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Would you say a Testimonial and a Review are 2 different things?

by aceshigh888
14 replies
I'm trying to wrap my mind around stuff like these paid fiverr testimonials. In my mind that's unethical. But it started to dawn on me that there actually is a big difference between a testimonial and a review.

So a testimonial is generally someone saying . "I used the product and I got X results" So if you paid money to get that, that's definitely not honest.

But I'm really not seeing anything wrong with getting a review? So that would be someone giving an honest assessment of your product. They might not say "I got X results...". And that's not the point. They're job is to provide a 3rd party analysis of the item. Not saying necessarily it's good either. Just an honest opinion. So I'm not sure I see any ethical or legal issues in finding people that would be willing to do this? And so you pay them 5 dollars to do the review, not telling them what to say or anything like that, and they give there opinion. Would there be anything really wrong with that?

I'm just trying to find about 4 reviews, that's all I need anyway to complete my sales letter. I don't even need photos or anything, just even a basic email detailing the users opinion. I don't know, at least I think it would be more convincing to have something, rather than launch with "0" reviews or testimonial on the site.

What are your thoughts? And would anyone perhaps be willing to review my ebook maybe on here? If so you could pm me. Just frustrated trying to get that last piece of the puzzle, as I don't want to do this in anyway shape or form that is unethical.
#review #testimonial #things
  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by aceshigh888 View Post

    I'm trying to wrap my mind around stuff like these paid fiverr testimonials. In my mind that's unethical.
    Not just in your mind. It's unethical, illegal and immoral.

    Originally Posted by aceshigh888 View Post

    I'm really not seeing anything wrong with getting a review?
    So let's look at a totally different situation, then. One where you're the customer, and not a marketer. Would it feel relevant to you that the vendor's "reviews" (if that's what we're calling them) on his sales page have been bought from Fiverr? Is it something you'd like to know about? Would you feel differently about them, if you knew they were "reviews" from bona-fide, unincentivized paying customers rather than from people who provided them as a Fiverr service?

    I don't think it's a terribly difficult question for 99% of people to answer, is it? :confused:

    Do you really want/need a serious conversation about this?

    Originally Posted by aceshigh888 View Post

    And would anyone perhaps be willing to review my ebook maybe on here? If so you could pm me.
    There's a section of the forum specifically for that, where you can post with the words "[Reviewers wanted]" at the start of the thread title: Wanted - Members Looking To Hire You

    Note, though, that if you're selling the e-book here, and using incentivized reviews, you'll have to state clearly in the sales copy that that's what they are.
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  • Profile picture of the author MarvyDery
    i believe there is a difference between testimonials and reviews. testimonials are kind of short, precise and straight to the point. the user gives only what benefit he had from the service or products. reviews are very lengthy, includes lots of junk and mostly, the reviewer is compelling you to buy the product
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  • Profile picture of the author mattjay
    it depends who is doing them. obviously paid testimonials are garbage and unethical. kind of like, a free review is giving the other possible buyers a general idea of what they thought of the product. A review website you'd find on google is generally an affiliate trying to get you to buy. Same thing happens here on the forum, you'll see all the big affiliates promoting each others' launches, just to try and make a sale. If you think about it, how many reviews do you come across on google that DON'T sell something? or say "don't buy this?" lol.
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  • Profile picture of the author writeaway
    Reviews are supposed to be objective and impartial. Just like the reviews you read in a newspaper or movie reviews on TV. If your reviews are self-serving or have a conflict of interest, you lose all credibility.

    Testimonials, on the other hand, are expected to be biased because most businesses won't post 'testimonials' that are negative. The format alone dictates self-serving and self-promotion.

    Different formats = different expectations
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Okay, we've looked at things from the POV of the seller and the buyer. Now, let's look at the POV of the professional reviewer.

      What's your main objective when doing a paid review, especially in a marketplace like Fiverr?

      > Collect your $4 for doing the review, and

      > Get more gigs doing reviews.

