Thumbs down!

Reviewing is very popular amongst children’s blogs – we all have opinions about the things we experience and where better to share your opinions than on your blog?

If you have an established blog then you may find that companies will offer to send you stuff so that you can review it. Over on Eljae we’ve reviewed everything from deodorant to day trips.

But what happens if the thing you’re writing about doesn’t live up to expectations? If you review regularly then sooner or later this will happen – the book that sounded great will disappoint, the food might taste bad or the toy might prove to be boring.

You might have been sent an item for free, but never forget that your readers are reading your review because they are thinking of paying their own money. They might have saved up for a long time. Therefore you have a responsibility to your readers to be honest in your opinions.

But also, remember that many reviews are simply that – a matter of opinion. Somebody else might love the book that you find boring, or enjoy the cake you thought tasted of soap.

If you’re struggling to think of something to say in a review, think about:

• Why did you want to review this item in the first place?
• What are the main facts and features? Take a few photos so readers can make up their own minds
• In what way has it lived up to your expectations and in what way has it not?
• If you don’t like the item, what sort of person might?
• What could improve the item and make you give it a good review?

In the workplace, people giving feedback often use what’s known as the Poo Sandwich technique (actually it’s known as something else but I’m trying to be polite). How this works is that you sandwich something not so nice between two other slices of something a bit nicer.

So how that might work in a review is:

Say what you like = the yummy bread
Say what you didn’t like = this is the pooey part of the sandwich
End on a positive note = at least there’s more bread than poo in this sandwich

Have you ever had to write a bad review? What was your experience? Leave a comment below

image credit: Fuyoh!