If you enjoy leaving reviews on items you buy, then you could turn it into a hobby that pays off! Amazon runs a programme called Vine that gives trusted reviewers the chance to try out products for free, in exchange for an honest review, whether it’s positive, negative or neutral.
After you’ve paid out money for something there are loads of people who like to take a bit of time, go back and leave a review.
Had a fab time on your last holiday?
Trip Advisor is a great place to leave your thoughts on the hotel and the best places you visited.
Went to dinner and hated it?
You might head to their Facebook page and leave a few comments about the service.
Love the book you’re reading?
Pop a review on Amazon to let others know why they need to buy this book next.
Writing reviews
Whether it’s wanting to sing praises or try to put others off, having the chance to leave your thoughts about what you’ve spent money on feels good.
Maybe you like the idea of helping other people who are on the fence about making a purchase?
Or maybe you want to make sure that the company you’ve spent money with improve their service in some way?
Whatever your reasons, your review is helpful to the next person looking to part with their money.
Get free products leaving reviews
If you enjoy leaving reviews on items you buy, then you could turn it into a hobby that pays off!
Amazon runs a programme called Vine that gives trusted reviewers the chance to try out products for free, in exchange for an honest review, whether it’s positive, negative or neutral.
How does Amazon Vine work?
It all works like this:
- A company or seller pay a fee to Amazon.
- Amazon asks their reviewers to test out the product from the company.
- The Vine Voice reviewer writes up a review on the site as usual (which Amazon are not able to edit).
- The review will be marked with a green Vine Voice stripe.
What’s the catch?
Well, it’s not a catch as such.
However, you can’t just apply to be a member of the Amazon Vine programme; you need to be invited.
This much-coveted invite can’t come from your mum, your mate or the next door’s cat, but it needs to come directly from Amazon.
How can you get on the Amazon Vine programme?
It all comes down to the quality of the reviewer.
How many things have you bought from Amazon? How many things have you left a review for?
If you want any chance of getting on the Vine programme, you need to leave reviews – good, helpful reviews – for everything you buy (not just things they send you for being part of Vine).
The review needs to be detailed rather than “arrived on time, box damaged” or “as described, works well”.
These types of reviews don’t help the next person looking to make a decision on their purchase and that’s what you need to keep in mind when you leave a review.
Consider taking a few photos, describe what the item is like, be helpful and honest with your review.
But, above all, make sure to proofread and spell check back what you’ve written. Leaving reviews is a big deal at Amazon and they’ve put together some guidelines to help.
By being helpful, other shoppers will give feedback that your review is helpful. The more time people vote in your favour, you will move up the hall of fame (yes, this is a real thing!) and you’ll more likely be picked to take part in Vine Voice.
It’s not about the number of reviews you leave – it’s about how helpful it is. So, leaving one awesome review is better than leaving 10 slapdash reviews.
What could I review with Amazon Vine?
You could get the chance to review so many different products.
Have a look at some of your favourite categories on Amazon. What do you usually buy?
Check out the reviews and see if you can find an item with a Vine review. By having a look you can see the kinds of things being given away for free.
The products you get offered are usually based on your previous reviews.
If you have a keen interest in one area then make those reviews really good and you’ll start to stand out as an expert in that particular category.
Amazon will be able to see what you buy/review and you’ll be offered similar products for free.
Books
The one you’ll see loads of is books. Buying books via Amazon is cheaper than buying from the high street and Amazon have been a big player in the book market for years.
Whether its fiction or non-fiction there will be options to read all sorts of books.
Here’s a couple of examples of Vine reviewed books:
- Children’s spelling book
- The One That Got Away
- Mildred’s Vegan Cookbook
- Breakfast is Served
- Declutter Your Life
- Mr Men picture book
Wine (and food (and cleaning stuff))
We all need to eat but it sure does get expensive!
One decent way of cutting the costs is to just get food, drink and cleaning products absolutely free! That’d sure help đŸ™‚
Here’s a couple of examples of Vine reviews, take a look and see the kind of thing they write:
- 3 bottles of white wine
- Bold Bio 2-in-1 Washing Capsules
- Lenor unstoppables
- Surf and Comfort kit
- 24 bars of flapjacks
- Whiskey
- teapigs tea
- Huggies pull ups
- Aveeno baby wipes
Appliances
Your kitchen may be full of gadget and tech, probably because kitchen appliances are really handy.
Some can set you back a fair bit of cash, so it’s not easy to buy them all. And, typically, you will only own one of each as they can be bigger purchases.
So when it comes to making a purchase, most people will go and check out the reviews of appliances to see if they’re getting good value for money.
This is where Amazon Vine comes in!
Check out these items and see what kind of comments are left by the Amazon Vine reviewers.
Makeup and toiletries
Personal care is big business! From washing your hair to shaving it off, there are all sorts of items for sale on Amazon that get reviewed.
There are products for both men and women that are on the Vine programme. You just need to work out if you can write 200 helpful words about an aftershave or a lipstick?
Need inspiration? Check out some of these personal care items which have been reviewed by Vine Voices:
- ManCave products
- Toni & Guy Body Amplify Creation Hairspray
- James Bond 007 Seven EDT Vapour
- Baylis & Harding sets
- Rimmel Lasting Finish lipstick
- Garnier shampoo
- Ardell Beauty Pro Eyeshadow Palette
- Ghost Sweetheart Eau De Toilette Splash
Clothing
We all need to wear clothes, but instead of having to fork out money wouldn’t it be nice to get some for free?
Well as a member of Amazon Vine, clothing is included in the products you can sample and leave a review for.
Here’s a couple of examples of Vine reviewed clothes:
Anything else?
Yep, there are all sorts of things that come up. From toys to sports equipment and even jewellery.
Anything could be offered for free!
Like…
Some of this stuff really isn’t shabby! It’s not like a 99p phone case or a something you’d never go on and use. The stuff I’ve seen reviewed would easily fit into the home and get used well.
Just remember, if you’re lucky enough to get an invite, you need to leave your (helpful, honest, positive/negative) review within 30 days of getting the product.
Your reviews also need to continue to be helpful (by real users voting that they are) to stay an Amazon Vine member.
Is it worth the effort?
If you don’t mind writing and find it easy enough then why not?
It doesn’t take much time to put a few hundred words together about your freebie then you get to keep and continue to use it after.
Perhaps you need a new iron or could do with some more makeup or cleaning products?
By getting involved with Amazon Vine you can stop the need to spend cash and can save your money for something else.
Other ways to get free Amazon products
It may be a bit of a long shot to get on the Vine programme, but there are other ways to get free stuff from Amazon.
Read up on another way how everyone can get free Amazon products and discounts.
Alternatively, how about getting your choice of what you want, instead of being offered specific products. There are ways to get free Amazon gift vouchers too.
Read next: Amazon Prime Review: Is It Worth The Money?
Naomi knows the burden of living on very little and became debt free by learning from past mistakes and following her own money saving tips and tricks. She is studying a Level 2 Certificate in Awareness of Mental Health Problems and is a Youth Mental Health First Aid Champion.
