Write Critical Review Articles (Without Being Sad)

Updated: June 14, 2019
by Ray Alexander

You are what you eat, and you are what to write. Negative, critical review articles can get yourself down. As a reviewer, you're supposed to help users make the decision to buy or not to buy products. So you try to be as honest and unbiased as you can. But if you keep picking bad products and criticize one after another, doesn't it make you stop and question yourself? Are you really happy throwing a strop at your web space?

Write Critical Review Articles

I wrote music reviews for a magazine to earn some extra cash when I was 19 (decades ago back in Japan!) The publisher loved the way I slammed the latest chart music, they started to ask me to go purposely outrageous. So I did, but soon I realized - this bitter, twisted 19-year-old student is only making himself look more stupid by writing such embarrassing reviews. Who the hell am I to write music reviews and who for, anyway? What an ignorant and soul-breaking way to make money is this? I quit the job shortly after that.

One of my reviews was of a debut album by this young pop dancing/singing female sensation. I called her something like "cheap, cheesy and disposable" ...The singer was Madonna. That writing experience has made concrete proof that I'm the most useless reviewer.

Write Critical Reviews And Maintain Good Karma

You don't have to be "negative" to write negative reviews, you know. If you think, bad products are bad, how is it anything to do with karma? Then okay, you don't have to believe in that kind of thing. But you can criticize something and stay totally pleasant. You as an experienced marketer/reviewer, are supposed to guide users by sharing your objective opinions. Be emotional and all your good energy will be taken away. So here are 4 things for you to remember when writing a critical review article.

#1 Don't Be Hostile

Scam products insult users. They often don't make sense, and they're stupid. But no need for a reviewer to be emotional, hostile or offensive. Don't brand products by using words such as "nasty, shoddy, trashy" etc. You can be more careful by saying that you don't think the products are "worth paying money for".

#2 Recommend Something Else

A totally negative review will create very little value for users. You can help them by recommending some other products at the end of your critical review, or list up other similar products so that at least the users can check them and make their own decisions.

#3 Don't Make Negative Assumption Without Proof

This is a funny one because if you're wiring a positive review, it often seems ok to say "this product will help you increase the number of customers" just because you think it would, hypothetically. But you shouldn't make a negative assumption without proof. For example "this product has too many upsells, they can cost you thousands of dollars" without proving the quality of the upsell products.

#4 Share Your Customer Service Experience

If you're experiencing difficulty with your product, you should be contacting the seller/product owner for support - that's what they always ask you to do. If something doesn't work, don't just say it doesn't work. It's more important to contact the help desk and share your experience as a customer in your blog space. Again, stay factual. Don't get too emotional (e.g. "They don't even bother to respond!")

Also Read: Positive Response To Negative Comments – Your Chance To Shine!

Critical Reviews Are More Interesting

Madonna

Madonna - she brings good karma for sure.

I definitely find negative review articles more interesting to read than positive ones, don't you? I mean, people generally have a tendency to focus on the negatives rather than the positives.

Equally, people like sharing their complaints more than sharing their happy experience. ReviewTrackers say, a consumer is 21% more likely to leave a review if their experience is a critical one than a positive one (2018 ReviewTrackers Online Reviews Survey). So basically bad products can drive you to write a review more than good products do.

Fair Judgments With Positives

Writing pros and cons is the way to prove that your opinion is unbiased and fair. Unless a product is an outright scam, you should show your respect to the product creator by listing up as many positives. But without being manipulative, so that you're not misleading the readers.

Judging the price is typically a hard one because the pricing structures can totally be subjective. What seems to be too expensive for one is reasonable for another. What seems to be unaffordable for a newbie can be normal for experienced. If you think a product is overpriced, you should bring up other similar products and make it comparative. And if you can explain why you think it's more expensive than others, then there's another positive factor in your critical review.

You Too Can Blog and Make Money!

Learn every step that I took to make $6,000 every month from blogging and niche affiliate marketing from here.

Sign Up For FREE!

Write Critical Review Articles Without Being Sad

There are ways to keep writing critical review articles without getting your mind cramped.

  • Always try to come up with pros (advantages) of a product.
  • Stay factual, don't be offensive or hostile.
  • Don't assume a product is inferior just because it seems to be.
  • Contact the seller's support desk, especially something doesn't work.
  • Show your respect to the product owner (unless they're a scammer).
  • Don't forget to come out with the positives - recommend other products to help users.

About the Author

ASD. Recovering alcoholic. LGBTQ+ advocate. Semi-retired. 15+ years of web-designing experience. 10+ years affiliate marketing. Ex-accountant. I'm nice and real. Ask me if you need any help in starting up your home business.

Thank you for your Comments!

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked

{"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}