20 Ways to Get Paid to Write Reviews

In this world where you can get paid to do the simplest tasks or weirdest things, it isn’t surprising to know that you can also get paid to write reviews.

Many review writing jobs are legit, but some are in the gray area, especially when it comes to product reviews. But these side hustle opportunities do exist. And if you’re up for the challenge, you can even turn this gig into a lucrative career.

The concept behind this is the same with surveys—companies pay people to share feedback about their products or services in order to improve, learn what their target market is looking for, and gain loyal customers.

4 Ways to Write Reviews for Money

There are probably more ways you can earn cash for writing reviews, but these have been the most popular.

• Write reviews on user testing sites — The reviews you write will include user-friendliness of phone apps, websites, and other programs. Virtually anyone can become a tester and no requirements that are too difficult are needed.
• Write Amazon reviews — Those who have a knack for writing are hired to write reviews for Amazon stores. In some cases, products are actually sent over for you to try, but this is very rare. Most of the time, reviewers are hired to write positive reviews in order to encourage real buyers to actually buy. As you can imagine, there’s an ethical dilemma involved in this kind of gig (I’ll talk more about this later).
• Influencer-type deals — If you already have a following on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or other social media platforms, companies may give you products to try out and review and share to your followers in return for a fee.
• Affiliate marketing on your own site — With affiliate marketing, you choose a product on Amazon, Clickbank, or other affiliate marketing networks, write your feedback about that product, add your affiliate link from your blog going to the marketplace, and earn commissions whenever someone clicks through this link and buy anything on the store within a certain period of time.

Note that very few of these methods pay big money. They can never replace your day job, but these are no-brainer ways of earning some cash on the side.

Visit these Sites to Get Paid to Write Reviews

1. Vindale Research

Earn: Up to $100 per review.

There are daily surveys to take that mostly pay minimally, but depending on the relevant topic, you might earn up to $100 for a survey.

You can also earn just by opening your email by opting into Reward Mail, and even by watching videos.

Plus you can also earn money for everyone you refer to them.

2. Capterra

Earn: $10 per review via gift card

With Capterra, you’ll be reviewing different types of computer software, from CRM software, eCommerce software, web conferencing software, and other popular types of software.

There’s a list of guidelines to follow and only reviews that pass approval will be paid, so better stick to the rules.

Sometimes, you’ll need screenshots of the software while in use as proof that you actually took the time to test the program.

3. Kirkus Reviews

Earn: $50 per review

Launched in 1933, Kirkus began as a magazine and has since turned into an author resource and provider of editing and marketing services.

The company is constantly looking for book reviewers for their English and Spanish books.

They require reviews that are 350 words in length, but with a 2-week deadline.

4. UserTesting.com

Earn: $10 per review completed

The products that you test or review here are either websites or apps.

You visit a website or download an app, look around the pages, check links, and follow the task instructions. You’re likely to be asked to pay attention to the ease of use of the website or app and your overall experience.

There are 12+ other companies that pay people to test websites.

5. G2

Earn: $10 to $25 per review via gift card

With G2, you have to review business software and submit your feedback complete with screenshots.

You’ll be paid via Starbucks or Amazon gift cards when your review is approved.

6. Gartner Peer Insights

Earn: $5 per verified review

Gartner is also exclusive to technology and software reviews and you can only write a maximum of 10 reviews per year.

If you have a knack for writing tech, that’s still $50 in extra money each year if you successfully write all 10 reviews allowable to you.

7. Pinecone Research

Earn: $3 per survey

Pinecone Research is one of my favorite survey companies, but they not only pay for your finished surveys; they may also send brand-new products that may not even be out yet in the market.

8. Publishers Weekly

Earn: $25 per book review

Publishers Weekly is a bit different from the others in this list in that you might get a regular job from this job board.

There are openings for freelance book reviewers periodically available on this job board, but they are quickly snatched up so you need to be quick.

Get Paid to Write Reviews on Amazon

Amazon is the biggest online marketplace for everything under the sun. From clothes to home improvement tools, it is very rare to not find an item you’re looking for on Amazon.

Consumers have welcomed online shopping on Amazon wholeheartedly. Manufacturers and resellers know this, and some even pay to get their products reviewed to rig the system.

Why are paid reviews so in demand?

Well, Amazon ranks products based on the number of positive reviews. Buyers usually look at reviews when buying items on the site, too! So if a seller is new to the marketplace, some of them pay to “get the ball rolling.”

I know it sounds sketchy, but these writing gigs do exist. And even if Amazon has been trying to catch review mills and fake review writers, there are still people doing it (and companies paying them cash in exchange for these reviews.)

Note that some people are willing to accept products in exchange for writing a review, so they’re actually reviewing the item/s and the review isn’t technically fake.

So where do you go for gigs like these?

• Internet Marketing forums – Warriorforum, Blackhat World, and other internet marketing forums all have job sections where paid one-off tasks like Amazon reviews are posted.

The problem with transactions from forums is that gigs there are a big mix, so you’d have to dig through them if you’re looking to get paid for Amazon reviews exclusively. This is the same issue with Craigslist and other online job sites.

