, I signed up for Reviewsio and am looking for products so I can write better reviews!
Awesome! Your reviews are pretty good too. I hope you find some nice stuff 🙂
I looked at your profile as well. MPow recently contacted me about reviewing their products. I’m glad to see you liked your earphones from them.I’ll have to add the Eddy bottle to my baby register! It looks like you have a good grasp on reviewing. I know reviewers and companies love when you add pictures and videos to your reviews. That’s my suggestion.
Chip,
https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A1Q21V4FNV3PBC
Thank you for explaining some things. I am familiar with Honest Few & Snagshout. There is also one called AMZReviewer too I have used. Here is my link to my profikle. I would love some vote ups and constructive criticism where appropiate too! Checking out your profile as well! Thank you! https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A3DZ08DT2RW8TA?ie=UTF8&ref_=ya_your_profile
I’ve never heard of AMZReviewer. I will look into that thanks!
Hi Kendra I’m having some kind of blonde attack (it’s ok, I AM blonde lol) I was going to follow you and Melissa and the others who posted links to their profiles on Amazon but I can’t figure out for the life of me how to do it. I’m sure it’s plain as day but I can’t find a link or button or anything. whaa.
Thanks ahead of time, and thanks so much for the great blog post!
ACK Here’s the link to my Amazon profile, a few helpfuls and a follow would be very much appreciated Thanks!
Odd, still no link 🙂
Hi Cynthia,
I do not know what to tell you on this. It’s really frustrating because Amazon has changed how our profiles look and I don’t like it. At this point I do not know how to follow someone or if you still can. I’m sorry that I cannot help you more than this.
I looked at some of the reviews posted on your profile. I have never really used the essential oils much, but I got lavender oil recently. I really like it. I might have to take a further look at some of the ones you have reviewed. I’d also like to try the fancy soap. I “liked” some of those reviews. It looks like you are on your way!
Chip,
https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A1Q21V4FNV3PBC
Hey Chip, I just seen your comment on essential oils. I sell doTerra oils, which by the way I love. Just be careful on purchasing essentials on some websites. They are not the real deal. Young Living is also a great company to purchase oils from. Helpful hint join up to be a consultant that way you get the product for wholesale. Being a consultant doesn’t require you to have stock on hand, do party’s , order every month. Benefits wholesale prices. You will never go wrong with using essential oils. join, have fun, learn about them, and enjoy. Hope this helps. Sincerely with blessings, Carolyn
Hi Melissa,
I went to your profile (cute pic!) and voted a few of your product reviews as helpful because I noticed you didn’t have very many helpful votes yet (I don’t either! lol)
Good luck with everything, thanks for the tip about AMZ reviewer – I’ll try that one too.
So happy to have found this! I have set up my Amazon profile. I am still making reviews for products that I have bought. So blessed to have Prime. Have used the two day service with all my orders. And have found such great educational programs for our homeschool. Here is my link to my profile. If you have any suggestions for changes please let me know! http://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A2NKPHQUANY2AM
It all looks great! I went through and gave your reviews a few helpful votes as well 🙂 Consider adding a few photos of the items in use from time to time as well. Other buyers like to see photos and they encourage more helpful votes as well.
Great post. Does this work for Australian residents?
I would think so. To my knowledge Tomoson has brands looking for AU and CAN reviews but you can only be accepted into there if you have a blog.
I would suggest doing a google search for AU Amazon review sites and see what you find.
Just building up your Amazon profile, reviewing products you’ve used and earning helpful votes is likely to get the attn of AU sellers as well.
thanks for the info! here is my profile!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A1TMDVYK92TQ20?preview=true
Glad to help! Keep in mind that photos of the products good/bad areas are great towards helping you earn those “helpful” votes. Btw, I totally love YL, but not a huge fan of the diffuser at all. I have 1 diffuser that uses all the water, and all my others leave water behind too. But the YL is LOUD and I’m not a fan. The new one they have looks nice, but at this point I’m happy with offbrands.
