EzineArticles doesn't allow negative reviews! Any suggestions?

17 replies
I've discovered an annoying policy of EzineArticle's just recently and am curious if anyone has any suggestions for how to work around it.

EzineArticles rejects negative reviews of products as a "general error." I was told by their customer support that the "general error" is that they do not accept articles that "advocate against any individual/group or business or that contain an insulting, obscene, or degrading tone."

The problem, though, is that they consider any review pointing out flaws in a product, and then saying there are better alternatives, fitting of this profile. My reviews definitely are NOT insulting, obscene, or degrading in tone -- they simply say that while the product's intentions are good, it does not fulfill the expectations laid out of it in my experience, here's why, and there are easier ways to accomplish what this product does.

Is there anyone else out there who has run into this problem and has found a way around it? I don't want to ditch EzineArticles altogether, so I'd love to hear if anyone else has any experience with this strange policy of theirs.

Thanks!
C.B. Stewart
#ezinearticles #negative #reviews #suggestions
  • Profile picture of the author Eric Lorence
    Are you using a specific product or company name?

    That could be the problem.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[948174].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author GeorgR.
    why should ezine allow this?

    I have seen negative reviews of products elsewhere which were outright lies and pure defamation. The recent "XYZ is a scammer" on that site is just one example.

    What would happen if everyone could just post a negative review about everyone and everything? Who is going to check against those claims?

    As so often, emotions can play a role and deeper intention, it could very well come up with the idea and push a competitor out of business and post plain made-up BS on eza..the competitor would for sure lose A LOT of business.

    What you want doesnt make any sense. There are other institutions, like BBB or complaint sites..but being able to post negative on such a site wont work, also because "negative" or "positive" is very often in the eye of the beholder, and mileages vary. Its just not doable.

    You might post a very, emotion-laden review about XYZ based on whatever experience you have with it...and it might look totally different for another user who didnt have problems.

    This makes as much sense as if i were to start a thread somewhere that a certain brand of car is the biggest junk ak "Dont buy Toyota - Their cars are garbage and ford is 100x better <-- something in that direction. You might get some agreeing and thatever you write might indeed be your experience, but there might be more who wont agree with that at all.
    Signature
    *** Affiliate Site Quick --> The Fastest & Easiest Way to Make Affiliate Sites!<--
    -> VISIT www.1UP-SEO.com *** <- Internet Marketing, SEO Tips, Reviews & More!! ***
    *** HIGH QUALITY CONTENT CREATION +++ Manual Article Spinning (Thread Here) ***
    Content Creation, Blogging, Articles, Converting Sales Copy, Reviews, Ebooks, Rewrites
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[948201].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Black Hat Cat
      Banned
      Originally Posted by GeorgR. View Post

      why should ezine allow this?

      I have seen negative reviews of products elsewhere which were outright lies and pure defamation. The recent "XYZ is a scammer" on that site is just one example.
      Why shouldn't they? They allow positive reviews that are outright lies. There's a difference between a review that points out a product's shortcomings and calling someone a scammer. It is possible to allow one without allowing the other.

      What would happen if everyone could just post a negative review about everyone and everything? Who is going to check against those claims?
      What would happen if everyone started shooting everyone else?

      What would happen if everyone started posting bogus positive claims about products that are rip-offs? Who is going to check against all those claims?
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[948226].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Eric Lorence
        EZA don't want the liability, can't say I blame them...

        Who needs it?
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[948229].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author CurtisN
    Instead of pointing to "better" alternatives, why not weigh the pros and cons in your article and then have a call to action for the reader to make their own educated decision? That way, your article will come across as a positive review.
    Signature
    Curtis Ng (blog) - Product Launch Manager
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[948254].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author George Wright
    GOOD FOR EZINE ARTICLES!

    And Bravo to the WF Mods for taking very seriously rule #1.

    When a site has a rule and no matter how many people rail against it for whatever personal agenda, they stick to the rule the site admins and mods have integrity.

    George Wright
    Signature
    "The first chapter sells the book; the last chapter sells the next book." Mickey Spillane
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[948288].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author MarkWrites
    You should still be able to make it work for you by switching up the angle of your articles. Do an article on the "three best pieces of software for..." and then just rank them in the order pointing out why the first one is so good. You could also do it as CurtisN stated and do a pros and con comparison of the two items.

    EZA is probably just protecting themselves from a lawsuit or the threat of a lawsuit, seems like a very smart business move on there part.

