Do you think this is Ethical? Is this a fair WSO practice?

I would not take the free bonuses to give a review.

I only give positive reviews to WSO's I actually like.

I would not ask for them either. I want honest reviews of my products, not bought reviews.

I usually give 2-3 reviews copies and usually zero people post reviews, so I'm not too worried about it. However, I do think that buying reviews will ultimately hurt your reputation, fair or not.

That's akin to paying for a positive review, in my view. I think the better way to do it would be to offer a bonus in exchange for feedback, whether positive or negative. If you have confidence in your product, that should make it a non-issue. You'd just be encouraging people to leave feedback (which helps you) and, if you're confident your product is good, you know most of that feedback will be positive anyway.

The thing is that people are more likely to leave a negative review than a positive one. It's generally the disappointed customers that are the vocal ones. So, you're going to get that feedback whether you offer a bonus for feedback or not. But, offering the bonus may prod people that are satisfied with the product to say so. And, by offering the bonus for ANY feedback, you remove the ethical dilemma.

But, when offering a free bonus in exchange for a positive review, the larger ethical dilemma is on the person leaving the feedback. Would you put your reputation on the line for a free bonus? If you leave a positive comment because you meant it, and get a free bonus in exchange, hey, free bonus. No big deal. But, if you say something bad is good because you want a free bonus, then there's a problem, obviously.

If someone offers a bonus for a positive review posted in the WSO section, please notify the moderators. We will take action against those offers.


Paul

I understand it, if you can leave any type of feedback -- that's from the perspective of the buyer

From the perspective of the seller -- I understand they want positive feedback to make sales.

I really don't know what to think.. Your post doesn't have anything to do with how Don & Jeremy, just sent an e-mail about this practice, and how wrongful it is, right?

Caleb

Anyone whoring out good reviews in exchange for bonuses is obviously doing a disservice to all who read them. I have no problem with giving out review copies. But what you're talking about is bribing people for good reviews.

Paul M. told people to contact a mod if anyone offers you such a bribe and I would do that. If the mods let people knowingly do stuff like that, then we would be just half a step away from someone running a WSO with a title such as...

WSO: I'll Write A Glowing Comment For Your Product For Just $7!

I don't think we want that kind of stuff going on here and paying or bribing for good comments is just as fraudulent. My 2¢ worth.

I think a great WSO should be able to stand on its own and most of the great ones I've bought have plenty of positive reviews without having to resort to "bribing" people.

What personally bugs me more is the fake "price goes up tomorrow!" scarcity that's often used - but thats another story entirely.

Like Paul said, that has been a prohibited practice for a long time.

As someone who typically PM's his reviews to the WSO Author to prevent wrecking their thread, I for one take all reviews with a grain of salt, especially those provided by people who receive review copies.

There's even one guy that seems to give a positive review to every WSO that comes along. Must be part of his business model or something. I've gotten so used to seeing his reviews that it actually devalues the WSO if I see his review.

Personally, for myself, I don't pay ANY attention to reviews, testimonials, CB or paypal screen shots, etc. I read just the sales copy and if that doesn't answer my questions then I don't purchase.

Sorry to all you product creators, but I also teach my students to not pay attention to them either.

Bribing for testimonials has always been unethical

Giving out review copies is seeming like it's almost
a necessity now since so many people are looking
for them... Plus it gives your first few posts under
the WSO (the most read) great content (if your
product doesn't suck).

Quoted from Caleb...

The simple solution would seem to be including information in
your copy as to who would most likely benefit in some meaningful
way by purchasing your product.

Identify the user level. If the info is meant for beginners, say so.
Higher level users may not buy but they also won't leave negative
reviews.

Tsnyder

Just one more thing the jackholes do to ruin a good thing for the rest of us. Great. Add real testimonials to the growing list of "proof" you can kick to the curb.

One answer is to more aggressively build up your email list. The more your audience knows you directly, the less things like testimonials matter. Of course, that limits your reach, even if you have a big list. But the bigger your list, the less you have to rely on "cold" traffic sales... as long as you treat your list right, that is.

John

I've got no problem with folks who offer bonuses for reviews -- even if they offer bonuses for just good reviews. I'll probably do the same when I launch my first WSO.

I'll usually only bother posting a review when I particularly like a product...and the bonus just reminds me to do so.

A product has gotta be REAL BAD and make me angry to get me to bother posting a negative review of it.

EDIT: Thanks, everybody, for the clarifications on this issue. I will definitely NOT offer any type of incentives for posting reviews of any of my products.

I don't think it's right to offer anything for a review. period. I know this practice goes on and it's precisely why I basically ignore every review that I see unless it is from someone I "know".

IF it falls in FTC territory. I dont believe in paid testimonials, but this isnt an international law.

Caleb

I hope the people who are giving such offers in WSO will stop doing that and those giving positive reviews just to get a free bonus also understand that it is not fair.

Paypal transaction ID required for all reviews!!