I looked at your profile as well. I would reiterate what Kendra said: pictures and videos. Be sure to expand upon our reviews. How do you use it? How long have you tried it? What are the drawbacks? Look at some of the questions that reviewers ask and incorporate those. Hope that helps!
Chip,
https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A1Q21V4FNV3PBC
Great article! I’ve always wondered this! Have done what you said and hope to get to do some reviews! Thank you!
Oh…and here’s my Amazon profile : http://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A2DF7FQTE7QNGG?preview=true
Thanks again!
Everything looks great! One thing I like to do is look through old reviews of my own and particularly focus on those that receive a lot of helpful votes. I then attempt to analyze why that review got the helpful votes and try to craft more reviews like that. You have a review with lots of helpful votes so I thought I would mention it 🙂
Good luck with future reviews!
I know this sounds like a silly question and may already be asked. But it seems to me I have to pay to review ? Is that correct.
You don’t have to pay for anything. However, if you don’t have Amazon Prime you may need to pay shipping.
Many sites will have items listed at a discount in exchange for a review but if you don’t have the money, simply ignore those and apply for the ones that are completely free.
Hopefully that answers your question!
What our mypoints for?
Use them for gift cards and stuff. Last time I redeemed my mypoints I earned a $20 gift card to one of our favorite restaurants which was awesome!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us! You’ve got some great tips here to get started reviewing products from home.
I’m looking forward to getting into some of these other sites you’ve linked to see what they are all about.
My Amazon profile is here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A22KIXKQ0TJZGE?ie=UTF8&ref_=sv_ys_3
You’ve written some great reviews & I found some very helpful.
Thanks again!
I love Tomoson. I get 90% of my review items from them. I know others don’t have as much luck but I am thankful for every product I get to review.
Happy to have found your blog. Made me smile when I saw where you are located – I grew up in Garrettsville. Small world!
I like them as well. I do find myself annoyed though when companies on there ask me as a blogger to write a blog post not just for free, but for an item I still have to pay for.
I will pay the discounted prices for items I’m simply reviewing on Amazon, but as a blogger I work hard on my content and it’s frustrating when brands cannot see that.
And it most certainly is a small world!
Is it available in India???
I do not know. Your best option would be to try Googling “how to do Amazon reviews in India”.
Just be prepared to get some weird direct pitches. I’ve gotten pitches to do video reviews (VIDEO reviews!) of lingerie. Um, no thanks. :/ But I’ve gotten some good direct pitches, too. Just don’t be shocked if you get crazy stuff.
Right now, I’m liking SnagShout and ReviewKick, as well as AMZ Review Trader.
Oh yes… Definitely strange for sure!
Do you still use the iReviewHome, because I just signed up for it and basically everything is in German and I can only buy things from the German Amazon. But Amazon won’t let me ship things from the German Amazon to my house.
Yes I do, there is an option close to the top of the page that allows you to choose the Amazon.com site that ships to the US.
Thank You.
I would really like to do this. I’m a stay at home mom an this would be great for me
It definitely takes a bit of time at first and then a bit of work later, but as a fellow SAHM I love being able to get new things for myself that I wouldn’t indulge in otherwise, as well as being able to spoil my babies without hurting our budget 🙂
Do you get paid for reviews? How much is the range? Or is this just to get discounted products? Trying to make an income doing this and a few others so I can be a SAHM. Thanks!
Please read my first paragraph with the update.
As for being paid… would you trust someone who is being paid by the company to write a review of their products?
Being a stay at home, work at home mom is hard work and requires acute attention to detail and organization skills. It’s totally worth it, as I well know, but also hard work. I wish you the best!
Do you know if it makes a difference if you have an Amazon account but then use another persons Prime? For example, if I purchase something with my mother-in-law’s Prime account, but then review it on my account? I know some reviews say “Verified Purchase”, does that effect the opportunity to get offers?
Thanks so much!
In many cases the sellers want verified reviews.
However…
I forget the exact process I used, but I was able to add my mom to my prime membership. She purchases through her own account but gets free prime shipping. I can add up to 5 people to the free shipping part of my membership.
I would suggest Googling how to add a member to your prime and having your MIL do that.
