Tips to be a reviewer?

XtaCy VapeZ

XtaCy VapeZ

Casual Vaper
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Joined
14/1/17
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Age
30
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ZA
Hi Guys,

So recently I have been trying to start becoming a vape reviewer, I am looking for some tips, I have recived goods from BOOM COILS and Chops Juice Drops to review and im currently busy with the reviews for these but I wanted to ask some peeps on here for some help, any suggestions?

I currently am building my own website and all that as well as a Facebook page and Instagram.

Any suggestions would be appreciated :)
 
StompieZA said:
Be Honest, Be original, Be creative and find your own style will be my tips.
Click to expand...

What he said .... lol

Also , juice reviews are a good start but it's very subjective and not any reviewers are doing them anymore.
Be consistent (NOT like me ;P) and try and upload at least once a week or so
Don't worry about the latest and greatest gear , review what you have....
DON'T go out and buy expensive camera gear etc , if your phone has a decent rear facing camera use that with a tripod or stand of sorts.
P.S NEVER use the front facing camera on a phone , it's k@k lol , well on mine it is ....
If you have to invest , invest in a decent mic , even one of those phone hands free kits will do at first.

But yeah , in the end just do you , be true and if people like it they will follow YOU not how many subs you have or any of the other BS

Good on ya bru! Good to see more reviewers .....
 
Always be honest in your reviews. If you think something isn't good, say so and explain why. Your audience wants to know about the positive and negative attributes.
 
What format do you want to use for your reviews, Written Review or Video? I think written reviews are a easier place to start as one doesn't have to deal with take after take.

With Video reviews I think doing the review in your own style that can differentiate you from others is important, alongside honesty and clearly shown and explaining a devices features, pros and cons and if you must show build and wicking (building is not essential for me personally)

Off all the reviewers I enjoy Todd Reviews and Geekay Vapes for my High End devices and for commercial devices Matt/Suck My Mod and I also enjoy DJLsb Vapes (bad accent but he does take mods apart which I enjoy seeing).

A reviewers personality and tone of voice is what makes it easier to watch reviews, they need to be factual and avoid repeating the same script or format with every review, speak how you feel at that moment, if you drop a swear word here and there it shows you true feelings for something. Too many reviewers sound the same, so do what ever you can to be different.

We already have a fantastic local Juice Reviewer, I think juice reviews are a difficult nut to crack, personally I feel someone with a lot of DIY experience would make a excellent Juice Reviewer like DIY or Die for example.
 
CaliGuy said:
What format do you want to use for your reviews, Written Review or Video? I think written reviews are a easier place to start as one doesn't have to deal with take after take.

With Video reviews I think doing the review in your own style that can differentiate you from others is important, alongside honesty and clearly shown and explaining a devices features, pros and cons and if you must show build and wicking (building is not essential for me personally)

Off all the reviewers I enjoy Todd Reviews and Geekay Vapes for my High End devices and for commercial devices Matt/Suck My Mod and I also enjoy DJLsb Vapes (bad accent but he does take mods apart which I enjoy seeing).

A reviewers personality and tone of voice is what makes it easier to watch reviews, they need to be factual and avoid repeating the same script or format with every review, speak how you feel at that moment, if you drop a swear word here and there it shows you true feelings for something. Too many reviewers sound the same, so do what ever you can to be different.

We already have a fantastic local Juice Reviewer, I think juice reviews are a difficult nut to crack, personally I feel someone with a lot of DIY experience would make a excellent Juice Reviewer like DIY or Die for example.
Click to expand...
I was going to go into the written reviews as a start for now, then branch out, thanks for this, great information for me. :D
 
If you guys feel like it, you are welcome to follow me on Insta: @XtaCyVapeZ
 
The first thing to do is ask yourself why you want to be a reviewer. If it's to score free gear then I wouldn't start. Every reviewer who built a following bought a lot of their own gear initially to review. If you don't have the cash to afford that, I don't think you'll get a foothold.

