Below you’ll find tips of what could be included in a review. They are not essential, just an optional guide to spark some thoughts.
To help teach the reader why a product is/isn’t one they might want themselves.
At the end of the read, it’d be great if the reader could solidly say, “YES! This is for me.” or “Nope, not for me.” And if it’s a “No” – that they have some other model suggestions to check next thanks to some comparisons/suggestions in the review.
We prefer reviews to be at least 600 words to meet Google’s SEO standards.
Our goal is to be comprehensive in our reviews and usually this means reviews naturally end up 800+ words. The more detailed/helpful reviews on WeighMyRack seem to be around 1200 words. We had one overachiever write 5000+ words (!!!).
Some of the these possible inclusions could be answered in 1 sentence. Or an entire paragraph could be written. It’s up to you / your writing style.
Ideally the post has 3+ photos, such as:
More photos are always helpful — as long as they aren’t repeats/virtually the same photo.
Everybody wants to know: How does this product stack up to the competition?
If the reader finds they don’t like this product, where should they look? What other options should you consider? Help them through their indecision and narrow down the overwhelming amount of choices for them!
For example: If you’re saying a helmet isn’t breathable and that’s a downside, point to other helmets that are more breathable.
Establish who you are so a reader can relate (or not)
You’re sharing why you’re an expert and giving the reader a clue to the lens through which you see the world. You can certainly be an expert at being a newbie or a weekend warrior.
Explain how was this product chosen
Explain what the product was designed to do and if it succeeded (or not) in those efforts
Explain where the product failed / performed poorly
We want to be 100% transparent about a piece of gear. If you didn’t like it, describe why. What assumptions or preferences do you make/have that made it a poor experience.
Yes, helpful: I expected model to work flawlessly for description like the manufacturer claimed it would. Sadly, it doesn’t seem to because feature keeps getting in the way. It seems to be the pin is rubbing, which makes description ….
Yes, helpful: The model didn’t work for description, but I didn’t expect it to either. I just wanted to test it for my own curiosity. It’s clearly not designed to description well, and the brand even warns you against using it this way.
Not helpful: This model was totally disappointing. It didn’t work for me. <– No description of why. Also helpful to add if it was supposed to work in this situation (not up to standards, or if it was a hopeful goal).
Explain your testing process (time, location, styles of climbing)
Again, this is a guide of what you could write that could be helpful. It’s not a prescription. We love creativity. As long as there is helpful wisdom that is passed along so the reader knows if this product is for them or not by the end of the review, we’re stoked.