Thanks so much for your response! Here is my Amazon profile:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A10O9NJ74RUAWB?ie=UTF8&ref_=sv_ys_3
Add pictures and videos to your reviews. Add pros and cons too! Reviewers like a well balanced review. If you’d like you can check out my reviews. Maybe that will kick start some ideas:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A1Q21V4FNV3PBC
What did you put for your Signature?
Nothing real fancy, just 3 words that describe me and my particular interests well. Homemaker, wife and mommy.
I really enjoyed this post! I’m stuck though, can you explain how to add a picture to your profile? I’ve wandered in circles trying to figure out how to add a picture. Thank-you!
If you look on the left hand side of the page there will be a circle where your photo goes. You should be able to simply click it and have the option to upload one.
Thank you so much for this great article! I have been an Amazon Prime member for years now and had no idea I could write reviews for them! I am following your profile now on Amazon, I would be delighted to have you follow me as well! Thanks again! ~Candy https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A8G601A5XE61C?preview=true
Writing reviews is great. It can take a little time to start getting approved on sites, but once you start you are good to go!
Thanks for following me there, your profile looks great, but you must not have it set to allow followers. There is no option to follow you at this point.
Oh thank you so much for checking out my profile! I had no idea why it’s not allowing followers? Do you know how I can fix that?! Thank you again!!
Go to edit your profile and then edit the privacy settings. There is a place to select to allow people to follow you.
Set up my profile with Amazon, having a hard time figuring out how to upload my photo. Loved the article. I got started right away.
Wow you just got me started on a new hobby:) I signed up for 2 of the sites and been approved for 2 items on each, so thank you so much for the motivation to be a reviewer and for recommending certain websites to use! Great blog! I look forward to connecting on social media.
~everythingkaysi
Yay! Sounds like you are off to a great start! It is definitely a fun thing to do.
Me and my mom just made her profile, and we are so excited! Can we get free thing from Amazon and review then? If so how do we do that. Or is just those websites you linked. Thanks for the help getting started!
Hi Emilee, I’ve done my best to explain exactly how I find and apply for products to review in the post above. Please read through it again for a better understanding.
Amazon itself sends you nothing, but rather the individual sellers on Amazon are the ones to send stuff. You will need to start at the sites I mention though.
Hi there, I was wondering if this can be done from south africa?
I’m afraid I do not know. It may be worth doing a google search for that. The only thing I know is iReviewHome offers deals for a couple different countries, but I don’t know what they are besides Canada.
THANK YOU! I’ve been wondering how to get into this. I buy a lot of stuff on Amazon. I noticed many reviewers obtained free or discounted items. I am so doing this! I often share Amazon deals on my FB, as well as leave a few reviews on Amazon. I shall do that far more often! Thank you.
So glad to shed a little light on that subject for you! 🙂
I love reviewing products. Thanks for some new sites to add to my awesome list 🙂 I have already signed up and ordered free items!! http://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A3TSI2ELETMH42 Hopefully I’ll get some followers soon!
Thanks for the great websites. Some of these are new to me and I have already signed up for some free products! https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A3TSI2ELETMH42?ie=UTF8&ref_=sv_ys_3
Maybe I’ll have some followers soon!!
Thank you so very much for the thorough explanation of how to get started with Amazon.com as a reviewer! I’m a seasoned Buzzagent but recently moved away from the stores I was able to review products for through them. I’m following you on Amazon.com and found some of your reviews very helpful! Feel free to send me pointers anytime! 🙂
https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A1O4JMXY1UHT4K?ie=UTF8&ref_=ya_your_profile
Such a bummer about moving away from the stores Buzzagent works with! Your Amazon profile looks great though 🙂
Thank you so much! 🙂 I appreciate the quick response and the extra help with my account. I’m happy to have stumbled across your blog. <3
Awesome Awesome! I’m checking most of the links you posted! 🙂
I absolutely love your outlook on life and the way you go about your posts. Please keep up the good work. You’re insightful, funny, and full of faith and I can’t get enough of your posts. Thank you.
