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General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
RPG Evolution: How to Profit from Writing Reviews
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<blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 8706386" data-attributes="member: 3285"><p>This is accurate. This is also why the U.S. government requires reviewers to declare that they're using affiliate links, so that the reader can decide for themselves if the review is biased.</p><p></p><p>There is no such thing as an unbiased review. Reviewers can strive for BALANCE, but that's not unbiased. It's up to the reader to determine if their biases align with the reviewer. Declaring affiliations help them make that determination.</p><p></p><p>I regularly lambast products that I review on Amazon, including those I get for "free" (I still pay taxes on them) as review copies. I still include affiliate links, because if a reader clicks through ANY product and buys it, I get something for it. So even a bad review is an opportunity to click through to Amazon and buy something else.</p><p></p><p>Also, sometimes my bad review may actually incentivize someone to buy the product. If I do my job right, the reader has the resources to make that decision, and it may not align with my perspective (which is totally fine and why I give them the product link). Also, sometimes the product changes for the better after I review it, and it's useful to see what's changed in comparison to what I originally reviewed.</p><p></p><p>All that said, I've noticed over the years that folks who get free product (which is different from affiliate links, but related) will often be positively inclined toward said product. But since Amazon expects declarations of free product (usually through the Amazon Vine program, which automatically posts a tag identifying it as such), the reader can make their own determination about the level of bias affecting the review.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="talien, post: 8706386, member: 3285"] This is accurate. This is also why the U.S. government requires reviewers to declare that they're using affiliate links, so that the reader can decide for themselves if the review is biased. There is no such thing as an unbiased review. Reviewers can strive for BALANCE, but that's not unbiased. It's up to the reader to determine if their biases align with the reviewer. Declaring affiliations help them make that determination. I regularly lambast products that I review on Amazon, including those I get for "free" (I still pay taxes on them) as review copies. I still include affiliate links, because if a reader clicks through ANY product and buys it, I get something for it. So even a bad review is an opportunity to click through to Amazon and buy something else. Also, sometimes my bad review may actually incentivize someone to buy the product. If I do my job right, the reader has the resources to make that decision, and it may not align with my perspective (which is totally fine and why I give them the product link). Also, sometimes the product changes for the better after I review it, and it's useful to see what's changed in comparison to what I originally reviewed. All that said, I've noticed over the years that folks who get free product (which is different from affiliate links, but related) will often be positively inclined toward said product. But since Amazon expects declarations of free product (usually through the Amazon Vine program, which automatically posts a tag identifying it as such), the reader can make their own determination about the level of bias affecting the review. [/QUOTE]
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