I have divided the article into two (2) sections to make it easier for you to understand, skim, and follow step-by-step.
Section 1: Learning What Product Review Blog Is
- What is a product review blog?
- Sub-niches under product review blogging
- Benefits of starting a product review blog
- How much money do product review blogs make
- Examples of product review blogs and how much they make
Section 2: How To Start A Product Review Blog & Make Money
- How to start a money-making product review blog in 9 Steps
Note: You can navigate to “Section 2” if you want to get started immediately.
Section 1
What Is A Product Review Blog?
A product review blog is a website mainly used for publishing product-based related blog posts in various industries. These posts are accessible online and on Google search results when people look for information related to the ones you’ve published on this site.
Sub-niches under product review blogging to start from
Product review blogs can be broken down into several sub-niches, each catering to specific interests among different audiences. These sub-niches make it easier for you to get started from one sub-niche and expand to other sub-niches.
Here are some popular sub-niches under product review blogging;
[a]. Product Reviews
- Detailed Reviews: In-depth assessments of individual products, covering features, pros and cons, and overall performance.
- Comparative Reviews: Side-by-side comparisons of similar products to highlight differences and help readers choose the best option.
- User Experiences: Personal experiences and opinions on how the product performs in real-world scenarios.
[b]. Buying Guides
- Best-of Lists: Curated lists of the best products in various categories (e.g., best budget smartphones, top-rated kitchen appliances).
- Buying Tips: Advice on what to look for when purchasing specific types of products (e.g., key features to consider, common pitfalls).
- Product Specifications: Detailed explanations of product specifications and what they mean for performance and usability.
[c]. How-To Guides
- Product Setup: Step-by-step instructions on how to set up and use products effectively.
- Troubleshooting: Solutions for common problems and issues that users might encounter with the product.
- Maintenance Tips: Advice on how to care for and maintain products to ensure longevity and optimal performance.
And much more. Blog topics ideas
Benefits Of Starting A Product Review Blog
Here are some of the benefits that can make you interested in starting a review blog;
- Low Startup Costs: Launching a review blog is affordable, costing less than $3/month with a service like HostGator, much cheaper than other ventures.
- High Earning Potential: Successful review blogs can earn $10,000 to $20,000+ per month. Although it might take 6 months to a year to achieve this, the potential is substantial.
- Global Reach: You can manage a review blog from anywhere in the world, with access to audiences across continents.
- No Qualifications Needed: Starting a review blog doesn’t require formal qualifications. Success depends on following effective strategies.
- Promote Your Products: Use your review blog to market your products or services. With high traffic, even a small conversion rate can lead to significant sales.
How Much Can You Make From Product Review Blogs
With this you can estimate how much you are likely to make having the number of estimated posts taking the average time required to get there.
[a]. Beginner Product Review Blogs
- Monthly Income: $100 – $1,000
- Average Traffic: 5,000 – 20,000 monthly visits
- Number of Posts: 10 – 30 posts
- Average Required Time: 6 – 12 months
- Common Methods of Monetization: Affiliate marketing, display ads, sponsored posts
[B]. Average Product Review Blogs
- Monthly Income: $1,000 – $5,000
- Average Traffic: 20,000 – 100,000 monthly visits
- Number of Posts: 30 – 100 posts
- Average Required Time: 12 – 24 months
- Common Methods of Monetization: Affiliate marketing, display ads, sponsored posts, product reviews, and affiliate networks
[C]. Established Product Review Blogs
- Monthly Income: $5,000 – $30,000+
- Average Traffic: 100,000 – 500,000+ monthly visits
- Number of Posts: 100+ posts
- Average Required Time: 24+ months
- Common Methods of Monetization: Affiliate marketing, high-value sponsorships, display ads, direct ad sales, product reviews, and exclusive content.
These figures can vary based on factors like niche specificity, audience engagement, number of posts, and the effectiveness of the blog’s monetization strategies.
Examples of product review-based blogs
Here are some examples of product review blogs to inspire you.
[a]. The Wirecutter
Overview: The Wirecutter is one of the most popular product review sites, focusing on in-depth reviews of consumer electronics, home goods, and everyday products. Known for its thorough research, the site offers “best of” recommendations for a variety of product categories. The site was acquired by The New York Times, significantly boosting its revenue.