Leslie
Thanks so much for your input and your help!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A132Y8VD0PURTC
Thank you, Kendra, for sharing! I’ve signed up for a couple of the sites and have my Amazon profile underway here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A27MN39K3RI7SB?preview=true
Anyone interested in reviewing a faith based new release novel for tweens email me. SusanCountAuthor@yahoo.com
Selah’s Sweet Dream is about a girl who aspires to be an equestrian superstar and a horse with an ATTITUDE.
The book needs reviews and sharing with friends.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_9?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=susan+count&sprefix=susan+cou%2Cstripbooks%2C198
Hi kendra!
Awesome read! So glad you made this I enjoy a deal for my honest opinion. I’m going to vote helpful on all the helpful reviews you have. cant wait to read more of your stuff!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/AAZZ3RWF31KPT
Be sure to add pictures and videos to your reviews. Expand on the good and bad of the products. Add pros and cons too! Reviewers like a well balanced review. If you’d like you can check out my reviews. Maybe that will kick start some ideas:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A1Q21V4FNV3PBC
Thank you for sharing your wealth of information! I would love to get into this! I just set up my profile and I have a few reviews.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/ACUJHAFVJX49L
Thank you SO much for all of this information! It was incredibly helpful and, because of your information, I have several products on their way to my house for review!!!
My Amazon profile is: http://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A1QHVYW27B2ROW and I would be extremely grateful if you decided some of my reviews are worth liking!
Kindest regards,
Lindsay
Yay! So glad you found it helpful. 🙂 It’s a lot of fun doing reviews like that.
Thank you! There is so much info here! Here is my Amazon profile. I’ve kept it short for now. I’m looking into selling a mish-mash of things, so that’s my priority at the moment! I will be looking at your reviews as well.
Thanks for this great information! And I gave your blog credit when asked how I heard about one of the sites you listed.
You know, that just makes my day! Thanks 🙂
Thank you for this article! I dont have many reviews right now but here they are : http://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A2TQQ4GFRHVIRP
Would love your opinion and I have so many more products to write reviews on!!!
This came just in time! I was starting to see reviews with disclaimers and wondering how I could jump on that train. Thanks for all the information – it was very helpful! I even updated my profile and reviewed a bunch more products that had been sitting in my history.
All here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A1P7MO8LFAERCG?ie=UTF8&ref_=sv_ys_3
Thanks, again!
And now you know! Good luck and have fun 🙂
Thanks for the great information. I have followed the steps and have updated my profile and signed up for a couple of the services. I have my first review product on the way. I was excited to see a part for my sewing machine that needed on the list of items.
I love it when an item that needs reviews is something I already want/need anyway!
Thanks so much for this article – VERY helpful!!!
I just updated my Amazon profile due to your advice!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A1ECUDMRZ2X8DS?ie=UTF8&ref_=sv_ys_3
I have been reviewing products on Amazon for a while and I’m new to the product review sites (been on them for a bit over a month). SnagShout has been decent for me. I got a couple products I wanted on there. I haven’t found much yet with HonestFew. I signed up for Influenster and have been incredibly active doing reviews, badges, questions, etc. but I haven’t been getting any campaign requests. I’m thinking this is more of a makeup review site or something. Likely wrong about that though. I like AMZ Review Trader. I have gotten a number of deals and a number of small free items (think cell phone chargers and things). I LOVE the idea of Tomoson, but I have been waiting a month to be accepted or denied for approximately 60 products I’ve applied for. We’ll see I suppose. In the mean time I’m trying to get my social media accounts going.
I think I’m in a similar situation as you with regards to the Amazon profile and reviews. If you get time, I would love it if you took a look at my profile! https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A1Q21V4FNV3PBC
P.S. this is an EXCELLENT post on product reviewing. I will publish it for sure on my networks.
Tomoson can take a bit I know. I wasn’t sure about it for awhile, but it’s great for me now. I think making sure everything in my profile was filled out helped a lot.
Influenster isn’t my thing either. I do think you are right about it being more about makeup and stuff.
I really need to check out AMZ Review Trader as I’ve heard great things, just been pretty busy with what I’m doing now 🙂
And thanks for sharing! That’s always the best compliment!
