What If I Wrote An Epinion And Nobody Came?
May 29 '00
I figured, 'Memorial Day, there's gonna be a lotta people on. I'll get an Epinion on early and BAM! hits like no buddy's bizness.'
As I'm writing this, my most recent review (Submitted at about 10 AM Pacific Standard Time) has only received one hit and it is almost 2pm. The demoralizing feelings kick in but I quickly directed them to elsewhere. Like all of life's disappointments, I have to put this in perspective to see if it really is a disappointment. My reflections on this one hit moment have led me to see that it isn't really.
Thus, mainly for those new to the site, I offer you this four point list of:
WHY YOU MIGHT NOT BE GETTING HITS
1) Are You Reviewing Items That Are Less Popular?
Are you the first to write opinions on certain items? Do your preferences tend to be, if not obscure, less mainstream? I write about what I'm interested in and I tend to be interested in multicultural issues. Thus, I read books and magazines and watch movies that mainstream American tends to not read. Thus, it makes complete sense, that I'm not going to be getting many hits because I might get passed over in the Just In section because the person might not know who OE Kenzaburo (my favorite author) is, nor care.
If you find you're not getting many hits, it may be the topic you're writing about. My roommate, Epinions' kifwebe, writes mainly about his travels in Europe which is a very popular topic in a very popular section. Thus he is known to get 30 hits very quickly. When I did my Wallpaper* magazine review, I saw what kifwebe sees everytime he submits, hits racking up fast. My Wallpaper* review is still my greatest hit generator.
Does This Matter To You?
If it does, check out the categories that get the most hits, such as Travel. Also, check out the products that generate a lot of hits, like Ebay, where even some of the lesser hit reviews generate at least around 20 hits . For some of you that might not seem like many hits, but for those not getting hit, it's a lot. If you're looking for hits, you might want to consider changing the categories and products you review.
Some of you may be passionate about less mainstream products or items. So if this doesn't matter to you, realize that just as you are likely to skip over a Scott Turow novel review, some people will skip over your review of Esmeralda Santiago's memoirs. Except, since more people read Scott Turow, more people will skip over you.
If you're OK with that, just review and submit.
2) Is What You're Reviewing Placed In The Just In Section?
If you're the only one reviewing a particular item, chances are you'll have to add it to the catalogue. Most often, this results in your review NOT appearing in the Just In section. Many Epinionators chill in the Just In section trying to generate more hits based on the scratch-your-back theory. This works. And it often works immediately since it is fair to assume those at the top of the Just In section are still logged on trying to generate hits themselves. Instant Karmas gonna get you.
This all said, if the product you reviewed is not already catalogued, thus presenting the strong possibility to NOT appear in the Just In section, you will be less likely to get hits.
Does This Matter To You?
If it does, think about suggesting the item prior to submitting the review of the item. If your item is a catalogued option for review, it will be in the Just In section when reviewed. Due to the backlog Epinions Customer Care Department experiences, this may take a while. I suggested the restaurant Citizen Cake be added two weeks ago and have yet to see it be added. Some categories require you wait, like Restaurants. Even longer than that, I suggested CalyxandCorolla.com be added a week before Mother's Day to the Florist Web Services section and it still has not been added. Other categories allow you to add more easily, like Books and Magazines, where you can add the product/service in an instant..
If this doesn't matter to you, just review and submit, but in this case, when the category allows you too.
3) Are Your Reviews Poorly Written?
This is a hard question to answer because a lot of it is subjective. People may begin ignoring your writing if it's poorly written, based on Grammar, Spelling, or Style. They may have stopped by once, checked you out again, and decided that they ain't going to read that bad grammar, mizpelings, or a boring style that just says this was good because I like this thing.
Does This Matter To You?
If it does, to address your Grammar and Spelling, there are books that can help. For Grammar I suggest Patricia O'Connor's Woe Is I or Strunk and White's The Elements of Style; for Spelling, I suggest a dictionary or your spellchecker. As for Style, do research. If you find Dave Barry's articles rip-roaring hilarious, study how he sets up his humor. Notice when he hyperboles here, stretches a metaphor there. See how he leads you on to expect a certain statement to follow and then sucker punches you with a non-sequitor that's just sequitor enough to make you laugh. If you like a particular author, study how they do what they do. Even look around at the Epinions reviewers you admire. Don't plagiarize, familiarize.
But maybe you write in a genre like Electronica that, as it tweaks with Alpha and Beta waves, also tweaks w/ how termz%wordz r' frazed or spLed. When talking about Hip-Hop, if you don't know nothing about keepin' it real, heads might skip ya. And if you are aware that languages evolves and what some may call poor grammar is the grammar of the future, consider the Grammar Police the flies one needs to swat away in this Epinions' forest. As for style, if you are really trying to write boring reviews, consider that no one comes by as evidence that you're doing one hell of a job, partner.
If so, just review and submit.
4) Am I Pi$$ing People Off?
Perhaps, due to the how you write about something, how you comment or respond to comments in the Comments Section, or the topics you write about, people have gotten sick and tired of you. If you are Christian and damn proud of it, the proselytizing in your reviews may be turning readers off. If you make what can be deemed as racist, sexist, homophobic, or what they all represent, that is, just plain mean, comments and references, you may be building up your membership in people's Webs of Distrust.
Does This Matter To You?
If it does, take heed to the comments in your comment section about what offends other reviewers. Check out the Not Recommended reviews (perhaps after logging out) to see what it is about that review that people don't like and see where the parallels are in your reviews. And, pay attention to what people like about your reviews and begin enhancing those factors in your reviews.
If you are of a particular faith or political persuasion, you might not really care if people will not visit you based on the beliefs you espouse. Here, I will add one caveat, realize then that you are most likely preaching to the choir and are not really having much of an impact on changing people's views. Respectfully approaching the comments of someone who disagrees with you will perhaps help your cause better. But if caveat be damned, you might make some like-minded friends on the site.
So if you don't care, just review and submit.
Conclusion
Pondering these four questions, I realize that I'm pretty much not going to be like kifwebe, who meets most of these requirements. He writes in popular sections about popular items. His reviews are always in the Just In section when submitted. And he writes well. He did pi$$ people off with his General Comments Epinion about the Grammar Police, but he's also got another thing going for him that I forgot to mention. The boy is damn cute! Whereas I tend to like less popular things, in fact, if my dear friends Mille, Gunda, and Daphne didn't live there, I wouldn't have any desire to go to Europe. I don't do Ebay. I am not interested in watching any movies in the multiplexes presently. And, regardless if nobody reads them, I will always read and review OE Kenzaburo. I don't have the patience to wait for Customer Care to get around to Just In-ing any of the books or magazines I read, so I submit them when I'm done reviewing them. Sure, some people may be lying to me to get hits themselves, but I'm pretty confident I'm an OK writer. As for the final one, I am aware that I may comment too fast and may regret an irate comment I've made here or there, so here's a place I could work on. However, I also know that my politics may upset some and I am less willing to tone down what I'm writing to avoid stating what I see as truth so that I don't end up offending potential hits.
This leads me to just review and submit.
All this said, It's almost 3:30 pm Pacific Standard Time and I still only have one hit on my recent review. But you know what? I really liked that review. I spent a lot of time on it and I feel absolutely wonderful about some of the points I made. Some of us really aren't in this for the money. Some times simply putting together a well-written review is enough of a reward.
Still, when I wrote that Wallpaper* review, man, what a rush.
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
ATOM
|
|
Member: Adam H.
Location: San Francisco, CA
Reviews written: 44
Trusted by: 105 members
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.