Online reviews are just about the most important informational tool that we have as consumers. Of course, there are things like buying guides and other recommendation systems, but they tend to be pretty biased in favor of the product seller or the service provider. On the other hand, customer-submitted reviews are much more life-like, since real people write their real experiences with the thing – in theory, at least.

In practice, there is a lot of misuse. Reviews can be, and frequently are, bought and sold. People leave good feedback on their own stuff and hate on the stuff that their competition offers in order to undermine their business. And of course, there are always the trolls, just flaming for the fun of it. Click here for a comprehensive definition and explanation of “flame wars”.

So, how can you determine whether a review you found is legit? The best thing would be to have some kind of “pattern of good practice” to trace and compare. Today we have a good example of how reviews should be written. We will look at each segment, so you can apply it to other reviews pretty much like an essay structure outline.

So, what are we looking at?

Our “pattern of good practice” for this episode is a review of a dropshipping course and its related platform. For those who may not know yet, dropshipping is a type of e-commerce business venture. A rough outline would be that the dropshipper plays the role of middleman between a provider and an end consumer, and gets a fee as profit for it.

We chose this particular opinion piece for this guide because it is pretty comprehensive, and features all the key information. This is the kind of stuff that you should look for in other reviews when you scan the content. More objective facts, less drama and passive-aggression. if you would like to see the piece for yourself, to compare the outline, you can find it at this link: https://drews-review.com/drop-ship-lifestyle-review/

The person behind the content

If there is any way to get access to this info, it should definitely be included in any good, informative review entry. After all, products and services are made and offered by living people. If you can get an idea of who you are dealing with, that can give you a pretty fair inkling of what to expect from the thing you are buying.

For example, our pattern review features all the essential information on the service provider: name, professional history, and what they were thinking and doing that eventually led to creating the thing that is being reviewed. There is even “the turning point” when the idea for the business sprang up. This part can be pretty fluffy, but these human aspects are important points in understanding a service provider’s commercial strategy, so read the bios carefully!

The offer and its variations

This is obviously an essential part of the review. To determine whether the opinion you are reading has any actual value for you, look at the way in which the offer itself is addressed. Does the reviewer cover the different packages or plans? How many have they themselves tried out and why?

What features are different between the plans? Is it worth it to invest in a premium option? What are the best parts of the story, and what are the most common complaints? How has the product changed over time? Truly informative, valuable reviews will include all or most of this information.

The financial aspects

The price tags are arguably the most critical aspect of anything. Be careful: whether something is expensive or not largely depends on your personal budget. What is cheap for a reviewer may be a fortune to you, and vice versa. Instead of impressions, read the math.

Exactly what features are blocked by a paywall? If you did purchase a premium option or something like that, exactly what would you gain in return? Would it cost less o more than getting those features from somewhere else? Also pay attention to how the product’s price tag has changed over time.