      Right?

      In other words, your main concern is pleasing sellers. Are you really going to submit a review that says "objectively, in all fairness, this thing sucks"? Or are you going to sugar coat things in order to persuade more people to hire you to write reviews?

      As a seller, you can stipulate "just a fair and honest review", but do you think for a minute that's what you are going to get? Or are you subconsciously counting on getting a positive review for your money?

      Whether you call it a testimonial, endorsement or review, if you pay someone to do it, that fact should be disclosed. Period. Full stop.
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  • Profile picture of the author jamesrich1
    The only types of reviews I really listen to are from people not promoting the product. Someone who just went out of their way to do a detailed review is pretty rare. I for example do not promote dragon software but I have made a couple of reviews because I love the software that much. I have also created a review about a couple of programs and did not have as much nice stuff to say. A legit review is someone who actually purchased the product, has proof of it and gives a unbiased review. If they are selling the product that automatically for me makes me question the legitimacy of their review. People making sugar coated reviews for crappy products have tarnished this area unfortunately.
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  • Profile picture of the author TiffanyLambert
    Yep different animals.

    I have marketers contact me asking me to review their product but what many of them mean is "give a testimonial and promote."

    I carefully explain that I do implementation reviews and that I do write about the negatives. It's rare they love forward them and if they DO then I know they must be proud of what they created.
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    • Profile picture of the author kaellyn
      I wrote a post basically on this topic just recently.

      To me, a testimonial is for the benefit of the product creator. It helps sell the product. It's an ad, and it's not necessarily unethical to pay for them as long as A) the person giving the testimonial actually tries the product and B) they actually mean what they say in the testimonial. The testimonial may just not represent the full picture of the product because it's only focused on the good.

      A review, on the other hand, is for the benefit of the buyer. It helps them determine whether the product is something they want to buy. If done right, it honestly shows the positives and negatives and lets you know how much the negatives are likely to affect your overall outcome.
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      • Profile picture of the author emini_guy
        Originally Posted by kaellyn View Post


        To me, a testimonial is for the benefit of the product creator. It helps sell the product. It's an ad, and it's not necessarily unethical to pay for them as long as A) the person giving the testimonial actually tries the product and B) they actually mean what they say in the testimonial. The testimonial may just not represent the full picture of the product because it's only focused on the good.
        You should not pay for the testimonial and if you do so, you should disclose it. Paid for testimonials strike me as fishy.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kathy Bell
    A testimonial is a positive recommendation. A review should be an unbiased account including the pros and cons of whatever is being reviewed.
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  • Profile picture of the author klock75
    My personal opinion is that unsolicited testimonials or reviews are more appropriate, but that's just me. My guess is that if you pay someone, they'd be more inclined to be "positive" which may not be honest. Also, they may provide a testimonial or review by just reading the sales copy and it'll come across as fake because it will be fake.

    With that said I have given "review copies" of products before in forums. But I've found those people care about their "rep" in the forums to some extent so they's be more candid and provide real valuable feedback that I could use to improve the product.

    Another thing, I get reviews all the time for my Wordpress plugins and I have been too busy (or perhaps lazy) to post them to the site and I get sales all the time despite that.

    I'd say, don't always have to wait for all the pieces you think are necessary before "launch"... you might be surprised.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    If you value your WF account, don't buy reviews or testimonials for a WSO from Fiverr or any other place. More than one person has been banned for that.

    While technically, they are different, there's not a lot of difference in my mind. They are both fake. The reviewer has not used the product and is getting paid for the review. I doubt he'd make many sales if he provided negative reviews, so I'm assuming that it's nearly guaranteed that the reviews will be positive, whether the offer is crap or not.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ron Desi
    I believe those testimonials on Fiverr are highly unethical assuming those giving the testimonial never used the product and are just following a script (which most do). I refuse to do testimonials unless I get a product, use it, and actually get value from it.
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