How, What, When, or Why Do You Recommend A Product or Service?
I’ve written about this before, a few times actually. Now my new friend and colleague JR has arisen the subject once again.
I’ve very glad she has, as it is very important. In the comments section of my last post regarding your online reputation, she stated…
“I hate hype and BS, it is always apparent and transparent on those sales pages. I only recommend products I use and love and so I believe and I certainly hope that my recommendations are genuine and in the best interest of my readers.”
Very well put Miss, although we’ll see what happens when you make GURU. 
(Inside joke on another comment.)
I’ve decided to put this question to the masses and see what happens. I’ll go first restating my comment back to her…
There are only 3 ways I EVER recommend something, or advise others to recommend also..
1. Owning/Using the something first is of course the BEST way, as your enthusiasm and honestly comes shining through like no other.
This however is not always feasible for newbies and/or those on a real limited budget.
2. Due Diligence - research the hell outa something and your right under actually owning it.
3. Actually KNOWING the creator of the something. If for whatever reason I fully trust and respect the owner/creator of a particular product or service, that’s good enough for me to put my name behind it.
That said, whenever I recommend something I am fully transparent as to which “number” I’m using to recommend it.
Also - even if I never intend to use a certain something myself…say it doesn’t fit into my business model or whatever….I may still recommend it if I truly feel it may work well for others in certain situations.
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Your turn! The reasons behind you product or service recommendations are very important for your online reputation…
How do you go about it? And/Or, do you disagree with anyt of my methods?
Never stop pushing forward!
Dennis
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Tags: Business Model, Due Diligence, Online Reputation, Product Recommendation
Michael
Sire
October 28th, 2008 at 11:27 am
I actually agree with all of your methods and are the same method’s I use as well when I want to recommend something. Although I think the most important one here is when you recommend because you feel may benefit your reader’s and for this very reason it is why I have turned down many paid reviews simply because I feel why I am reviewing this in my blog where I know for the fact none of my readers would be interested in such product or service and maybe even get annoyed?
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October 28th, 2008 at 11:49 am
I don’t recommend a lot of products and when I do it’s because I love them. I recently recommended OIO publisher and HostGator because these are two services I’m satisfied with. As Salwa said, I’m not a big fan of paid reviews as well, unless I really like the product.
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October 28th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
What really throws me are developers who create a plugin or application and then don’t use it on their own site! What’s with that? I see that happen a lot with WordPress plugin developers, and I have to wonder why they think I will download it if they don’t even use it on their own blog.
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October 28th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Great post Dennis!
I too like the 3 reasons you listed to whether or not I will recommend … along with what Salwa and Ben’s take that I must feel it would benefit my readers and I must LOVE it!
@ seo diva ~ I’ve seen that too and I just don’t get it either! Too funny! LOL *SmiLes* Suzanne
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October 28th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
It’s unanimous so far! Yes, putting your readers out front, should always go without saying it, which is probably why I didn’t emphasize it; my bad. Absolutely!
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October 28th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Diva - I notice this so often it drives me nuts. You will find it with all kinds of programs.
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October 28th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Dennis - I normally never talk about a product or service unless I have experienced it myself.
If feel that is the only way I can give my true feels and thoughts about the product.
Andy
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October 28th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Andy - that is always the best way of course, but not always feasible for everyone.
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October 28th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
I guess doing a proper research is very important before recommending a product to others.
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October 28th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
Yep, that’s the very least one should do.
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October 28th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
can i choose both? I earn well from both way.
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October 28th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Both? Please explain…
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October 28th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Apart from paid review, I haven’t done much promoting any product on my blog. In most cases, I wouldn’t recommend anything that I haven’t used it myself or at the very least give a proper thought as to whether it is in the best interest of my readers.
You have made some excellent pointers here that I truly agree.
Yan
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October 28th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
[...] agree. Building credibility is a big deal; as a matter of fact, my new friend Dennis Edell of Direct Web Sales Marketing also just addressed this issue ((though Dennis won’t believe this, I hadn’t read the [...]
