Review Length. Can too long be as bad as too little?

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Review Length. Can too long be as bad as too little?

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Contributor: Beneath The Bed Beneath The Bed
Hi

I just returned to the Product Review program after an extended break and for the first time utilized the new format.

While I do like it and understand how it helps break things down more clearly. I also suspect it might be causing me to write a little too much.

No one wants to bore their readers and I feel that in this fast-pace modern world people might prefer shorter and more concise reviews.

Do you think that this Review might be too verbose. Or do you think it hits the sweet spot just right.

Btw this is my own review so I'm not criticizing anyone else. Just want to get an idea about what people think.

Plus I think it might help others who are trying to get a clearer idea about review lengths. EF suggests 300-800 words per review, but I have noticed that those who tend to wander on the lower side of that spectrum overwhelmingly get "not very useful" rating. While some where the person spends less time describing and reviewing the program and more time giving a long personal anecdote, tend to get better rating.

I understand that those reviews seem personal and often incorporate great humor in their writing. Hence, making the review a better read. But isn't the job of actually reviewing the product more important than ones grasp of creative writing.

Once again this is the Review up for debate. And once again I am not criticizing anyone, just myself — so don't hold back any punches!

PS: You can choose multiple choices.
Answers (private voting - your screen name will NOT appear in the results):
The review is too long. Cut back a little and save us some time!
The review is a decent length and does not need to be more succinct.
4
There is no such thing as too much info. Give us all you got! Make us laugh or cry, just make sure its interesting!
33
Reviews should be more about product information. This is not a creative writing class.
4
Product information is vital, but so are those little tidbits. After all, this is a site about adult toys.
16
Don't care. All I want is some sexy stories!
Total votes: 57 (40 voters)
Poll is closed
12/03/2011
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Contributor: Chirple Chirple
Hi there !

I'm new here, so take this as you will.

I don't think it's too long. Reading it, I was kept engaged and didn't get bored.

One thing I *do* feel about the extended form is that it can cause you to repeat yourself a little. I don't think it greatly harms the review, but it's something to think about when it comes down to cutting out possibly extra words.

I think it's an extremely useful review - if I was in the market, it would tell me everything I'd want to know. It looks long scrolling through it, and when I did that at first, I was like "yikes, long !" - but reading it, I don't think it's a problem at all.
12/03/2011
Contributor: K101 K101
I thought you included just the perfect amount of detail on every subject. You included everything about the toy and what I really love is how you included parts of your experience like how you and your partner used the toy and what worked best. Those are my fav kinds to read! I like the extended because you have the option to really share tips, what worked best, what didn't etc. I find it more informative and helpful to hear how others used it and what it done for them. Still, I do like to see the size and material. Those are the most important thigns to me when I'm going to buy a toy. I don't mind if the review is perfect of absolutely funny. That is not always possible. Just as long as it provides enough info to kind of get to know the toy and what to expect, it's good. I do love knowing a little info about the experience. I don't need to know every orgasm and when it happened and how earth shaking it was. Lol But I like to know the kind of info you included.
12/03/2011
Contributor: Silverdrop Silverdrop
People who are reading can easily skip bits if they think it's too long, but they can't read what isn't there. I'd rather see too much than too little info, particularly if it's a product that doesn't have many reviews yet.

Having said that, the shorter review that actually gets written is better than the long drawn out review that gets procrastinated. You have to find the sweet spot where you're still enjoying doing the review, while still providing enough information to be worth reading.
12/03/2011
Contributor: P'Gell P'Gell
Also, if you prefer to write a more concise review, you can choose the short template, instead of the Extended Template.

I tend to be pretty descriptive in my reviews, I don't want to leave out that one piece of information that may make the toy for someone.

I have read some of the older reviews, and in my opinion, the porn details, the shortness of the review and the lack of relevant data (materials, cleaning, size, warnings, allergy and sensitivity info, lube compatibilities were often not in the really old reviews) always annoys me. I want to hear how someone uses the toy, and whether they enjoyed it or not but I don't want to read a length of erotica. There are other places for that.

So, I think long reviews are fine, as long as they are relevant to the toy and to the use of it. I also tend to prefer reviews which have pictures in them, as some toys are hard to size up and figure out from just the product specs.

BTW, I thought your review about the harness and dil were great.
12/03/2011
Contributor: Beneath The Bed Beneath The Bed
Quote:
Originally posted by P'Gell
Also, if you prefer to write a more concise review, you can choose the short template, instead of the Extended Template.

