Epinions.com could use more RPG reviewers!

[owling]

Epinions.com (http://www.epinions.com/) is a comparison shopping site that features consumer reviews of products of all kinds, including books; it receives more than 12 million visitors each month. However, Epinions doesn't have many RPG reviewers, and we'd like to correct that. ("We" is a couple of the Category Leads for the Books category from the site. We do not speak for Epinions itself.)


A few basic notes about Epinions

You should understand a few things about Epinions and the Epinions community before you run off to write for them (or decide not to). First, you need to be a member at the site in order to post reviews--but membership is free. Second, Epinions does pay for reviews. However, I'm not going to give you some bull about them paying a lot for reviews. Right now they pay in "income share"--i.e., the more money your reviews make for them, the more money they give you.

To put things in perspective, there are more than one million consumer-written reviews that are presumably earning part of whatever profit they make. That isn't going to make for a lot of money per review, and books--which have a low price when compared to, say, a washing machine--don't earn much. The "top earning" book reviews for January 2003 earned "more than $1." This means that most book reviews earned less--often a lot less.

However, Epinions has so many reviews on their site because people find other things attractive about the site. For instance, a number of communities have sprung up around the site. People have made friends there. A lot of people simply enjoy writing and reading reviews on the items they love and hate.


Reviewing Books for Epinions

Epinions has been around for several years, with a large and growing community. This means that the book reviews have had several years to evolve into something that, at its best, is actually pretty darn good. This also means that people's expectations are kind of high. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind:

Read some book reviews there before you start writing them; check how the reviews are rated. (Note that you won't be able to view low-rated reviews until you're a logged-in member.) Get a feel for the level of detail that's expected. You aren't expected to write like everyone else, but it helps to know the rough level of quality that readers look for. Make sure you look at reviews written recently, as expectations have changed quite a bit over time.

People like to hear about both the objective details (premise, topics covered, etc.) and a more subjective judgment of quality, not just one or the other.

One good rule of thumb is to assume that your reader knows nothing about the book you're reviewing, no matter how popular the book. Readers like to see some detail, so that they'll be able to make up their own minds based on your review. When you review fiction, people usually prefer that you not give away all or most of the plot!

You tend to connect with other members by reading & rating (and commenting on) other people's reviews. If you find you really don't enjoy wandering around the site and reading other people's material, then you probably won't get much out of writing for Epinions. The good news is that there are a lot of interesting people on the site who write neat stuff. Different parts of the community have different personalities, so it usually isn't hard to find one you feel comfortable with.


Reviewing RPGs for Epinions

There are a lot of people at Epinions who will read your reviews who have never roleplayed. Your review needs to be clear enough that they'll feel it makes sense. People like to read about new things on Epinions, so your reviews will get rated by people who don't even know what a roleplaying game is.

Here are a few suggestions to make this easier on you:

Be clear about the fact that you're reviewing a roleplaying game.

Explain the relationship between the book you're reviewing and the game as a whole (e.g., if it's the core rulebook, then briefly explain that and what that means). Mention things that clearly reference the physical book that you're reading, like writing quality, the quality of the artwork, etc.

Avoid hobby short-hands. Try not to explain something exclusively in terms of other games. Write words out the first time you abbreviate them or use acronyms in each review, so that non-roleplayers will understand what you're saying. (Even widely-understood things like "GM" or "d10.")

Don't assume that your reader knows anything about the game your supplement goes with. Try to explain any terminology you use. Clearly explain which game a supplement goes with, what the purpose of the supplement is, and which books are needed in order to use it.

Read over your review after you're done writing it and ask yourself, "if I didn't know anything about roleplaying, what would I want explained?" You don't have to go overboard, but try to make sure that any non-roleplayer reading your review will at least get enough out of it to feel that your review makes sense. As an example of a review aimed specifically at the Epinions audience, here is my review of "The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game":
http://www.epinions.com/content_92011859588
I'm not holding it up as some paragon of reviewing, but I think it does show how you can explain things as you go.


"Can I repost reviews from other places on Epinions?"

This is probably painfully obvious, but you aren't allowed to post someone else's work. No plagiarism. It's a quick way to get your account terminated.

You are allowed to repost your own content under certain circumstances. This is quoted from the user agreement as of 4/8/03:

"We ask that you refer or provide links to Epinions if you choose to republish your Content elsewhere and that you do not publish the same items of Content on both Epinions and other product or price comparison sites."

