Adding the purely "Ethical" side to Review Articles and still making money doing it. HOW HOW HOW???

I usually almost buy the ebook and post an hones review. Not some sales pitch..

I would focus on trying to maintain journalistic integrity, like a real journalist would. That will help guide you towards a truly ethical standard. Think like a reporter and try your best to keep your personal bias out of it. If you do add your opinion, be sure to say that's what you're doing. Do thorough research. Use the product you're reviewing. Writing an ethical review is hard work. That's why most people don't bother. Good for you for caring!

Some do; some don't.

Those generally don't.

People just see thousands of them and imagine that they "must" be working well, if they're what so many people are doing. It isn't true.

Those are typical of the approach of affiliates who don't quite appreciate the difference between pre-selling and selling, and are copying a "business model" without a great success-rate (to put it mildly).

What I do is too different from those to be "compared to" those. I write a long, honest review, often comparing/contrasting with other products in the same niche, usually including two long sections on "who should buy it" and "who shouldn't buy it".

If they won't give me a free "review copy", then yes: how else are you going to do it? But for that purpose, I won't hesitate to buy one through my own affiliate-link. And, having reviewed it, I'll never ask for a refund because however bad it was, it fulfilled my purpose (which was simply to make a decision).

I couldn't, because I know nothing about dogs, have never had one, and wouldn't want to write 100 articles about them, either, so it's a niche I'd stay away from, myself. I choose only niches I'm willing to write about (but that's because I'm an article marketer).

Only by getting a "review copy" from the vendor, if I don't buy it.

Don't imagine that your welcome, refreshing ethical stance here is costing you a lot of money: it probably isn't at all, because what so many people are doing doesn't really earn them a living anyway.

For me, this issue is solved by doing editorial style reviews. This means, you present information to the person much like you do in an article, then blend that with information about the affiliate product.

This way, you are simply reporting on the subject matter, presenting a product that offers them a viable solution and giving them the option to click over to the sale page for more information.

As an objective reporter, you do not have to lie and you're not required to know everything about the product.

I've made money with this method, so I know it works just fine.

There's no problem in sticking to your ethics, ultimate1. No money is really left on the table, and sleeping better at night is worth more than money anyway. Build on and follow topics/items you're really interested in, and doors will open for you as you stick with it.

I struggled very briefly to write a few sales-focused reviews for products that I was not really interested in. Though I consolidated and provided a lot of useful information, but my heart wasn't in it. That also made my article writing process a drain rather than a source of enthusiasm.

I then decided to write about a couple of topics that I'm really passionate about. Much of the writing is not directly sales focused. However, because I care so much for my topic, I can easily write prolifically and weave in genuine, helpful information and links that ultimately provide sales and income - consistently.

I'm sure that you could build a similar site. There has to be at least one thing that you are interested in enough to write about. But that one thing is relevant and connected to many other things that you may also have a propensity to learn about and share.

For instance, suppose you were passionate about pencils. Yep, the plain old yellow #2 wood pencil. Where's the wood come from? Is it sustainably harvested? If you find one that is, you crossed into a larger market that's relevant to many more people than just those interested in pencils. Speaking of sustainable, which makes a better eraser - natural rubber or synthetic rubber? Will nanotechnology make the synthetic rubber better? And off you go again - providing quality information, building and receiving links and helping draw sales to you.

Undoubtedly your own interests spider outward just as well as everyone's. Share that information. You can continue to branch out and connect with other people while still staying within the arena of your own expertise/passion.

It's important to stand out from the crowd of insincere sales blogs. Your integrity, enthusiasm and quality content will ALWAYS be pillars of long term income.

That. The part I put in bold. I'd do that. I wouldn't even pay any attention to what other sites were doing, especially not the unethical ones.

I just wish consumer reports reviewed those products, so there would be some dang place to get a believable review.

"Is the product is a scam?" sales page teasers are unbelievably common, have you ever heard of shady vendors recommending that wording, in hopes of getting real scam reports lost in the clutter.

Since when did it become "unethical" to sell stuff to people who want to buy stuff?

If you don't know anything about your niche, and you want to write an ethical review, you should pick a new niche.

I reckon you can tell the product owner that you wish to push their product as an affiliate marketer and ask if they would give you a review copy. Most product owners would be generous to do so, but if they don't then you should purchase it if you would really like to promote that product.

Completely agree

I have seen too many review sites with just some explanation about the product without providing any value to the visitor.