Blog’s Insights
- Monthly Income: Estimated $10 million+ annually (now owned by The New York Times)
- Monthly Traffic: Over 10 million visitors
- Number of Posts: 2,000+ product reviews
- Methods of Monetization:
- Affiliate Marketing: Earns commissions from retailers like Amazon by recommending products.
- Sponsored Content: Occasionally works with brands for sponsored product reviews.
[b]. TechGearLab
Overview: TechGearLab is a technology-focused product review blog, covering gadgets like smartphones, laptops, and cameras. Like its sister site OutdoorGearLab, the blog is known for its unbiased reviews and thorough testing, offering comparisons and recommendations for the best products in tech.
Blog’s Insights
- Monthly Income: Estimated $100,000 – $300,000
- Monthly Traffic: Over 1 million visitors
- Number of Posts: Over 500 posts
- Methods of Monetization:
- Affiliate Marketing: Earns through commissions on tech gadgets, especially from Amazon.
- Display Ads: Google AdSense and other advertising platforms.
[c]. Kitchn
Overview: Kitchn is a food and kitchen lifestyle blog that also offers product reviews for kitchen gadgets, appliances, and cooking tools. In addition to recipes and cooking tips, Kitchn provides reviews of products that enhance the home cooking experience.
Blog’s Insights
- Monthly Income: Estimated $200,000 – $500,000
- Monthly Traffic: Over 3 million visitors
- Number of Posts: 10,000+ posts (including product reviews and recipes)
- Methods of Monetization:
- Affiliate Marketing: Commissions from kitchen products, appliances, and other home goods.
- Sponsored Content: Collaborates with brands for sponsored product reviews.
- Display Ads: Google AdSense and private ad networks.
[d]. Sleepopolis
Overview: Sleepopolis is a niche blog that focuses on sleep-related products, particularly mattresses. The blog offers in-depth mattress reviews, comparisons, and buyer’s guides, helping readers choose the best products for their sleep needs. The site gained popularity for its honest reviews, although it was later acquired by a mattress company, raising questions about impartiality.
Blog’s Insights
- Monthly Income: Estimated $50,000 – $100,000
- Monthly Traffic: Around 500,000 – 1 million visitors
- Number of Posts: Over 300 posts
- Methods of Monetization:
- Affiliate Marketing: Primarily makes money through affiliate commissions from mattress companies.
- Sponsored Content: Occasionally features sponsored reviews and partnerships with mattress brands.
Section 2
How To Start A Product Review Blog Step-by-step
Here are the things you need to set up a standard Product review blog and get it ready for publishing your first blog post;
- A desktop – you need a laptop or computer. This will make it easy for you to manage your site entirely and write blog posts more effectively.
- A domain name – This is the name of your blog. You can decide to call your blog something interesting to you or related to your blog niche.
- Content management platform – This is simply where you manage your blog site and its entire affairs from customizing pages to writing blog posts. It is also known as your “blogging platform”. Using WordPress as your blogging platform doesn’t require coding, you can simply use a pre-built product review blog site theme and customize page templates to look the way you want.
- Web hosting – A web hosting service is what keeps your content management platform online. It is what keeps your website available and accessible online.
Note: At the end of your sign-up with your web hosting [e.g. Hostgator], that is when you have the option to install the generally used web version of WordPress within your hosting account to start building and managing your blog site.
Start Here
In this illustration am going to use Hostgator because there are one of the best web hosting services available.
- Step 1: Start within a sub-niche
- Step 2: Click on HostGator
- Step 3: Choose your preferred hosting plan
- Step 4: Choose your domain name
- Step 6: Adjust to your preferred hosting subscription period
- Step 6: Create your HostGator account
- Step 7: Within Your HostGator Account Install WordPress
- Step 8: Choose A Theme your blog theme [A Pre-built Site]
- Step 9: Customize your main pages and start publishing blog posts.
Step 1: Start within a sub-niche
Starting within a sub-niche is all about finding one of the main content categories under the product review blogging space to start publishing its category-related content and gradually expand to other sub-niches to find more content ideas.
Just like I mentioned earlier on this post, there are several sub-niches under product review you can choose to start from areas like;
- Physical product Reviews
- Software product reviews
- Buying Guides
- How to guides, etc.
Step 2: Click On Our “HostGator” Discount Link
Using our discount link you will get HostGator for less than its original price.
HostGator is a reliable web hosting service that offers industry-standard hosting.
Step 3: “Choose Your Preferred HostGator Plan”
Selecting the HostGator hatchling plan is more advisable and cost-effective after all that’s the minimum plan and you can always increase your plan anytime you want.
