Review Sites ~ Business Model

September 8th, 2009 by admin

Review Sites Business Model

Does it work? This is the question on the minds of entrepreneurs. Today entrepreneurs are on the hunt for business models that are profitable as we adapt to a evolving market place and consumers who have changing demands. Many entrepreneurs struggle because the model of their business is not malleable or flexible enough to adapt to the market place needs and they lose valuable, much needed profits which they could have pocketed.

I know first hand from interactions with many of my students and business clients, that when it comes to selecting a business and a business model, the battle rages on with indecision. Especially that we are in the midst of a very vibrant, and diverse market place on the internet. With the barrage of information hitting you left and right it gets very confusing on what would be a profitable business niche, let alone a business model to match the marketing in that niche.

Should you work this model?

Today, I was posed the question regarding using ‘Review Sites’ as a whole business model or even as a part of a business model. Purely from an academic, business stand point, my answer would be yes, they work well. But let’s dig a little deeper for those who are serious and are interested in this model to make some sense of it.

Now, many of us have visited ‘review sites’ when looking for information on a product or service. Personally speaking, unless the site is ‘pure crap’, I do take the time to read and look around to gain some insight into the information I am looking for. So yes, I would spend time on that ‘review site’.

What are consumers looking for?

I am not alone on this. Consumers who are looking for information, have a tendency to hunt around looking for reviews before making a purchase. If I were looking for a TV online, and using Google’s search, I may want to look at ‘reviews’ of TVs, to get some ideas before deciding on a purchase. So given that ‘reviews’ is part of a potential purchaser’s habit, so to speak, why not take advantage of this activity and include it in your business model?

If fact I have a few clients whose only business operation is running review sites, recommending products and they do churn a solid profit. So I know the method works. However when it comes to ‘review sites’ there are a few ground rules which would separate you from the masses and allow you a greater chance of earning.

11 Top Notch Ways to get the best ‘Review Site’ and generate profits daily:

1) Your review site must be done tastefully. That is, it should not come across as too ’salesy’ or pushy. The objective is to keep the potential customer on the page as long as possible - enough to prompt a sale

2) Your review site should reflect some honesty and objectivity, not too opinionated without evidence. So yes, you have to make is look and sound credible to be able to gain the trust of the potential customer. But avoid ‘bad mouthing’ of products and focus on the good points of the products you are promoting

3) Let your ‘review site’ be organized in a easy to use, chronological format and not too much jumping around with ideas. If you can put yourself in the place of a potential customer looking for advice and information, you should find this easy to do. By being clear and organized you are able to lead your website visitor to the sale

4) Without doubt you want your ‘review site’ to reflect the vibe of the product the potential customer is looking for. So yes, make it appealing to the eye and keep the visitor interested. Nothing too fancy, but ‘appealing’

5) Your ‘review site’ most definitely has to lead to a sale to be able to churn a profit. So select your products to match the theme and reviews presented on the website. Usually 2 or 3 products are good enough to get the sale. Don’t overload your visitor with choices. An overwhelmed visitor will leave perhaps with the intent of coming back but may never make it back - you lose the sale. So remember the objective: sell for profits!

6) Testimonials are a superb way to hold the interest of your potential customer, so look at creative ways to generate some honest testimonials for the products you are marketing. If you are using Clickbank and other affiliate products, the merchants are usually good with this

7) Videos are another ‘must’! They sell products! Also, a video keeps your potential customer engaged and interested. A plus here is, you also reduce your Google bounce rate by having a visitor leave too quickly. So keeping a visitor on your site raises your page ranking

‘Review sites’ should be easy to set up even for the technically challenged, because you may need a number of them to get the job done and to generate the profits you are looking for - depending on the niche or niches you are targeting. Below I recommend a product which is just hot off the press and a phenomenal find for this purpose.

9) Keywords still play an important role in your ‘review site’ content since you need to target your niche. If you are running pay per click (ppc) ads, your keyword choice becomes even more pertinent. So don’t overlook this aspect

10) Depending on how you choose to set up your business model and run your campaigns, you may need a few ‘review sites’ for one niche to be able to corner the market share and profits you are targeting. So one niche, does not necessarily translate to only one ‘review site’

11) If you are serious about this model then you are most likely looking to work this into several niches, with several ‘review sites’ to maximize your profits.