Please read the actual user agreement, however, as it may change over time:
http://www.epinions.com/help/show_~useragreement

One approach I've used in the past is to write two versions of a review. I'll write a review aimed at roleplayers and post it someplace else, and I'll rewrite the review for the Epinions crowd and post it there.


"Why does Epinions have so few RPG reviewers?"

I think it's due to a disparity in expectations. Many people reading reviews at Epinions don't know a lot about RPGs. Most RPG reviewers are used to writing for an audience that already knows what a d6 is and how D&D works. This means that reviewers don't put enough information in, and readers don't understand the reviews.

This results in low ratings from readers, or very confused comments, which scare off potential reviewers who don't understand the different needs of that community.


"What if I want to review a related item, like a novel, magazine, or board game?"

There are categories for almost everything on Epinions. For example, you'll find the game "Settlers of Catan" in the Kids & Family category. The Magazines & Newspapers category is also run by the same people who run the Books category. Use the search box. Browse categories. Read a few reviews in the categories you're interested in writing in--each one has its own expectations. If you ever have a question, look for an Advisor or Category Lead in the relevant category.

Caution: be sure when you find something via the search engine that you're actually reviewing the item you think you're reviewing. For instance, I've seen people accidentally put a review of a computer game or movie under the book by the same name, and there are often multiple books by the same title. Check the category of the item before you review it, and click on the link that lets you view the details of an item--such as author, copyright date, and ISBN number.


"What if I want to review a book that isn't in the database?"

This is, unfortunately, often a problem with RPGs, since many of them don't end up in the major book databases out there. Luckily, we have the capability to add items. If you decide to become involved in Epinions and you have a book you'd like us to add, get in touch with the CLs and we'll tell you what information we need and what to do with it.


More Information

For links to more information, check out the Epinions Member Center:
http://www.epinions.com/member/

For yet more information about Epinions, as well as links to various FAQs: http://www.epinions.com/about/

I highly recommend the following essays aimed at new members. The first is a general essay aimed at all new Epinions members, and the second is aimed at folks who write book reviews:
http://www.epinions.com/content_3058212996
http://www.epinions.com/content_3086327940

Also, a few months ago I wrote this essay on reviewing RPGs at Epinions. Some of it you'll recognize from things I said in this post:

http://www.epinions.com/content_2844958852


A couple of extra things to know about reviewing for Epinions

It's possible to save your review and come back to it later before "publishing" it on the site. (Sometimes people who don't realize this publish incomplete reviews and get down-rated.)

It's also possible to update your review later--you can fix mistakes, add things you didn't think to mention, and so on. Most Advisors (and other members as well) are happy to come back afterward, re-read and re-evaluate your review, and possibly change their rating if they think it's warranted. You can email them the URL of your review after you're done updating and ask them to re-read the review.

Also, if you decide that you just can't stand your review and you can't fix it, it is possible to delete reviews.

You can use very limited html in your reviews, such as bold, italics, and internal links within the Epinions site.


"What's all this stuff about rating reviews?"

Because anyone at all can submit a review, Epinions had to come up with some way to make sure that customers see only good, thorough, helpful reviews. In order to do this, they instituted a rating system. Reviews can be rated Not Helpful, Somewhat Helpful, Helpful, or Very Helpful by any member of the site. Only reviews with an overall score of H or VH can be seen by the non-member public in most cases.

When you get less-than-stellar ratings, members (particularly Advisors in the category) are encouraged to leave comments on your reviews explaining why, so you aren't left stranded wondering why on earth you're getting poor ratings. That way, if you're interested in improving your review, you have somewhere to start. Note that this in no way obligates you to change your review in response to the suggestions--it's up to you to decide which suggestions are worth following.


"I have more questions about all this. Who do I talk to?"

Books questions can be directed to any of the Books category leads. Since there is occasionally some turnover in CL positions, I'll direct you to the page that lists the CLs rather than giving you names:
http://www.epinions.com/member/commu.../vert_~3321654

There you'll find links to their member profiles, where you should find email addresses or other means to get in touch with these people. You can also email me (contact info below), since for the time being I am one of the category leads.

First, however, you might try some of the links I provided above, to see whether Epinions has already answered your questions.


Thank you for your time, and I hope we see some of you at Epinions!

Heather Grove
Category Lead: Books, Magazines, and Newspapers
Epinions.com
heather@burningvoid.com
http://www.epinions.com/user-owling