If you want to review because you love vaping and are passionate about the devices used, that is better but it's still not enough. In order to attract viewers, you have to offer something that others don't. Rip has his wacky presentation style, Jai has his drama, Daniel DJLsb and Mooch have their electrical knowledge and testing ability, Grimm has his "this is all I do for a living and I'm totally committed to the community" image, Bogan has his Aussie roughness and beer reviews. If you start your first review with "What's up peeps", you've lost already. Why would I spend time watching you copy Mike Vapes if I can watch the OG Mike Vapes instead?

There are multiple things you can do to make yourself different. Let's take a juice review for example. You can vape the juice and tell people how lekker it is. So what, any of a thousand juice reviewers can do that. But have you ever seen a juice reviewer test a juice over a full range of wattages - 20W, 30W, 40W, 50W, 75W, 100W - and then giving you the differences between the juice at different temps? There, right off the bat, is something new that nobody else does. If someone likes vaping at 100W and most people review at 30-40W, they now have a reason to tune in to your review. You are going to give them info about their preferences that other reviewers don't.

The other thing that you will be doing, especially if you give ratings and descriptions for the juice at different wattages, is encouraging people to try different settings. If a juice really bangs for you at 50W but is bleh at 30W, someone watching who always vapes at 30W might think hey, maybe I should crank up the watts on this juice to get the best from it. Now you are helping people to get a better vape, which is what reviewing is all about.

Things I'd also do:

* avoid any phrase that is attributed to another reviewer. Don't call an atty a "puppy chucker" or refer to threads as "buttery smooth". That is Rip's trademark and you can't do it with the authenticity that he does.

* avoid ever saying "but first, let me take a vape". Time is precious, people aren't tuning in to watch you vape. Nobody learns anything from watching someone else chuck clouds.

* avoid the usual cliches like "let's dive down and get up close and personal".

* avoid 60 second intro sequences with blaring dub-step music. Five seconds, bright music sting, boom and you're into it. Once viewers have seen your intro, they've seen it and it loses impact. Keep it short and punchy, just enough to ident your channel clearly.

* avoid repeated jump cuts because you can't string together a coherent sentence without doing it in four takes cut together. If you don't get it right in one take first time, do it again. If you can't get it right in one take, you're not cut out for presenting to camera.

* work on your vocabulary. There are many synonyms for adjectives like banging, sweet, icy, expensive, delicious, and so on. Use a range of adjectives and use them properly to give accurate meaning to your views. Moist, damp, juicy and watery have different meanings even if they all describe moisture level. Use the one that fits best. Likewise with tart, sour, acidic, sharp, zesty. English is a great weapon, exploit it.

* avoid drama. If you go on air to rip someone else, you're no longer a reviewer but an attention seeker. People will inevitably sling vitriol at you for your views at some point. That is their right and you won't solve it by shouting abuse at them. Accept it and move on.

* use editing. You don't have to do a podcast in one take. Get your presentation to camera down first, then ask yourself what close-up shots would help to illustrate what you are saying. Then shoot those close-ups and insert them in editing. If you're reviewing a banana juice and the banana flavour tastes over-ripe, buy some over-ripe bananas and insert a shot of them to illustrate that this is what the juice tastes like. Viewers react very well to images because they often speak louder than words. When you use words and images to their full potential together, you will get a much more pertinent, helpful and entertaining review.

* be aware of framing. A wide shot of your face at the bottom of the screen, with acres of blank background wall above you, isn't inviting to watch. Get in closer and frame properly. People aren't interested in the wall of your study, they are watching your face or whatever it is that you are showing. Fill the screen with it. Although don't get too close on your face, that would just be creepy.

Edit: I see you're going written initially, although a lot of the same principles apply. Illustrate well with close-up photos, choose your words carefully, find a different angle for your reviews, avoid cliches.
 
XtaCy696 said:
I was going to go into the written reviews as a start for now, then branch out, thanks for this, great information for me. :D
Click to expand...

