I found out about Reviewstream through a fellow WAHM, and then read about it from the forums in Girl Talk. You see as early as I made the decision to quit my job and be a WAHM, I have started the quest to find online opportunities to earn from. I read forums, joined discussion groups, asked other WAHMs… everything! Hey, my family and I need to eat!
Anyway, based on the recommendation of other WAHMs, I went for it. Based on what’s written on their page, they pay as much as $2 per review and you can review anything you want just as long as you have used the product (e.g., a perfume or a certain toothpaste brand) or have availed of the service (like in a hotel or restaurant).
So filled with hope, I submitted my first product review, of this netbook that I’m using. Then I quickly followed it up with a review of the swim park we went to on my birthday. Unfortunately, I used different emails and according to their policies merging of accounts is not allowed. So technically, I have two accounts with them that need to earn $50 before I could request for payment. You think that would be fairly easy right, since 1 review = $2? So it’s just 25 reviews for each account? I thought the same thing!
I was so motivated by their email (to my two email accounts) saying that I have earned $2 for each review, that I drew up a mental list of which products I could review next. I quickly decided to review the Revlon Custom Creation foundation
and the mineral blush my mother gave to me, and the sunblock I bought for my son. And yes, I made sure to pick and use only one email account so I would reach my first $50 faster.
Here is the sad part, when I checked my email I got the shocking news. All three reviews earned only $.40 each for a total of $1.20. Now how that happened I do not know. I made the decision to review these products because there was a note on Reviewstream’s website saying people were asking for more reviews on make-up. So I thought I had the $6 in the bank, so to speak.
It appears that the $.40 is their bulk rate for reviews that they find “lacking” or not to their liking. I have no problems comprehending that. But I’m just wondering how they arrive at the decision of whether a review is acceptable or not. I made sure my reviews were meaty and extensive enough, because their website would not accept them in the first place if they were not. So unless they were expecting a chemical analysis on the composition of the make-up or the sunblock, I don’t think anyone can say more than I did.
Would it have been because of the grammar? Of course not! I did a grammar and spell-check in MS Word before I submitted my reviews. How about problems with the writing style? I don’t think it would be reasonable for them to expect “professionally” written reviews from non-writers. Besides all their site said is that you should write about your experience with the product or service, in correct English.
More than anything else, I am a professional writer / re-writer! Not professionally trained or educated as a writer but I do get paid some $2 for a 350-500 word article and to think I just started that gig about a month ago.
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