As an affiliate manager, you have a variety of choices when it comes to giving affiliates items for promoting your services or products. Previously, you may have placed text ads, graphics or banners on your website or blog and allowed affiliates access so that they could use these promotional tool. You may have even created an email ad that affiliates could send to their mailing list. While these methods are very effective, you can also use product reviews.



Writing product reviews are highly effective for affiliate sales for many reasons. First, when people visit a website on a regular basis, they come to trust the opinions and advice that is contained there. Since they have, over time, come to know and trust the site owner as an expert in their field, they will naturally be receptive to recommendations made by that site owner for products or services.

Also, reviews give a website a personal touch. Visitors will see the reviews with the reviewer's name and location. They see that the reviewers are real people and they can make a connection. They see that regular people from all walks of life have used the product or service and had great results. This will prompt the visitor to take the next step and try the product.

While a standard ad may cause readers to be somewhat skeptical, a review can be the push that gives them something to believe. With an ad, people know that someone with the company wrote the ad and that they will deliver a biased opinion of the product or service. Of course they will say wonderful things about the company! A review, on the other hand, comes from a real person and readers tend to accept them as solid, unbiased recommendations.

There are basically three parts to a review. The first part, called the preamble, contains the reviewer's name and location. It also has the name of the product, product price and where the reviewer bought the product as well as other possible venues for purchasing it. An affiliate link is very appropriate in this section.

The second part contains the description of the product. Tell your reader exactly what the product or service is, such as an eBook, a special report, software, a membership to an exclusive site or anything else. Include the main features and benefits and explain what all is included with the product and explain any bonuses or extras that buyers receive. This is also where you explain how the product be delivered. Some products can be downloaded, emailed or shipped directly.

The third part is where you talk about the product's performance. Did the product hold up to the company's claims? Did it perform to your expectations or were you dissatisfied? Sum up your review briefly and let the reader know if the product was worth the money spent on it and if you would recommend it to a friend. You can do this part in just a few sentences.

It is important that when you write reviews, you keep them honest. If a product performed beyond expectations, let the reader know. If you were not happy with some aspects of the product, let the reader know that as well. Quite often, a reader will decide to go ahead and try the product despite negative aspects related in a review.

Reviews can certainly add to affiliate promotions. They can also help to boost affiliate sales. You don't even have to write them yourself. You can find some good reviews through private label rights (PLR) packages. If you want something more original, you can ask your readers to submit some of their own.

Another effective practice is to send the product to some of your super affiliates and have them review it. If you plan to make it available to your other affiliates, let them know up front as well. Reviews can really help you in your promotion efforts.