For written reviews, you will need to get traffic to your site. Important things for getting Google (or other search engines) to notice you and get you on top of the search results:

-Original content: Don't copy and paste even if it is product descriptions. Google does not like it.
-Fast loading site: You get sites where you can test this. I can't think of names right now.
-Don't overdo keywords: This is more in the sense of phrases. Don't repeat a phrase every few sentences.
-Regular updates: Allow comments on your site and reply to as many as possible. This will contribute to your site content.
-Link to other sites: This is part of some complicated backlink thing that also improve your rankings on search engines.
-Get other sites to link to you: Easy ways to do this is having Facebook and other social media pages for your site that link to it. Another good way is to do a guest post on another blog and link to yours. A bit more tricky.
-Link to other pages or posts within your site: Also some complicated type of backlinking thing that search engines like. Also a good thing if you plan on adding Affiliate Marketing. Get all your affiliate links on one page and link to that page from your articles.

Hope this helps!
 
Well you must decide if you want to mess around, have a few reviews get 50 followers etc or you want to be a great reviewer and make a living out of it.

If first option, do whatever you want. If second option ignore everything Daniel said. Get proper cameras, lighting etc. Be professional, you can be funny and entertaining but do it professional.
Dont try to copy anyone. Dont put a The before your name, there is many TVB, TVC TVK etc.

There is somewhere a video of Jai Haze talking to Smm and other reviewers. They all said they bought their own stuff for years before they started getting send stuff. I you dont reveiw something new atleast twice a week, you will not get many followers. They also said every second vaper want to be a reviewer to get free stuff. So if that is your mission, you will fail. I don think companies will send you free hardware if you have less than 10-20k followers, mayne a juice or two, cotton or coils, but not mods etc.
 
RichJB said:
The first thing to do is ask yourself why you want to be a reviewer. If it's to score free gear then I wouldn't start. Every reviewer who built a following bought a lot of their own gear initially to review. If you don't have the cash to afford that, I don't think you'll get a foothold.

If you want to review because you love vaping and are passionate about the devices used, that is better but it's still not enough. In order to attract viewers, you have to offer something that others don't. Rip has his wacky presentation style, Jai has his drama, Daniel DJLsb and Mooch have their electrical knowledge and testing ability, Grimm has his "this is all I do for a living and I'm totally committed to the community" image, Bogan has his Aussie roughness and beer reviews. If you start your first review with "What's up peeps", you've lost already. Why would I spend time watching you copy Mike Vapes if I can watch the OG Mike Vapes instead?

There are multiple things you can do to make yourself different. Let's take a juice review for example. You can vape the juice and tell people how lekker it is. So what, any of a thousand juice reviewers can do that. But have you ever seen a juice reviewer test a juice over a full range of wattages - 20W, 30W, 40W, 50W, 75W, 100W - and then giving you the differences between the juice at different temps? There, right off the bat, is something new that nobody else does. If someone likes vaping at 100W and most people review at 30-40W, they now have a reason to tune in to your review. You are going to give them info about their preferences that other reviewers don't.

The other thing that you will be doing, especially if you give ratings and descriptions for the juice at different wattages, is encouraging people to try different settings. If a juice really bangs for you at 50W but is bleh at 30W, someone watching who always vapes at 30W might think hey, maybe I should crank up the watts on this juice to get the best from it. Now you are helping people to get a better vape, which is what reviewing is all about.

Things I'd also do:

* avoid any phrase that is attributed to another reviewer. Don't call an atty a "puppy chucker" or refer to threads as "buttery smooth". That is Rip's trademark and you can't do it with the authenticity that he does.

* avoid ever saying "but first, let me take a vape". Time is precious, people aren't tuning in to watch you vape. Nobody learns anything from watching someone else chuck clouds.

* avoid the usual cliches like "let's dive down and get up close and personal".

* avoid 60 second intro sequences with blaring dub-step music. Five seconds, bright music sting, boom and you're into it. Once viewers have seen your intro, they've seen it and it loses impact. Keep it short and punchy, just enough to ident your channel clearly.

* avoid repeated jump cuts because you can't string together a coherent sentence without doing it in four takes cut together. If you don't get it right in one take first time, do it again. If you can't get it right in one take, you're not cut out for presenting to camera.

* work on your vocabulary. There are many synonyms for adjectives like banging, sweet, icy, expensive, delicious, and so on. Use a range of adjectives and use them properly to give accurate meaning to your views. Moist, damp, juicy and watery have different meanings even if they all describe moisture level. Use the one that fits best. Likewise with tart, sour, acidic, sharp, zesty. English is a great weapon, exploit it.