I’ve had great success with Elite Deal Club. You can use my referral link: elitedealclub.com/?invcode=9D6jW5Wh
I’ve been getting a product a day with them and it’s very easy! 🙂
Awesome! It’s great learning about new deals 🙂
Thanks for the tips! I just set up my profile, didn’t even know you could do that! I can’t figure out how to change my profile picture, but I linked my Instagram and Pinterest accounts. I went ahead and reviewed several purchases that I’ve made in the last few months.
I can’t figure out how to change my profile picture as well. I wonder if they removed that feature.
You should be able to directly click on the circle where your photo will go.
I cannot figure out how to upload a photo on amazon. I tried clicking it directly, updating etc. Full site and mobile, app version is next. Argh! Just starting this today, started with amz review trader let’s see what happens!
I updated my Amazon profile, but was not able to add a photo. I’m uncertain of the next step though. Do I now wait for a company to reach out to me to review their products, or is there another step I need to do on my end?
Thanks!
You should be able to add a profile pic if you like. Try clicking the circle where it will go.
As for the second part of your question, I think rereading my post will explain that to you.
I misunderstood your blog. I thought the reviewer websites were other places you could go to review products that weren’t directly related to Amazon.
As for the profile picture, I tried clicking on the spot where my picture goes. It won’t give me any options. I edited my profile, but it did not give me the option to add/edit a profile picture. I’m wondering if I’m having issues because I’m doing this through my phone or if they’ve deleted that feature.
It is likely because you are using your phone. However I wouldn’t worry over much about the profile pic as I see some pretty top reviewers without a profile photo either.
Yay! I’ve already been approved for a few free/discounted items. I’m excited to try them 🙂 Thank you for your help!
Hi Kendra!
You have inspired me to give this a try! I have linked my account to all my social media and have just reviewed about 10 or so items I have gotten in the past thanks to your advice.
My amazon account is:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/profile/A2CUDZARPWJTC7?ie=UTF8&ref_=ya_your_profile
If that’s not the correct link please let me know 🙂
I appreciate your time in writing this article and I can’t wait to get started!
Cheers,
Alicia Morgan
Great article! Has been very helpful to me!! Here is my Amazon profile link!!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A2C84D44BSU96L
Looking forward to seeing your first review!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A1Q21V4FNV3PBC
Wish I could delete that post. I meant that for Alicia above. Whoops!
At any rate, I like your reviews Alexandria. Just remember the pictures!
I have to honestly say that I am concerned that people are getting discounts or free items in exchange for giving reviews. This just seems like a way to pay people for reviews without actually paying them. I am talking about the direct offers from Amazon. This makes me wonder now about some of the products that I bought from Amazon that had great reviews and were terrible items. This seems dishonest.
Hi Tamara,
I understand your concerns. However Amazon’s toc are very clear, one MUST leave a disclosure saying they received the item free or deeply discounted in exchange for a review. If you worry reviewers may not be fair look to see if there is a disclosure similar to what I’ve mentioned.
There has been one case where a brand emailed a bunch of us and offered $2 if we would leave a 5 star review (without the product, mind you!) I was annoyed and emailed Amazon over it because as a fellow buying on Amazon I didn’t like to see that. As well it felt like a personal bash at my integrity. Apparently I wasn’t alone in that feeling as other who received the email were responding in a similar manner.
As for receiving terrible items, I would suggest contacting the seller and asking them to replace your items. Most reviewers are very fair in their reviews. I really hope this helps.
Thank you so much for all this info! I’ve been leaving reviews on Amazon for awhile but I didn’t have an email address or any info in my bio. I appreciate all the help! 🙂
Here’s my amazon profile link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A1VU9PO0DFO74X
I’ve been doing reviews through AMZ Review Trader and gotten some nice things so far. I love being able to purchase things at a discount or get them free when they otherwise wouldn’t be in our tight budget. I’ll have to check out some of the other sites you mentioned. Which would you say is your favorite?
I’ve been turned down for a few reviews which I attribute to being new to AMZ, but I’d love if you could take a look at my profile and see if I’m missing anything. http://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/APMKMUAZ9B4LK
I took a look at your profile and voted some of yours as helpful.