That would cut the crap out by half, Probably cut peoples profits in half to heheh...

I agree with what the majority of posters have said here, bribing and offering a bonus for a positive review is bad practice and shouldn't be allowed.

I started skimming through the thread a bit quicker as I read on (running short on time atm) so apologies if my next question has already been addressed. What do you think a moral and acceptable means of getting feedback on your product or service is?

For instance I just launched a website building service (see signature) and I'm looking for some genuine feedback from my buyers about what I'm offering so I can alter and better it if needed. So I've decided to offer a limited review package at a lower price.

Do you see any moral dilemmas with this - or would you consider it bad practice for that matter?

I would not endorse giving away bonuses for a good review except under one condition. The bonus would have to be unannounced, unsolicited, and totally unexpected. So, if you like my product and happen to write a review about it, then there is nothing to say, I cannot shake your hand (so to speak) and say thank you with an appropriate gift. It is the expectation of a gift that colours a persons opinion and cause doubt.

The only time someone should solicit a testimonial is when they are prepared to accept the criticism, both good and bad. To offer a bonus for a positive review is just plain bribery. Bribe a cop or a judge and see what happens.

I was once approached by a guy doing a WSO and offered the product for free in exchange for a positive review. In fact, he had already activated my membership before he PM'd me.

It was a decent product so I gave him a tepid review and told him he was free to cancel my privileges if he wanted to. He never did.

My reputation, however small it might be, is not worth the risk of singing the praises of a crappy product. I would no more praise a bad product than I would post a nonsense article to get links.

It's just not sound business practice.

(excuse if I'm drifting off topic, haven't slept in a few days ...been working on building my rep)

Getting positive reviews when you're selling a lousy product/service only helps you in the short-term. There's no substitution for providing quality service. So why not ENCOURAGE criticism and positive feedback so you can focus on improving your product/service if it needs to be improved?

You can only get away with selling junk for so long. Eventually everyone will have it figured out that your offerings are lousy and no one will continue to buy. If you get some feedback on where your services need improvement, you can make the corrections. This is a better long-term solution than buying free bogus reviews.

Sorry,

It had nothing to do with the Business Practices of Testimonials. that was nothing to do with my post. I was stressed out about Exams, and an old opinion of mine, I dropped by accident in a situation which I shouldn't.

Please accept my apologies Paul, I've sent you a PM apologizing. I shall remove my first post.

Caleb

I don't think there's anything ethical about bribing people to give good feedback.

If the product stinks, so will the bonuses. I can understand why someone would give a bonus for reviews but it really isn't necessary in the WF. Plenty of folks are willing to give reviews just for having an advance copy.

One of the great things we have going on here is that "give and take" gauntlet a wso poster endures or benefits from.

I've seen plenty of wso's fail miserably (in spite of the advance reviews and endorsements) because the poster did not do a good job explaining the product benefits or justifying the cost.

I wish people had to choose a box to tick when leaving a review/testimonial, that said either:

1) I have followed the advice given and made money
2) Theoretically to me this is a good WSO
3) This is plop

I see many testimonials and reviews that suggest theoretically the idea may help in someway, but that it hasn't been tested. This is clearly useless information in the vast majority of cases, but it is seen to be a valid positive review/testimonial, which it isn't!

I wish to say this;

If I offer a product. It is up to me to make sure that product is the best it can be.
If negative feedback is received then that can be used to make the product better. That should be the focus of every person who offers one.

Negative feedback is not negative if you take what it is for. There is complaints because of the quality or whatever. You take it on board and make it better then provide a free copy to those who gave the negative feedback. If they think it is good then you can offer it again.

Bribing people is never ok it should not have to be written it should be common business sense. In fact it is against the law as I understand it, though I am not a lawyer.

There is no reason a person cannot offer a bonus with their wso or product for sale there is a major problem when one says in exchange for a positive review I will give you thus. BTW that testimonial then is a lie and is being used to defraud people. in other words it means nothing at all. It is not a valid perception of the product it is a biased one. do you really need to go any further than that?
-Will

If I am asked, I would not take a free product or bonus in order to give a review. I would work to give an honest, informative assessment of the product.

Happens in real life too, I was looking at a product on Ebay, and the seller said if positive feedback is left then the warranty will be extended by 3 months. However, negative feedback will mean the end of all interaction, including warranty. In this case, he wouldn't have a leg to stand on, the office of fair trading would have his hide if he tried that, but it's not that simple to regulate online.

Anyone that is offering remuneration for positive reviews obviously doesn't have that great of a product. Otherwise they would not have to pay for good reviews. Most people who are happy with the product they purchased are glad to post their feelings.

I have not seen this practice, but if I did, I would quickly hit the back button.

I once found a WSO thread where a seller had stolen copyrighted proof images and copy that I created for a client of mine. I commented in the thread. He replied and said since he was a buyer of my client's product and used the same tools, it was okay for him to do this. I replied that it certainly was not, and was illegal, etc.

