ReviewStream.com Review: Can You Make Money Reviewing Products?

Have you ever hoped you could get paid for doing something simple?

Review Stream may be a hidden gem that you might not have known about.

If you’ve been interested in freelance writing, currently write for blogs or other websites, or just want to use your writing skills to earn cash online, Review Stream could be a good opportunity for you to boost your income.

With a little research, I’ve been able to learn a little more information about ReviewStream.com.

I will be the first to admit that this website does seem rather confusing and it does take a little clicking around to understand what’s going on.

So, I dug around the site to give you this ReviewStream.com review so that you could better understand who the site is for and how to make money from it.

What is ReviewStream.com?

Review Stream is a website that pays you to write reviews.

It sounds simple enough: Write a review about something you’ve actually used (like a product or a service) and make money.

They don’t accept fake, poorly written, or obnoxious reviews.

They only want real reviews on products that you have actually used in the past.

After all, their motto states “real consumers real experience.”

You might notice that on consumer websites, like Amazon, you can leave in-depth reviews about products you’ve bought and used, but you don’t get paid for them.

Review Stream gives you the chance to earn money from those lengthy reviews that help other people.

This site has been around since 2005, kind of around the time that product reviews online became a big thing.

So many people nowadays head to the internet to learn more about products and what people think about them before they buy, so it’s not surprising that there’s money to be made in this area.

Since Review Stream makes money for its site from advertisements and affiliate links for products and services, it shares some of the money with you, its writers, who help the site continue doing what it’s doing.

Type of Reviews that Need Written

There are multiple products listed on the Review Stream website.

I saw quite a few baby items that needed reviewed, all the way to electronics.

There are CDs, movies, and even canned goods that need reviewed.

Basically, anything you’ve used before can be covered here in a review.

The only catch is that you have to have actual experience with the product or service.

You can’t make up what you’re writing or you might forfeit any cash you could have made from your review.

Reviews should also be helpful for others.

If you hated a product, then provide constructive criticism for it but be honest at the same time.

If you loved something, explain why you love it so that others can learn more about the items they’re considering buying.

Some of the categories in which you can write about products here include:

• Software
• Medicine
• Books
• Electronics
• Cosmetics
• Perfume
• Laptops
• Art
• Travel
• Hotels
• Phones

There’s even a section where you can review web sites you’ve visited, so if you’re a frequent internet browser, this is good news for you!

How to Make Your Reviews Stand Out on Review Stream

From what I can tell about Review Stream, some people seem to have a lot of luck making good money here while others don’t at all.

I’m willing to bet that some people have mastered the platform and all its nuances while others just simply write and hope to get paid.

So, I want to share a few expert tips from others who have used Review Stream that could help you boost your income and become a top reviewer on the site:

Review popular stuff.

Review Stream has a voting system (we’ll get to that in a little bit) that gives reviewers even more money when their reviews get voted up by other members.

You might notice if you browse the site that a lot of more popular and well-known stuff get more votes than products people don’t know as much about.

That’s probably because these well-known things get more searches for reviews, so more people see them.

It could be a good strategy for you to think of some products that people might use more often than others, or websites people visit more than others, that no one has reviewed on the site yet.

Then, not only do you have the chance to get a lot of views on your review, but you might also get a lot of votes on your reviews!

Think of what you’d want to know.

It’s so important to think of other people when you’re writing your reviews.

Step into their shoes!

What would you want to know about this specific product before you bought it?

Is there information about its colors, smell, or functionality that could help others decide whether they should buy it or not?

Address every concern you’d personally have about the product and you’re likelier to help others in the process.

You might also look around the web to find questions other people are asking about that product or similar ones so that you can address them too.

Being incredibly thorough will help you make the most of your time on the site.

Be completely honest, but also thoughtful.

It’s okay to say you disliked a product if that’s the truth.

In fact, Review Stream encourages complete honesty with all its reviews.

The problem is that some people say they dislike something without ever saying why.

The whys are what people need to know!

If you fill your review with things like “I didn’t like it” or “It could be better” without ever giving an explanation, you probably won’t get many views or votes on it.

The same goes for the other side of the coin, too.

If you like something, explain what’s so great about it!

This is the information people need to know before deciding to make a purchase.

Browse the site to see what reviews are doing well.

Although you should never steal someone’s ideas or plagiarize someone’s thoughts, it’s always a good idea to see what kinds of reviews are performing really well on Review Stream.

Before you start writing, spend time looking around the site in various categories.

Take note of the categories that people seem to frequent most (ones with lots of reviews and a lot of votes and questions on those reviews).

Find reviews with a lot of votes and find similarities in them that could be making those reviews stand out more than others.

After a while, you’ll probably start noticing some trends that could spark some ideas for things to write about and how to format your reviews.

Review only products in categories you know a lot about.

You wouldn’t want to read a review about a power tool from someone who’s only ever used a power tool a couple of times in their life, right?

It’s crucial to have expertise in the categories you’ll be reviewing items in.

You should know enough to be able to accurately tell whether a product in that category really is better than another and why.

People who are actual experts in that category will be able to call you out in no time, which could affect your authority on the site.

Go through the Content Creation Academy before you start writing.

Review Stream offers a Content Creation Academy for all writers who sign up.

The Content Creation Academy has a lot of information that can help you learn how to navigate the site, write stand-out reviews, and make the most of your time on Review Stream.

It’s kind of clunky and a pain to get through, but it’s worth your time, especially if you’re new to the review writing scene.

Review Stream doesn’t require that you complete this orientation, but it strongly suggests you do.