* avoid drama. If you go on air to rip someone else, you're no longer a reviewer but an attention seeker. People will inevitably sling vitriol at you for your views at some point. That is their right and you won't solve it by shouting abuse at them. Accept it and move on.

* use editing. You don't have to do a podcast in one take. Get your presentation to camera down first, then ask yourself what close-up shots would help to illustrate what you are saying. Then shoot those close-ups and insert them in editing. If you're reviewing a banana juice and the banana flavour tastes over-ripe, buy some over-ripe bananas and insert a shot of them to illustrate that this is what the juice tastes like. Viewers react very well to images because they often speak louder than words. When you use words and images to their full potential together, you will get a much more pertinent, helpful and entertaining review.

* be aware of framing. A wide shot of your face at the bottom of the screen, with acres of blank background wall above you, isn't inviting to watch. Get in closer and frame properly. People aren't interested in the wall of your study, they are watching your face or whatever it is that you are showing. Fill the screen with it. Although don't get too close on your face, that would just be creepy.

Edit: I see you're going written initially, although a lot of the same principles apply. Illustrate well with close-up photos, choose your words carefully, find a different angle for your reviews, avoid cliches.
Click to expand...

@XtaCy696 This right here from @RichJB is the single most powerful bit of advice that you could have received in my humble opinion. There are A LOT of South African reviewers popping out of the rafters, and honestly I avoid most of them as they are annoyingly trying to copy some or other existing international reviewer. Many of these new reviewers are doing it only for free juice/devices and it shows. How many local reviews have you seen where products get bad reviews? Very little, because they are scared that if they give a bad rating, they will no longer be receiving free goods.

That being said we have some great local reviewers as well, people i have a lot of respect for doing what they do and voicing their opinions. @Cor might not be everyone's cup of tea, but he buys most of the gear he reviews himself, same goes for @KZOR, a lot of local people said the Deadalus coil jig is crap, what did he do? he made an entire series of YouTube videos about making some excellent coils using that jig. When he has an opinion he sticks to his guns and doesn't falter under what the masses would like him to say. @Chanelr is another excellent local juice reviewer, although juice reviews are very taste subjective, she gives each juice a chance and gives her honest opinions. I've told her to her face that I disagree with her on certain juices, but she did not budge. and that is an important quality, be honest at all times, if it means a juice maker no longer sending you his/her range for free, so be it. That will only matter if you are doing it for anything other than sharing a passion for vaping.

Good luck to you if you decide to go ahead with this, and all the best, good reviewers are an asset to the community.
 
I think we need to take a step back here and remember that people that do the reviews are not doing it for freebies but because they are all vape enthusiasts.

I agree with some of the "critisims" and it should be used constructively but to outright bash some of the enthusiasts here is in bad taste in my opinion.
I understand everyone has unique tastes so as always if you dont like something move on.
 
Christos said:
I think we need to take a step back here and remember that people that do the reviews are not doing it for freebies but because they are all vape enthusiasts.

I agree with some of the "critisims" and it should be used constructively but to outright bash some of the enthusiasts here is in bad taste in my opinion.
I understand everyone has unique tastes so as always if you dont like something move on.
Click to expand...
Where do you get that facts? Im sure 90% of people starting reviews do it for the hope of getting freebies.
 
That’s just free loaders

All these big reviewers get paid by manufacturers to do testing and reviews . Yes in the beginning they bought stuff and later got freebies

Now they charge manufacturers and use patreon to milk their loyal fan.

Personally I watch unboxing of mod and attie and that’s it. Half the guys are talking BS too keep the gear and money coming



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
When you look at it, the products that are supplied to reviewers are not really free. They are given to a reviewer with the expectation that some kind of content will be created with it. The products are not given to just anybody but someone who has a decent amount of people following them. They are essentially paid for a service with a product. The products that are given to reviewers is a lot cheaper than a single marketing campaign. So it makes business sense from the manufacturer's side.