THanks Rachel,
I get turned down for reviews frequently as well. Many times a brand is simply looking for a certain demographic of reviewers for their products which is a bummer for us, but certainly nothing personal. Adding photos to your reviews can help, but even that doesn’t ensure you will get everything you apply for.
Thank you for your informative post! I have been wanting to become a product reviewer but didn’t know where to start … now I know!
Any tips about what to put as interests? I can’t see that from your profile.
Just things you are interested in and the general category of things you buy.
A question: can one be a reviewer if one does not live in the USA or UK?
I would assume sellers want reviewers for other countries but I have no experience in that area. My only advice would be to try using Google to find other articles on being product reviewers in your country.
Approximately how much money should one expect to spend a month on products to review? I’m assuming they aren’t free.
That is up to you. Many items are free while others are discounted 50% off or more. I typically apply only for the free ones, unless it’s an item I would be purchasing anyway. I spend very little personally but again that choice is yours.
Just found this info on pintrest. Thanks for sharing!! Love amazon. Here’s my profile
https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A26XJD5HSCLHWA
I would like to try this maybe, how do I get started!
Hi Tabitha,
I’ve given all the info you need in the post above.
Thank you so much for this helpful post! I just updated my Amazon profile and reviewed a few of my recent Amazon purchases. Thank you for the idea and for all the links to the review sites!
my amazon profile is: https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/AEPS42L2Y1TU7
Hi Kendra
Thanks for sharing this post it has great info for potential reviewers. I am a new seller on Amazon and would like to contact reviewers in exchange for free testing of products. How can I contact reviewers direct?
My first product can be seen on the following link (Facebook page) https://www.facebook.com/misteralfresco/
Karen
You are always welcome to contact me 🙂
Amazon also has a list of top reviewers and you will find our email addresses in our profiles. Hope that helps! https://www.amazon.com/review/top-reviewers/ref=pdp_new?rank=3219#A2EOQEPR28EGEV
GREAT post! I would love to get in on this stuff! It’s like Yelp! (which I am active on) with perks.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A3JZJZSI0V6TCV?ie=UTF8&ref_=pd_hud_ya_pf
Didn’t know that.
Hello! This was really useful information! I didn’t even know Amazon had reviewer profiles…I mean, I assumed, but I didn’t know for sure.
I just did a ton of reviews, and if you wouldn’t mind voting some as helpful, I would be so grateful!
My Amazon profile: http://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/AD8PUCLGGG4OY
Thank you so much!!!
Such great information on here! Thank you so much for all this.
I just reviewed some of my recently purchased items, would you mind marking them helpful?
My profile: http://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/AY835O8RBHYVK?ie=UTF8&ref_=sv_ys_3
Thank you!
Great job! Good luck with future reviews 🙂
Do you think as a reviewer is would be beneficial to have a PO Box rather than using my home address?
No, not really. Unless of course you always ship orders to a PO box.
Thanks!! I have always wandered how this is done!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A2K192EQ8ERB50?ie=UTF8&ref_=sv_ys_3
I am just getting started with tomoson and writing some reviews. I loved this post and it has a lot of useful information! I also just love the name of the blog. I am going to have to add a pic to my Amazon reviews! If you could mark any of mine helpful, that would be awesome!!!! https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A2F5154KYVL0F5?ie=UTF8&ref_=ya_pdp_new
Hi Kendra. Thanks for this great article! I just went through and reviewed lots of items on my Amazon Prime account, and updated my profile. Let me know what you think: https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A3QQUUEUQ6P7E4?preview=true
Looks good! Keep in mind that many brands want to see photos as well and photos make a post “helpful” too 🙂
Thank you for such a great post Kendra!
I own a company that sells on Amazon, and YES, reviews (Honest Reviews) really help sellers out.
I have not heard of most of these reviewer sites, but will be checking them out and leaving some offers.
I really liked your article here, and actually read it twice, taking notes the 2nd time. You are a very good blogger.
Thanks
Kevin
Table Rock Supply Co.