Promote your reviews.

Once you’re finished writing a review, you should always remember to promote it!

Link to it on your blog or social media channels.

Let people on your email list know about your new review.

The more popular a review is, the higher your chances of getting paid a good rate, so it’s important to get as many people to see it as possible.

Pay of Writing Reviews

Honestly, this was the trickiest part for me to find out (and, after researching it, I’m still thoroughly confused).

I had to dig pretty deep to find this answer.

The FAQ section on ReviewStream.com states that the rate is subject to change at any time.

So, you could write a review on two different days of the month and get paid different amounts.

When I signed up to write a review, you can see what the pay was via my screenshot.

Just keep in mind that the FAQ says that it’s clearly subject to change.

The price for your reviews can be completely different from each other depending on the category they’re in and the type of review you choose.

For example, you can choose to use an in-depth research template or a viral template, which help to format your reviews in different ways.

For most reviews, the viral types tend to pay the most, probably because they’re the ones that are expected to get the most views.

The good news is that, once you figure out what category you’re writing in and the type of review you want to do, you’ll see the projected price for that review at the top of the screen, just like in my screenshot above.

Review Stream does note how much you’ll make per image upload, too, which is 5 cents per image (it’s suggested to add high-quality images to every review you write).

You can also earn 10 cents per reply you have on your review (when someone posts a question about that product, you can reply to earn more money).

Please make sure your email is signed up for PayPal or else this could affect you getting paid.

You can see the amount you’ve earned through the control panel in your account on Review Stream.

Keep in mind that your account has to reach a minimum in order to be paid, and according to Review Stream that minimum is based on what they paid you for your first piece of content in each payment cycle, multiplied by 10.

If they paid you $5 for a review, for example, times that by ten, and $50 is the minimum you need in order to be paid for that cycle.

This is to ensure that you keep writing quality reviews to receive your pay.

Other Ways to Make Money with Review Stream

I noticed that there were a few other ways to make money with Review Stream, too, when I researched its pay rates.

One way you can get paid is through “votes” which means a Review Stream reader can vote for your review.

Currently, Review Stream is paying 10 cents per vote and you have to reach a minimum of $5 to be paid via PayPal this way.

Unfortunately, most reviews don’t seem to get a lot of votes.

But, even if you end up with only 10, that’s still an extra $1 for your work.

Another way to be paid through Review Stream is by something known as bulk rate.

In my opinion, this doesn’t pay nearly as well as writing a regular, well thought out review on Review Stream.

The bulk rate is what Review Stream will pay for reviews that don’t meet their criteria, such as those with a lot of grammar issues or ones that aren’t thought out well.

With every review you write, you can check whether you want it to be considered for the bulk rate price if it doesn’t match the site’s criteria.

If you don’t check the box and your review doesn’t meet the site’s needs, it’ll just get rejected (you can resubmit it though).

If you do check the box, you’ll automatically receive the bulk rate if it fails to meet criteria.

This next part is straight from the Review Stream website explaining how bulk rates work:

“Sometimes we receive reviews that don’t match some of our criteria. In these cases we are still ready to buy it, but we’ll pay you the bulk rate for it.

After you have written your review on the Write Review page, you’ll have to decide, if you’re ready to get paid at the bulk rate for your review. If yes, check the bulk price box. If not, don’t check it. “ 

The bulk rate for these reviews is the regular rate divided by 5.

If you wrote something for $10 as a regular rate, you’ll receive $2, as an example.

It’s not great, but at least it’s something for those less-than-stellar reviews.

Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be much information about how this works.

Who decides if your review isn’t up to standard, for example?

You could have spent hours writing what you thought was an excellent review only to get swindled out of your regular rate just because someone decides it’s not good enough.

Finally, there is a referral program for you to earn a little extra money from everyone you refer.

When you refer other writers to sign up, you’ll make 2% of everything they sell, and the 2% comes from the regular rate even if they sell it for the bulk rate!

So, say your referral has a review for a regular rate of $20 but sells it at a bulk rate of $4.

You’ll get $0.40 from that piece of content.

Get a lot of referrals and that money could add up fast!

Is Review Stream Legit?

Review Stream is, at best, very confusing.

However, I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a scam.

If I was trying to earn money quickly, this would not be the best avenue – that’s for sure.

While the pay of a single review seems to be great, the overall process of waiting to get paid sounds a bit obnoxious.

Call me old fashioned, but I don’t like to beat around the bush when it comes to getting paid.

Tell me what you will pay me upfront and then I can decide whether or not that price works for me.

With that being said, there’s plenty of reports online that people do get paid, even if it takes a while.

Where I have the biggest issue is with the bulk pricing.

It’s really low and there’s honestly no telling when you’re writing whether your review will make the cut for regular price or go into the bulk rate pile.

To me, it seems like Review Stream offers the bulk rate as a way for it to get discounted pricing from its reviews, which isn’t fair.

However, if you’re not 100% focused on making a huge income from this site and think it could be a fun way to make some writing money in your spare time, then it’s probably a good place for you to do just that.

If you’re ready to sign up as a review writer here, head to this page and start writing!

Do you want some other alternatives to get paid as a freelance writer or review writer?

Check out some of our other articles that can point you in the right direction:

• Get paid as a greeting card writer
• Review-writing sites that pay
• How to become a book reviewer
• Write makeup reviews for cash and free stuff
• Write about video games for money
• Get paid to review movies

Have you used Review Stream? Did you get paid? How did the regular rate vs bulk rate issue work out for you? We’d love to hear from real people who have used the site, so drop us a comment below!

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