Step 4: Choose a domain name
After choosing your plan above, you will be directed to a page like this below to choose your domain name and complete your sign-up.
On this page, you will find things like;
What to consider when choosing your blog domain name
- Make it Memorable and Easy to Spell – your domain name should be easy for people to remember and type into their browser. Avoid complex spellings or unnecessary hyphens.
- Make it Reflects Your Niche: Your domain name should give visitors a good idea of what your blog is about. Use relevant keywords that are travel-related.
- Keep it Short and Sweet: Aim for a domain name that’s between 6-14 characters. Long domain names are harder to remember and type.
- Easy to Read Pronounce: Avoid awkward letter combinations or double letters that might be confusing when pronounced.
Find unique and meaningful blog name ideas
Step 5: Adjust to your preferred hosting subscription period
Make sure you are on the hatchling plan on the right-hand side and your subscription is adjusted to the period to one 1 year or 36 months based on what you can afford at the time.
Step 6: Create your HostGator account
Create your HostGator account by providing your email contact information and choosing a password.
Enter the coupon code “SNAPPY” and check if there is a discount at the
moment. Discounts are not always available.
Review your order details and all the information you’ve entered to ensure it’s how you intended and then checkout.
Step 7: Within Your HostGator Account “Install WordPress”
Action required – At the end of your HostGator sign-up follow the on-screen instructions to complete your WordPress sign-up and installation.
You can also do this within your HostGator account once you are logged in, find a section labeled “WordPress”.
Click on it you will be directed to create a WordPress account after that you will be automatically logged in to WordPress to start creating blog posts and customizing your site pages.
Step 8: Within WordPress choose your blog theme [A Pre-built Site]
Themes are pre-built website templates. You can select a particular theme, preview it, and customize it the way you want.
Here’s a simplified way to choose a suitable theme for your product review blog;
- Navigate to Themes: On the left-hand sidebar of your WordPress admin dashboard, hover over “Appearance” and click on “Themes.”
- Explore the Theme Library: This is where you’ll find a vast collection of free and paid themes. You can use the search bar at the top to find themes by keyword (e.g., “product review blog”) or browse by popular features (e.g., “grid layout,” “responsive”).
- Filter Your Options: You can use the filters on the left side of the page to narrow down your search. Here are some key filters for a product review blog:
- Features: Look for themes with features like post formats (galleries, videos), image sliders, social media integration, and customization options.
- Layout: You can consider layouts with a clean and modern aesthetic, grid layouts ideal for showcasing outfits, and responsive design to ensure your blog looks modern and good on all devices.
- Preview Before You Commit: Once you find a theme that interests you, hover over it and click “Preview.” This will allow you to see a live demo of the theme’s layout and features.
- Read Reviews and Ratings: Check out the reviews and ratings left by other users. This can give you valuable insights into the theme’s ease of use, customization options, customer support, and downsides.
- Mobile-Friendly is a Must: In today’s world, ensure the theme you select is responsive and displays well on mobile devices. Lots of visitors coming to your blog will be coming from mobile devices so ensure that your theme is mobile-friendly by using the preview function to check how it looks on mobile and other screens. This is very advisable.
- Consider Paid Themes: If you don’t find what you like with free themes you can use premium or paid themes with better or more attractive appearance and features. This is entirely optional and often not even advisable for complete beginners who still don’t fully understand WordPress well enough.
Here are some of the best WordPress themes for a product review blogs you can use.
Step 9: Customize your blog main pages and start publishing blog posts
- Start personalizing your blog! Use your theme’s customization options to adjust colors, fonts, and layouts to match your style.
- Most themes come with pre-built layouts for essential pages like “About,” “Contact,” and “Home.” You can use these as a starting point to customize your pages easily to match what you want.
- After that, you can start writing and publishing blog posts.
Congratulations at this point you’ve just created a fully functional standard blog that you can use to start blogging about product reviews. Your site is now visible on Google and anywhere online.
Simplified Summary
Now you know what a product review blog is and how you can get started, you should start with writing topics under a product review sub-niche and expand to other sub-niches as you cover more topics.
You can monetize your site immediately with ads and some affiliates while some people may do this after gaining some consistent traffic to their site which is more advisable to help you focus on the more important things rather than your earnings within your starting points.
As you publish more blog posts, your monthly traffic and income will grow.
In this process, you will understand better what works and how you can do more of them to get the best possible result.