• Facebook groups – Your best bet in finding Amazon review writing gigs is by searching through FB groups. They’re not even hiding; just one search and you’ll find several groups with over 10k members.

These Facebook groups have thousands of people who exchange products (or cash) to review stuff on Amazon.

Getting paid to write reviews for Amazon products is definitely an underground writing gig, but those who work as a web content writer consider this just like any ordinary writing assignment.

Of course, there’s an ethical dilemma when choosing this kind of work: are you okay with faking a 5-star review in exchange for cash, even if you didn’t spend a cent on that item (or at least tried it out first)?

As for Amazon, the company knows this is going on. In fact, in 2015, the company went after over 1,100 Fiverr users with a lawsuit for promoting their “Amazon review” offers. Fiverr eventually banned users who were selling Amazon review services on the site, but there are still review offers that get through the cracks.

Ultimately, it’s up to you if you’d like to give this gig a try. Or better yet, start a blog and get paid to write reviews legitimately with potential for passive income as icing on the cake.

Review Sites for Bloggers, YouTuber, and Influencers

If you have a blog or YouTube channel that is getting decent traffic, you can join the following sites and be paid to write a review.

Each site has a different method of doing things: some contact bloggers to match the product that needs reviewing, others let bloggers choose which brand to review, and some require bloggers to submit an application to be able to review stuff.

1. PayPerPost – Advertisers go to the site and post a project that includes the item to review, the amount of blog traffic required, and the price of the review. Bloggers claim the review project, write about it on their own blogs, submit the link to Payperpost, and wait for the payment to arrive a couple of days later.
2. Famebit – Blogs with 5,000 followers on YouTube or their other social media pages can join Famebit. From there, you’ll be able to access paid sponsorships from companies. If you find something interesting, submit a proposal with your rate included, and if hired, work on the review. You’ll receive 90% of the payment via PayPal with Famebit taking 10% for their services. November 2020 Update: Famebit.com is now closed; instead, YouTube creators with more than 25K subscribers can sign up to FameBit Full Service on YouTube Studio.
3. Socialix– The team at Socialix matches bloggers/YouTubers/influencers with more than 5,000 followers to various sponsors. When you are paired with a sponsor, you begin creating content that reviews the sponsor’s products. You’ll then be paid via PayPal or ACH.
4. Best Buy Influencer Network – Best Buy has followed the footsteps of Amazon in more ways than one. With this in-house influencer network, the company has taken control of how big brands partner with influencers.
5. Blogsvertise – One of the oldest sites that serve as a middleman for bloggers and advertisers, Blogsvertise is open to all kinds of bloggers. What’s interesting with Blogsvertise is there is no specific product to write a review about. Instead, Blogsvertise assigns bloggers with a writing task that includes keywords or topics to be mentioned within a post. From there, you’d be adding affiliate links, ads, etc. as required by the advertiser. Your earnings are sent via PayPal.
6. Influence Central – Join the site, Influence Central connects you with a brand to review, post the review on your blog, and then get paid through PayPal.
7. Cooperatize –  Earn somewhere from $150 to $800 per sponsored content you post on your blog. Of course, this amount will depend on the brands paired to your blog, the traffic/popularity of your blog, and your social media base.
8. Get Reviewed – This site also helps brands find suitable bloggers to review their products or services. The best thing about Get Reviewed is that bloggers aren’t limited to the number of reviews allowed to be written, but PayPal payment does come in a bit late (around 14 days after approval).
9. Modern Mom –  Geared towards mom bloggers, this site works with companies offering products for babies, families, and moms. It was originally a mom blog (it still is), but has offered its own influencer program to get other mommy blogs started with paid reviews.
10. ValuedVoice – You don’t have to own a blog for this one, as long as you have enough following on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, or other platforms. Influencers are chosen by a brand, the influencer then shares information about a product or service, then the influencer gets paid.
11. SeedingUp – SeedingUp is yet another site to monetize your website, blog, YouTube channel, and social media profiles. It’s free to join and you’ll have the chance to be invited to test products and write sponsored reviews.
12. SponsoredTweets – SponsoredTweets helps influencers monetize their social media content and resonate with the audience of top brands.

Blogging and Affiliate Marketing

If you really want to get paid to review products AND DO IT LEGALLY, you’ve got to try affiliate marketing. For many people and those who have been writing for cash, this is the next step because maintaining a blog that earns money consistently is the dream.

In affiliate marketing, you blog about something you like, find some way to mention a particular product, get the link (from Amazon or other marketplaces with affiliate programs), add this link to your post, and earn at least 10% commission whenever another person buy something from the same site.

If you want to learn more about affiliate marketing, you can start reading up here.

Ready to Get Paid to Write Reviews?

I’ve written a lot about writing as a source of income, from being a legal writer to an online ghostwriter, writing poems to sell, or participating in any of these 150+ freelance writing jobs you can do from home, so getting paid to write reviews shouldn’t be such a shock.

I hope this list gives you an idea of the earning potential of writing reviews, whether you decide to just join sites and earn by the post, or create a blog that would generate passive income.

How would you like to get paid to write reviews? Tell us in the comments!