Thank you for the compliments Kevin. I checked out your store on Amazon and it looks like you offer some great products!
Thank you for this great post. Have you ever tried reaching out to a brand directly to request the product in exchange for a review? If so, do you have any tips?
Here is my profile: https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/AOQ2IUKS98GUU
I haven’t tried that.
This was so helpful! Thank you for this amazing list of opportunities and the excellent descriptions! Really makes things easier!
I would appreciate you checking out my Amazon profile and letting me know anything you think I should add.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A6JQNOFY6YTWX
Hi, this information ha been great. I have signed up for a few of the above sites but was curious if there is any trick to getting deals without the huge shipping charge. It seems like you might have to really watch it when choosing products to review, of buy 49.00 worth every time you review products, however, I would assume Amazon would have a limit on promo codes you add on each order, so it seems there is no way to avoid shipping charges?
I’m guessing the trick is to have Amazon Prime. I used Amazon for so much anyway that I had Prime long before I started doing reviews. Sorry I don’t have a better answer.
I was leaning that direction. Great, thanks so much, I’m excited to get started!
Why do you say that joining reviewer websites is a way to get banned? What happened? Just last week I joined some sites to start doing reviews, and I’m hoping that was a good choice. Did you have bad experiences with some review sites?
If you read the post I linked to at the top you will understand better. Amazon’s T&C aren’t very clear, and sellers are taking advantage of this.
Hi Kendra. I’d read your original post a few months ago and I was happily reviewing away at things that I was going to buy anyways. I’m sad to hear that sellers have been using it dishonestly in order to get their product more exposure.
I remember you saying that you hadn’t had any experience with Honest Few yet and a 2 weeks ago I took the plunge on a Lucid Dreaming book. It’s fascinating stuff and the product is a decent one. But this is Honest Few’s first shot at selling a product directly on their own website. So I’m not sure if there’s just a learning curve with start ups like this or what but it will be the last time I use them. There doesn’t appear to be any way for a reviewer to leave feedback on the items that they have purchased through the website. Contacting customer support only results in a circular email conversation with a rep that can’t seem to remember that the product wasn’t listed on Amazon. I feel bad for the authors/company of this book now because I know they paid Honest Few for the exposure to gain feedback and now I wont be able to give them any. In good faith I’m going to try and track down the people who made this book so that I can give them my feedback. I’m not sure if you are doing any reviewing anymore but thought I’d add my experience to your own.
Oh my… I only ever did one review with honest few and it went fine.
I’m finishing reviewing items I have now and I’m done. I’ve seen enough of how people AND sellers are manipulating stuff and I don’t want any more part, even though I was honest, too many aren’t and it needs stopped now.
I found this post yesterday and decided to go ahead and fill out reviews for products I previously purchased. Many reviews were started but never finished so you definitely gave me the kickstart to spend some time on my account, as well as the courage to put up my name and photo. I also bookmarked your post to take a look at the sites you suggested and was shocked to see today’s update saying you previously gave bad advice. THANK YOU. Thank you for your honesty. Being so candid and quickly taking action is very appreciated. I also like that you actually kept the “bad info” and just crossed it out as this is more helpful for future readers or others who may have already read the post and just come back to skim certain parts.
I also came back looking for the link to your profile so that i may check out your reviews but you have already removed that link. If you get a chance to check out my profile, let me know if it gives you a good enough idea of who I am. 🙂
https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A2IEHUVK9KVACZ
Awesome post!! I was a little confused about how they actually start sending you things to review though. All I do is create the profile matched up with all my interests and things and make reviews on my items and they somehow find me and start sending me new things to review? One more question- I’m sure you get things that you don’t really have a use for. What do you do with these things you really can’t use or need? Thanks so much for the information!
Like I’ve said in my update above I no longer do reviews. As for the stuff I didn’t need, I didn’t take it.
I turned down hundreds of items and offers because I had no use for them, didn’t want them, or they looked cheap.