Regarding Patreon and other similar platforms: If you decide to pay someone for content in this manner you usually get extra content that is not open to the rest of the public. Even if you don't you are still paying someone for a service that they provide. No one has a problem paying for magazines or services like DSTV but for some reason, if someone gets paid for providing content in a non-traditional way they are seen as just taking money for nothing.
 
Elmien said:
When you look at it, the products that are supplied to reviewers are not really free. They are given to a reviewer with the expectation that some kind of content will be created with it. The products are not given to just anybody but someone who has a decent amount of people following them. They are essentially paid for a service with a product. The products that are given to reviewers is a lot cheaper than a single marketing campaign. So it makes business sense from the manufacturer's side.

Regarding Patreon and other similar platforms: If you decide to pay someone for content in this manner you usually get extra content that is not open to the rest of the public. Even if you don't you are still paying someone for a service that they provide. No one has a problem paying for magazines or services like DSTV but for some reason, if someone gets paid for providing content in a non-traditional way they are seen as just taking money for nothing.
Click to expand...

Agreed but then the reviewers should call it a promotional video not a review per se?

Also promoters charge a fee to review a product or get it bumped up in the queue. With the slew of new products companies release its impossible to be unbiased if you are getting paid to promo...eh I mean review a product

Kudos to all the big guys out there but the only reviewers I trust these days are Bogan and Todds (and uncle KZOR actually).

Personally I stated from the beginning I'm not a reviewer just a guy giving his off the cuff thoughts on a product and if I can help someone quit the stinkies I have done my bit..... But enough derailing the OPs thread...
 
Daniel said:
Agreed but then the reviewers should call it a promotional video not a review per se?

Also promoters charge a fee to review a product or get it bumped up in the queue. With the slew of new products companies release its impossible to be unbiased if you are getting paid to promo...eh I mean review a product

Kudos to all the big guys out there but the only reviewers I trust these days are Bogan and Todds (and uncle KZOR actually).

Personally I stated from the beginning I'm not a reviewer just a guy giving his off the cuff thoughts on a product and if I can help someone quit the stinkies I have done my bit..... But enough derailing the OPs thread...
Click to expand...

I suppose it boils down to integrity. Back to the original topic!
 
Watch that Jay characters reviews and then don't do any of the stupid stuff. That is unless you want a proletariat following as your support base.

Cheers
 
Hi @XtaCy696

Go for it!

Be honest. If you dont like something, explain why - in as much detail as you can.
If you like something, go into detail about it too.

I also think its important to disclose whether you got the device or juice for free for review purposes or you bought it yourself.

I enjoy doing written juice reviews because I love the flavours and trying to explain what I am tasting. I don't accept free juices from vendors because of my role here on the forum - so I have bought all the juices I have reviewed. I also like that because then I can review what I want when I want. Without feeling obliged because I was given it.

I suggest creating a thread in the Reviewers subforum here on ECIGSSA and posting your reviews in your review thread. There are loads of members watching the forum each day so it will help you to get an audience and folk can also give you feedback along the way.

Here is the Reviewers subforum:
https://www.ecigssa.co.za/forums/reviewers/
 
Last edited:
I never set out to become a reviewer, i initially won a voopoo x217 from voopoo and they saw my review as well as the review i did on the vaporesso aurora play kit which was also won from vaporesso. Voopoo liked it and asked me to become a reviewer. Same with vladdin, Xtar and vaporesso which have also aproached me.

I am passionate about vaping and the vaping comunity and the stuff i review be if free or bought will be done from my own user experience. If i dont like something i will state this in the review just like i did on my previous ones. This helps a manufacturer to also improve on their devices. Should they wish not to supply me anylonger then so be it.

Keep an eye out for my 3 reviews next week and you will see the pros and cons. I use the product for me and what i dont like and what i do like i state with reason.

So like i said in my first post, be original, be creative, and be honest and people will like your reviews.



Sent from my ANE-LX1 using Tapatalk
 
While on the subject I'd like to state that I've seldom been given a coffee juice to review and if I have, I stated clearly that it had been given to me. I buy all my coffee juices myself and I prefer it that way, as I'm under no obligation to anyone. Let's face it, it is difficult to do a negative review on something which you've been given.

Moreover, I don't actually consider myself to be a reviewer lol - I'm just a coffee collector!
 
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