    Good luck.
    Signature

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[948444].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author angelx
    Originally Posted by C.B. Stewart View Post

    I've discovered an annoying policy of EzineArticle's just recently and am curious if anyone has any suggestions for how to work around it.

    EzineArticles rejects negative reviews of products as a "general error." I was told by their customer support that the "general error" is that they do not accept articles that "advocate against any individual/group or business or that contain an insulting, obscene, or degrading tone."

    The problem, though, is that they consider any review pointing out flaws in a product, and then saying there are better alternatives, fitting of this profile. My reviews definitely are NOT insulting, obscene, or degrading in tone -- they simply say that while the product's intentions are good, it does not fulfill the expectations laid out of it in my experience, here's why, and there are easier ways to accomplish what this product does.

    Is there anyone else out there who has run into this problem and has found a way around it? I don't want to ditch EzineArticles altogether, so I'd love to hear if anyone else has any experience with this strange policy of theirs.

    Thanks!
    C.B. Stewart
    I was getting the same error message on one of my articles: "Problem: General Error - Please contact us to find out more". I couldn't figure out what the problem was. I contacted them to find out, but never got a reply.

    After reading this I realised I had made the mistake of mentioning casually in my article that some survey sites are a waste of time. I didn't even name any names, and it was just one sentence. They have now accepted my article after I took this sentence out. So thanks for this post I would have been left wondering what the problem was with my article without it!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1181632].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Tina Golden
      [DELETED]
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1181679].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author ajbarnes777
        Originally Posted by TMG Enterprises View Post

        I don't believe the EZA accepts articles naming any particular product now, whether negative or positive. You can find some that have already been posted before they instituted that rule but won't be able to get them published now.

        Steve W. recently posted that he wrote an article about EZA itself, praising it, and they wouldn't even publish one about themselves.

        Tina
        Yup, you're right. I usually had the product name in the article for awhile, and just recently I've been getting rejections because of this.

        Oh well, improvise...adapt...overcome.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1181766].message }}
  • {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1181972].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Marhelper
    You can write a positive review of a company that is doing it right and then link in the resource box to the negative review of a company that is not.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1182003].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author tj
      Originally Posted by Marhelper View Post

      You can write a positive review of a company that is doing it right and then link in the resource box to the negative review of a company that is not.
      Could be rejected too, depending on the reviewer, when they check the links.

      Timo
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1182018].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Wade Watson
        EZA does accept articles that mention particular products because I've had a couple accepted recently myself. They do seem a bit picky about how many times you mention a product in the article. That concern is about keyword spam, though.

        I haven't submitted any reviews, so I can't comment about that. If they do limit negative reviews (and it seems like that would be really up to some interpretation), you might want to do an EZA article discussing the product type in general, with a resource link to a blog review that names names. I think that would get a lot of clicks if you worded your resource text right.

        Wade Watson
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1182447].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author marciayudkin
          I don't believe the EZA accepts articles naming any particular product now, whether negative or positive.
          I had an article rejected repeatedly because they said it "promotes" something within the body of the article, which is not allowed. It was a case study of two businesses successfully solving a certain problem. I reread their guidelines, saw that they do accept case studies and resubmitted it with "case study" as part of the title and first paragraph and they still rejected it.

          What is ironic is that I wasn't promoting anything in the article. It was in the journalistic style I used to write in all the time for national magazines at $1 a word. I am not sure what they regard as a case study, if it's not OK to mention the case that the study is about!

          I respect their right to set the groundrules; it's their site. I am just a little baffled about this particular application of the rules.

          Marcia Yudkin
          Signature
          Check out Marcia Yudkin's No-Hype Marketing Academy for courses on copywriting, publicity, infomarketing, marketing plans, naming, and branding - not to mention the popular "Marketing for Introverts" course.
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1182492].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
            Here's a novel idea.

            If EZA doesn't accept articles on product reviews, why not just submit those
            articles to OTHER directories or put them on your own blog?

            Why do people insist on finding ways to work around rules that other sites
            put in place for a reason?

            No wonder there is crime in the world.

            Think about this. If EZA doesn't allow product reviews of xyz product and
            other directories don't as well, this is the perfect opportunity to put up a
            review blog and become an authority on that product. You will probably
            rank # 1 in the SERPs for anybody looking for product reviews of that
            product and you'll get your traffic anyway.

            Problem solved.
            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1182563].message }}

Trending Topics