Hi Kendra. With all the ads and links to battle through while attempting to read your article, I forgot several times what I was even reading about and through in the towel rather quickly. It seemed more of just another promotion promoting promotions and of course Amazon, just to make additional profit instead of actually giving advise. Confusing and somewhat of a structural mess is how I would sum it up. And it is rather long winded as well. In an age when time matters significantly, short and to the point is always a winner. Im sorry if i offended u. You seem rather nice but I would rather give u honesty and live with the label of a critic then false praise and pretend to be a friend. Be well and Keep writing.
Nope, not offended. After all, it’s pretty clear to me that you didn’t even read the first paragraph as that would’ve clarified everything you needed to know.
Are we not to use any of the links on this page? I read the part that says Amazon accounts will be banned. Is it just these or others as well?
Basically at this point I’m no longer reviewing. Amazon looked into my account and determined that my reviews were honest and I wasn’t just posting 5 stars on everything so I could get free stuff. (apparently this was happening a lot). So I have my account back, but am not doing the reviews anymore other than stuff I buy.
I’ve discovered that the sellers themselves are working the system and I don’t feel right taking part in this manipulation. Saddly most sellers are doing it. So I removed the links here and most of the information. But didn’t want to take it all down as people would be looking for it and get site errors if the post was totally removed.
Thanks for your honesty Kendra!!
Thank you so much for all the useful information. I have been trying to get my blog off the ground and was looking into doing the reviews. I started about 2 weeks ago, but have overwhelmed myself. Taking a few steps back 🙂
Thanks again for taking the time to explain things 🙂
https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/AQ52L5G7HUAJX
Hi Kendra,
Thanks for the great post. I found it on Pinterest. I went to your profile and read some of your reviews and gave you some helpful votes and comments. Nice work!
I just started doing reviews on my blog: http://www.Bellabogo.com since January then from there decided to start writing reviews on Amazon.ca. So far it’s been going really well. I’m now Amazon reviewer 1196 on Amazon.ca not Amazon.com. Working my way to break the 1000 mark. It’s so exciting to see your rank going up. I feel like this is what I was meant to do!
Thanks again and best of luck to you!
Ruth
I’m glad you enjoy it. Just be sure to always be completely honest and watch out for companies who try to bribe you with the promise of more items to review if you give them a 5 star rating. There have been so many companies do that to me that I’ve all but quit doing free reviews like that.
Im sorry if this question has been answered I had little time to read this post and justfjnished your post not reading comments. Why is it not recommended rouse reviewer sites such as snagshout , etc? What you’re explain is sounds like the vine organ from amaze which requires an invitation from Amazon, correct?
From what I can tell, Vine is invite only.
As for not recommending the other sites: I did recommend them at first, but then other sellers discovered them and because using very unethical practices.
Things like promising more free stuff if you gave them a 5 star review, and asking you to change your star rating because they didn’t think their product deserved the lower rating you gave them and stuff. Other issues that came up were things like asking you to post your review within 2-3 days of getting the item.
That isn’t long enough to really try out a product and determine whether or not it’s good. I tried stuff for 1-2 weeks and gave a good rating, then a month or two later the item would break. So that good rating wasn’t really deserved and I ended up having to go back and change it to a lower one.
At this point I do very few reviews and only for stuff that really looks like it’s nice to begin with. If a company starts demanding 5 stars etc, I drop them. I want to be able to trust the reviews I read on Amazon and these shady companies are making it hard.
So, if I create a public profile companies will view it and send me samples at little or no cost? I think I’m a little confused on what happens after I create an Amazon profile.
Hi, Readers,
In October 2016, Amazon started restricting product reviews written for discounted or free products. I believe a lot of products are still being offered, but they’re asking for social media posts.
A.
Hi Kendra,
I just came across your page as I have been researching A LOT about getting products at cheaper prices from Amazon and found it to be true. I purchase from Amazon a lot so I was quite interested in your article. Thank you for sharing all the information that you have and I can tell it is coming from your heart because you want to help people. I created my profile: https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/amzn1.account.AGTRLTUZKIW56BMIZ6GHKLH7NREQ?ie=UTF8&ref_=sv_ys_3
I have joined many sites and have made some amazing purchases. Any advise on my profile would be appreciated as well! Michelle