October 29th, 2008 at 1:21 am
Heck, by this time, you’ve already seen mine, or at least been alerted to my thoughts on it. lol
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October 29th, 2008 at 1:29 am
Well, I guess I won’t recommend a product that I haven’t proved that it works well. Before one has to make certain recommendations, research or understanding the product very is an important factor.
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October 29th, 2008 at 3:44 am
Personally I don’t think its right to recommend anything you haven’t tried or at least seen in action - especially if its a paid review.
If its a free review of something you’ve seen and heard about and want to suggest it might be useful to some people, then that would be find e.g. “I heard about this company youtube everyone is going on about, talk is good about it, so if you want to upload videos you might want to do it there”
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October 29th, 2008 at 5:46 am
LOL Dennis, on that inside joke…no guru status for me..please if it ever comes to that, slap me.
I spent the whole day without coming over here and reading this post and now I just feel like a star that missed the red carpet.
By the way just to clarify my statement about products I recommend, when you asked the original question, in my mind I was thinking about my flagship blog, NOT about my affiliate marketing websites.
On my blog I have a rep to maintain and readers I care about so there I will only recommend products I use and like, and even you’re #3 I have done too and tell my readers I have not used it but trust the source.
But with the AM sites, I am there to SELL, so there is a big distinction. Not to say I am going to intentionally post crap affiliate links, but it is a whole different show and logistically I cannot possibly use every product that I post on my AM sites.
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October 29th, 2008 at 6:13 am
Yan - I’m glad you agree and thanks for the kudos!
Now that you mention it, I have noticed not a lot of affiliate type marketing on your part, may I ask why?
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October 29th, 2008 at 6:15 am
Mitch - I really like the way you do what you do when recommending a product; keep it up!
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October 29th, 2008 at 6:16 am
James - Due diligence on our part is *KEY* whenever recommending a product or service
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October 29th, 2008 at 6:19 am
Dan - I would never ever do a paid review without actually reviewing the product or service in question.
Paid or not they are going to get my thoughts, good and/or not so good…otherwise it’s a *plug* not a review, and I don’t do plugs.
Check out my review page to see what I mean… http://www.directsaleswebmarketing.com/get-reviewed/
On the bright side though, the good thing about paid reviews is, they really should give you a copy of whatever it is before hand
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October 29th, 2008 at 6:24 am
JR - Very true, buying everything you may want to promote ahead of time can get a little prohibitive.
On that note, it really isn’t THAT big a distinction. IF one was to start selling too much garbage to too many people, they will be found out…
The connection between AM sites and he persons other businesses (blogs for example) may indeed start to clear.
Again, if we can’t hold it in our hands…due diligence in finding the right info is KEY.
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October 29th, 2008 at 10:01 am
Thanks Dennis; course, now I have to go read why your CommentLuv isn’t working. lol
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October 29th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
that was it. (commentluv test)
Andy Bailey´s last blog post..Learn a Language by Osmosis
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October 29th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Woohoo!
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October 29th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
Well every post on my blog is recommending a product - some of them are not as good as others but we do try out everything we write about. I guess it depends on the type of blog or site you have
Anthony Feint´s last blog post..Free Launch Pages For Your Startup
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October 30th, 2008 at 7:32 am
Hey Anthony, welcome!
Cool blog, I’ll need to spend some time checking out some apps. there…nice stuff.
Your right for the most part on the “type” of site…that seems to be a product review site. The fact that you DO try everything is awesome.
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November 3rd, 2008 at 7:52 pm
I recommend what works like Harvey Segal’s SuperTips ebook
Caleb´s last blog post..3 Basic Principles In Internet Marketing
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November 3rd, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Absolutely right, thanks Caleb!
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November 4th, 2008 at 12:46 am
Well, I guess I won’t recommend a product that I haven’t proved that it works well. Before one has to make certain recommendations, research or understanding the product very is an important factor.
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November 4th, 2008 at 3:12 am
Thanks for your tips! I will help us a lot..hope soon more tips from you..Don’t you worry I will remember your tips when I have any transaction about it.
horse racing news´s last blog post..What A Bargain!
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November 4th, 2008 at 11:26 am
Horse - More tips always on the way, be sure to drop back around! Better yet, just subscribe so you never miss.
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November 4th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Cornelicatty - Absolutely right, at the very least our due diligence is most important.
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