Do you post paid reviews on your blog?

One of the ways one can make money from a blog is to write paid reviews on their blog. Have you done this? Do you consider it's not ethical?

If you asked me a while ago, I'd say it's wrong to do so, but, if you're promoting something you believe in, than there's no harm. You're not writing a lie (since you like the product/service) and you earn money, too.

I do occasionally. The key to making it ethical and "ok," is that you should disclose you've been paid. Tell your readers that you received compensation, whether it was money directly or a product was sent to you for free. Give an *honest* review of it.

If you don't stand behind the product or site, either don't do it at all or add your negative opinions of it as well. As in, you know you're being paid for it and the person paying wants a good review, but it's okay to point out a few criticisms here or there, if something is actually wrong with it.

If you do this, are you allowed to give the product a bad review?

I agree with the others, if you give a glowing review to a poor product, people will start to question your integrity. And I think even just a quick comment that says "this was free" or "they asked me to review it" can help protect your reputation.

I do things like this all the time but I never have my name associated with it. I used to feel weird about it but I need the money and it's just a way to get money for me right now. I mean, there are ton of reviews out there that make no sense to me so I figure; my review could be true to someone out there. (I base my reviews off of things I read about products already)

It depends. Most sites and companies are going to specifically say they want your honest opinion. We all know they're hoping for it to be good and considering you're being paid for it, you're going to feel more obligated to give a positive review as well.

If it turns out that the product is bad, you should really contact the company and either say that you weren't pleased with the product, offer up solutions, and ask them if they want you to go through with the review anyway. You won't get paid for not doing the review, of course, but you don't want any backlash from them if they were specifically paying for a -good- review either.

I was actually sent a product that malfunctioned at one point and I contacted the company about it. They immediately sent me a new one and it turned into a glowing review anyway. Not only did I love the product and still use it today, but I was also able to give a great report on how good their customer service was.

post a paid review, why not.

I agree with what members say here: if you're promoting something you believe in then it is OK.

you will feel good about it and you will make some money along the way.

but I beleve your reviews should be REALISTIC, so you may become an authority in doing reviews.

I promote about 2-3 products every month, for more then 2 years now. But I have a rule: I only promote things I believe in, things that may come in handy for my readers and things I like being associated with. In my opinion, when we write a paid article, we associate our name and brand with it. If I think that I may be ashamed or gain a bad image by promoting a certain product, I simply refuse to do it, nu matter what the payment is.

And, one more thing: my prices represent my value. I always ask for the right price. If the company is not willing to pay, I'm not willing to write