There are sites, like Amazon that allows members to leave opinions for products that they’ve actually tried. You can rate the items, list all their pros and cons and leave a detailed summary of your experiences. This information goes a long way in helping other potential customers make up their minds to spend their money.

I cannot tell you enough how this information really helps me everytime I look to make a purchase online. Before I buy anything anywhere, I usually do a quick Google to see if i can find reviews about different products or services.  I especially find the negative reviews most helpful cause they tend to give me the worst case scenario.

So how do you get paid for sharing your opinions?

Reviews, good and bad, tend to get  product and services more attention. They come up more often in searches. More and more people talk and share their opinions. Even bad reviews help in their own way in getting a particular item some attention. For example, there are people who will buy items with poor reviews and try them out for the lulz.

There are many companies that rely on affiliates, marketers and publicists who describe and review their products. Although it may help get consumers excites about making impulsive purchases, it does little in protecting the consumer from making poor purchase decisions. Moreover, when consumers are out shopping for(let’s say) a camera things can get very confusing quickly. There are dozens of different models and features under the same brand name, hundreds of different brands and  prices that can range, between the lowest and the highest price, by thousands of dollars. What some affiliate or marketer has to say really loose all meaning and significance at this point.

That’s where the opinion of everyday consumers come in.  Everyday people are not shy about sharing their opinions about products and services. However, they  may just be a bit lazy.  And what gets people moving are these little incentives offered by sites, like Ciao, to motivate individuals to  share their experiences.

Many different online retail sites offer cash, prizes, sweepstakes, points that can be earned or redeems by users of the site when they post a review. What makes this system unique to an affiliate program is that you are rewarded for both good and bad reviews. It doesn’t matter how much you love or hate a product, just as long as you type an honest review. A review coming from an everyday person is quite different. They tend to be raw, unrefined, emotional…REAL. Just the thing a potential customer would find useful.

 You will see reviews where people are talking about how they love their new laptop so much that they take it to bed and sleep next to it every night. On the flip side, you may read about some guy who bought a  new electric shaver that nicked and cut his face to the point where he got fed up, took his new shaver, and preceded to make a 3 pointer with the item into a dumpster.

 It’s all fun to read and write, especially if you are typing about an item that you hate with a passion. It’s almost like getting some revenge when you are in a position where you may not be able to get your money back.  It’s true, more people  will turn out to give a bad review than individuals who will take the time to share a good review. You can usually tell when someone is just overly bitter and malicious or when someone is justvery disappointed with something they bought.  Malicious people tend to write shorter reviews that don’t give any details as to why they are upset.  Most malicious reviews are by people who never even tried the product or service in question. If you are reading reviews, please be careful about how you absorb and take negative reviews into consideration.

Tips for sharing opinion for cash?

1. Actually try the product-Please that this seriously. The information you share can make or break a product.  It also can help or confuse others looking for help when making up their mind. Try the product. Give it a very good and fair shot. Use the item for a few weeks at least. Get accustom and familiar with how the item works. There are people who try a product and then rush to say something good or bad. Usually with time, their opinions may take a complete 180. If your opinions change, please try to go back and do an update.
2. Write a review items that have never been reviewed-Be the first to share an opinion! There may be bonus points, cash or rewards for doing this.
3. Be Fair- It doesn’t matter if you just LOVE LOVE LOVE an item or hate an item with a passion. Find  both pros and cons to talk about.  if you hate an  item but love how it was packaged, fine. Talk a bit about how you liked the packaging. If you love your item but are disappointed that the item didn’t come in your favourite colour, then share that info too. You never know who will be reading your reviews. Product developers may get some great feedback from your opinion and then turn around and make something bigger and better.
4. Be as detailed as possible- I’m not telling you to go out and write a novel  but give more than just a few lines.  At least a paragraph with about 5-10 sentences would suffice. Many different programs only reward you if other people appreciate your reviews.  So your earnings are dependent on the opinions of others who will read your reviews. So, if you write crap, other members will not delay in either giving your opinion a negative review or even reporting your reviews on some type on violation.
5. Rate the reviews of other member-If  you expect people to  rate you, you should feel obliged to do the same. Most of these opinion sites only allow members to earn if their opinions are rated by others.
6. Avoid Spamming and Trolling- Some people are eager to earn as much as possible as soon as possible. These individuals may be tempted to spend hours writing dozens , if not hundreds, of reviews daily. With every turn, people will see your member name and your reviews. This will annoy other members who may specifically avoid rating your reviews or even report you as spam.  Do no more than 2 reviews a day.  Give others a turn to write a review first.
7.   Have Fun- You are not going to get rich from doing this. Individuals who take these “paid to post” programs  seriously may earn about $5-50 dollars a month but keep in mind, that these people are also making plenty of purchases and their expenses do not get recouped. There is no point is going out and buying an item just so that you have something to make a review about.  These review programs are similar to cash back rewards programs that give you money back for buying stuff you already want and need.

 Here are some programs you should try:

Ciao- A great online-shopping initially based in Europe.  Members can shop and earn extra cash by either reviews, filling out surveys or referring friends. If you decide to write be an author, keep in mind that other members can rate your review as either “helpful”, “very helpful” or “exceptional”. The higher the rating, the more you earn. Depending on consumer interest in a particular category, Ciao determines payout based on which categories have the greatest financial importance. Reviewers earn 0.5p per rating, 1p per rating or 2p per rating and the best authors can share a £2000 premium fund each month.

Dooyoo- This is Ciao’s main competitor. It’s another European based online store that rewards members for writing reviews. There are members who will copy and paste their reviews from Ciao to Dooyoo and vice versa. That way, members of both sites can get paid twice. You are rewarded for your efforts in dooyooMiles which can be redeemed for cash. Every quality review will net you 500 dooyooMiles and you also receive 15 more dooyoooMiles for every person that reads your reviews. You earn £1 for every 1000 dooyooMiles and 3p for every 30 dooyooMiles. DooyooMiles do eventually expire in 12months from the date they were earned. So if you are the type of person that start a program and then forget about it for months, you would be doing yourself a disservice. Stay on top of this program. Participate and be sure to cash out every chance you get.

Epinion- Finally, a program for Americans! You can earn with Eroyalties through an “income share” program. A revenue share pool is split among all authors based on how often reviews led to a purchase being made. The exact “formula” for how they determin earnings is not disclosed, for what ever reason.  but items with high demand for information tend to get priority.  The best ways to earn are by  making quality reviews, focus on rating other member’s reviews,  and develop a strong “Web of Trust” and reputation with the Epinion community.

Reviewblue- Are you a Canadian resident? If you are, you can earn $5 for every approved restaurant and accommodation review. All you have to do is register,  write at least a 75 word review,  and send in a copy of your receipt.