Guidelines for Reviewers

To help you write the best possible review for the Gardening Products Review (GPR), I’ve put together the following guidelines. These aren’t intended to “cramp your style,” just to ensure that there’s some consistency across reviews in terms of content and “feel.”

Format

Our reviews are formatted to include headers (H2) throughout the article (to make it easy for readers to quickly scan for specific information). Where appropriate, use bullets or lists. Use short sentences and paragraphs. The headers are up to you but must include “Recommendation” and “Where to Buy” at the end of the article.

Please use first person throughout – we want readers to feel that a “real person” wrote the review. Wherever possible, use active voice. Refer to the reader as “you” – write as though you’re speaking directly to a single person.

Be as thorough as possible in describing the product but also keep in mind that simplicity and brevity are often best. We don’t have a word count maximum or minimum – reviews are as long as they need to be to convey the necessary information. But if the review is too wordy, I’ll probably tighten it up a bit.

Aim for a maximum reading level of about 8^th grade. Don’t dumb it down but avoid jargon and big words.

Include the full URL for any websites you link to. All of our links are “nofollow” and are non-promotional.

Be honest. If the product doesn’t work, breaks, isn’t useful, etc., then please say so. We are under no obligation to say anything positive about a product and I give companies a chance to respond before publication if we give the product a negative review.

Images

The best reviews include many photos of the product. Ideally, you should take a whole bunch of photos of the product, including close-ups of the various parts or features that you mention in your review. It’s fine to use your smart phone to take pictures – I don’t need high-resolution images as long as they’re in focus. We may not use all the photos, but it’s good to have options to choose from.

If you can crop and edit photos before sending them to me, that would be most appreciated. If not, we can do that before they go on the website. Images in the body of the article are 400px wide (height can vary), the header image is 800 x 350px (it goes at the top of the review, before the text).

Please provide captions for each photo (except the header image). You can even send in short videos of the product in use. But please do not include any photos or videos that show unsafe practices or improper use!

We will watermark each image with the GPR logo so please do not put your own (c) notice on the image.

Content

Readers visit the GPR website for honest, objective information about products that they may be considering buying. We give them the full details needed to make that purchase decision. All information we provide is based on first-hand experience with the product. While it’s acceptable to refer to the manufacturer’s information about their product, don’t rely on it as your sole source of information. Thoroughly test out every aspect of the product that you think someone would be interested in knowing about.

Below are a series of questions about the product you’re reviewing. Some questions may not be relevant to your product – just skip over those. There’s no need to answer each and every question but do think through them and incorporate as many relevant answers into your review as you can. The more detail you can provide, the better the review will be so I encourage you to be thorough. The three most important questions are at the end and are marked with a “*” so please be sure to answer those questions fully.

If you have any questions, feel free to give me a call at 203-252-7456 or shoot me an email at [email protected].

Questions to consider when writing your review …

PRODUCT

Product name, model, manufacturer, year of purchase, cost
What is the product made out of?
Where is it made? Is it made in the US?
What are the product specifications (e.g., Width, height, length, weight)? If there are a lot of specs (e.g., for a power tool), we can include that in the sidebar on the website so, if you think the specs are important, please include them.

LENGTH OF EXPERIENCE

How long have you worked with this product?
What experience did you have with similar products before getting this one?

USE

What do you use it for? What is it designed to do?
Can it reasonably be used to do anything else? (Please do NOT recommend anything that would void the warranty, compromise safety standards, violate EPA rules, or otherwise be inappropriate.)
What would you recommend using it for/what is it best used for?
What should it NOT be used for? You can push products beyond what they’re designed to do (e.g., using a mid-sized chainsaw to top a tree) – sometimes it works but it’s usually not a good idea… What do you think people might try to do with this product that they really shouldn’t?

EASE OF USE

How easy is it to use? How long did it take you to figure out how to use it properly?
Are the instructions for use clear? Could you easily follow those instructions? Are there online videos showing how to use it? Were those helpful?

COMFORT

Is it comfortable to use? What would make it more comfortable?
Did you make any modifications to make it better/easier/more comfortable to use? (Again, please don’t tell us about things that would void the warranty, etc.)

ASSEMBLY

If the product arrived by mail or other shipment, what condition was it in when it arrived? If it was damaged, why do you think that was?
If it requires assembly, how easy is it to assemble? Were there any difficulties in assembly?
What tips would you give others on how to assemble it?
Are there any special tools or products needed to assemble it?
Can one person assemble it alone?
How long did it take to assemble?

MAINTENANCE

How easy is it to maintain this product?
What kind of maintenance does it need and how frequently? (e.g., sharpen blades, replace parts, lubricate, etc.)
Do you need any special tools or products to maintain it?
If the product needs replacement parts, how easy are they to find/get and install? Are they reasonably priced?

SERVICE

If this product required service or you needed to contact Customer Service, what was your experience with that?
Was there a Customer Service phone number or email address?
How long did it take to get a response?
How long did it take to resolve the situation?
Was it easy to work with the servicer?

SAFETY

Are there any (potential or actual) safety issues with this product? Is it easy to use safely?
Are there any tips you’d give people on using it safely?

QUALITY

How would you describe the quality of this product for normal use in a home gardening environment (e.g., tolerances, finish, how long parts last before needing to be replaced)?
Does it stand up to normal use by a home gardener?
Would it stand up to heavy duty or extended use?

VALUE

How would you describe the overall value of this product? (e.g., is it a good price for what you get?)

FUNCTIONALITY

Does the product work as promised (e.g., does a stainless steel product not rust?)? If not, under which circumstances does it not work as promised?
Is there any way to get it to work properly under those circumstances? If so, how? (e.g., hit it, turn it off and then on, bend it, turn it upside down)

WHAT YOU LIKE*

What do you particularly like about it (e.g., cost, appearance, performance, power to weight ratio, comfort)?
What are the best/most useful features? Why?

WHAT YOU DON’T LIKE*

What do you not like about it? Why?

RECOMMENDED IMPROVEMENTS

If you could change or redesign this product, what would you do differently? What would make it more effective, efficient, comfortable, etc.?
What improvements would you recommend to the manufacturer?

OVERALL RECOMMENDATION*