Before I reported it to the mods, he edited his post, and a friendly mod deleted out all my comments from his thread, which continued to be for sale to the public. Now I ask you, should a person that doesn't know it's illegal to market his own products in this way continue to be allowed to sell his marketing tutorials to the customers here? Obviously, someone in charge here thinks so.

So as much as I like this place, and as much as I think people in moderator positions try to do their best, there is a whole bunch of B.S. going on that really does no service to the average forum user as far as actually helping them succeed with IM vs. being a perpetual customer of the WSO forum.

My point is, unethical behavior comes from all sides.

There's been such a spate of these recently that I mistakenly thought the WSO rules had changed. Good to see the position clarified.

Hey I'll offer a bribe for a positive review of my WSO. No worries. I'll buy you a beer next time you're in Paris. Me, I gargle 1664 but you can have whatever ale you want.

A lot of people are quick to note that this or that is against the FTC rules, but I have to wonder how many of these people have even read the rules.

The FTC recently put out a guide for testimonials and endorsements. In that guide, they addressed user generated comments and whether or not they should be considered endorsements. They labeled this type of testimonial as "new media". The most definitive statement regarding this is "The Commission will, of course, consider each use of these new media on a case-by-case basis for purposes of law enforcement, as it does with all advertising."

The Commission discusses the difference between whether or not the testimonial was made by a consumer that was (1) acting solely independently, in which case there is no endorsement, or (2) acting on behalf of the advertiser or its agent, such that the speaker’s statement is an “endorsement”.

They go on to say, "For example, a blogger could receive merchandise from a marketer with a request to review it, but with no compensation paid other than the value of the product itself. In this situation, whether or not any positive statement the blogger posts would be deemed an “endorsement” within the meaning of the Guides would depend on, among other things, the value of that product, and on whether the blogger routinely receives such requests."

Again, this is not a cut and dry statement, but I don't think that the Commission would treat a situation where a person received a free ebook in exchange for a testimonial the same as they would treat a situation where the person received received a diamond ring in exchange for a testimonial.

As Paul stated earlier, there is a distinct difference between providing a product in exchange for an honest opinion and providing a product in exchange exclusively for a positive opinion.

I find it unethical. Reviews loose their point as soon as they are incentivezed.

Only the lack of disclosure is unethical. If someone said "I was given a free copy of this product in exchange for a review, and here's what I think..." or "I was given a bomnus in exchange for positive feedback on this product, so I LOVE IT!" - that would end the whole issue because people would know how to contextualize those comments. Now obviously, those disclosures would utterly destroy the deceptive effectiveness of compensated testimonials, but that's not to say even compensated ones can't be useful. I never buy WSO stuff usually, but I often leave reviews based on having been involved in masterminds during creation, or helping work on the copy, or even just knowing the person who created it. But I always qualify my comments and provide the disclosures I feel are necessary to frame what I'm saying. If you're a reviewer and in doubt, DISCLOSE. It might displease the seller, but who cares? Give them what they ask for, but disclose what you are legally obligated to disclose.

For those that have wondered - My comment regarding the FTC & Paid Reviews was not based the way that some people take it. I would NEVER engage in paid reviews, etc. And I do think that is completely wrong. My original response {which I removed, as it really did not add value to the thread}, was in regards to someone saying that the FTC could fine me, no matter where I was -- I meant that as a general statement towards FTC policy, not this policy in general.

I have been asked to promote products in the past, and once I discovered the person was using a nice fiverr video review -- I Sent them a message, telling them that I don't work with dishonest people.

I fully support that law.

Caleb

Colin:

I didn't quote your post but I caught somebody on the wso forum fulll of garbage lying to people claiming a product as his own and even tstimonials which were from some big guys. He used.I went after him emailed a few people who were the creators of the product/Testimonial and they came in the room as well. the thread was locked but not deleted. I do know that these people that mod here respond to such things in record time. In this case I believe the thread was locked but not deleted for evidenciary purposes but I am not sure. I never asked.

But yeah things like that you can catch most of the time the mods are quick to act.
Always appreciate your thoughts
cheers
-Will

FTC has gone after marketers in other countries already. While there may or may not be actual laws governing testimonials in other countries, marketers from other countries SELL to Americans and must meet certain guidelines for doing so and the FTC can act on online companies the same as they can stop a company from shipping their physical products into the country if they don't meet US standards.

I don't post reviews at all on my skin care/weight control site. FTC wants you to be able to "prove average results". There are too many variables to be able to do this on some subjects. But there was too much fraud in the market in those niches. It's made it difficult to post any good word for the products at all. It's a target niche for the FTC because of it and it's safer to run without testimonials.

On my PLR WSO's, I'm not going to delete good comments. It's literature and "typical results" aren't part of a determination whether people like the product or not. If someone likes it well enough to post, kewl.

That's part of doing business, Caleb - you have to learn to determine where to draw lines. Those that can't figure that out either bomb out in the market or get stomped on by those in authority.