I tend to be pretty descriptive in my reviews, I don't want to leave out that one piece of information that may make ... more
Definitely agree with you on the part about the pictures. Those glamour shots of the toys are sadly sometimes very deceiving. Been burn't a few times by those pictures!!

As far as the older reviews go; I think people have matured in their writing styles and so has the EF community with what it expects reviews to tell them.

Sure, good reviews might require more work...but I rather work harder on these toys than some excel sheet!!
12/03/2011
Contributor: El-Jaro El-Jaro
It's not bad, definitely "useful".

I like pictures in reviews and rarely find reviews w/o pictures "extremely useful". I get bored reading wall of text reviews.

Make it fun, make it light-hearted, and answer all the questions you had about the product before trying it. That's my advice.
12/03/2011
Contributor: - Kira - - Kira -
I agree with others who have mentioned pictures. It is useful for product sizing and all but also because it provides a nice visual break from the huge block of text in a long review, as JR said. If I see too much text, my ADD kicks in and I start to skim. If there's a picture in the middle of the text for some reason I can read through everything.

I tend to write novel length reviews. I try to include every possible detail that I cared about and that I think might be of use to someone else. I think of all the things I was curious about before I had the toy and answer that. Then I add in anything I learned about it that I wouldn't have guessed from the product page or other reviews. I add in my own personal experience and who I think the toy is best suited for.

Generally, I'd rather see a mile of text than one paragraph. I can skim through information that's useless to me but I can't add info that isn't there. So if I already know how to clean a toy, I'll just skip the cleaning section. However, if someone doesn't say anything about the size - how am I supposed to know if the toy will be a proper fit? Generally, more info is better.

I also appreciate little humorous stories and such. It makes the review light hearted and easy to read. I like when I can hear someone's personality in their review.
12/03/2011
Contributor: Ryuson Ryuson
(Review Program Mentor)
If I'm REALLY interested in a toy, the more information the better! Often I will skip over the material section because I consider myself knowledgeable about materials. Otherwise, the more the better!

I try to upload videos with my reviews so that people can get a better idea about them, too!
12/03/2011
Contributor: Cherrylane Cherrylane
As long as it's well written, I totally think more is better than less. Especially if there are extra details on unique quirks about the toy and how the reviewer uses it etc. Love those details (=

Plus, as mentioned, if the review is well organized, you can always skim through it to get the basic info you want, but more info is still readily available if you want it.
12/03/2011
Contributor: Adriana Ravenlust Adriana Ravenlust
I think yours could be on the slightly long side. It doesn't necessarily detract from the content but if you're worried, you should probably skip the little introductions. Some of your sections seems to contain a sentence or two at the beginning that isn't part of the review itself but more talks about the format of the review. For example:

"Now for the most important part!" or "Or also known as the great unraveling of an otherwise awesome harness set. I really wish I could write great tributes for this toy here, but sadly that is not going to happen." I'd rather you got to the meat and potatoes of it but I understand how hard it is. I like to editorialize, which fits well in the standard template, but is pretty much useless in the extended template.
12/04/2011
Contributor: Beneath The Bed Beneath The Bed
Alright. Listening to everyone it seems one thing that people really enjoy is actual photos of the product.

Keeping that in mind I have updated the review.

Hope this enhances the presentation.
12/06/2011
Contributor: LoveDrunk LoveDrunk
I don't think that a review can really be too long, but it can definitely be too dull. A good review makes me want to keep reading until the end. Something that has turned me off to some reviews has been reviewers that are too finicky. I know that all aspects of the toy are important, but I don't care what font the instruction manual is in or if the cord on the charger is 2 inches too long.
Providing good information, making it fun and interesting, and staying to the point are some factors that make me read a review and rate it favorably.
12/06/2011
Contributor: hiroshiro hiroshiro
I have a really short attention span and reviews definitely can be too long. I might have done a bit of skimming while looking through your review >.> I blame the pictures, if a review has pictures I tend to ignore the big chunks of words and just read around the pictures.
12/06/2011
Contributor: B8trDude B8trDude
It's the content of a review that makes a review good or bad. I've seen a lot of great very long reviews and also very short ones that are terrible.
12/06/2011
Contributor: gone77 gone77
Personally, my eyes will sometimes glaze over on long reviews. It really depends on how well it's written. I don't need every iota of information about every aspect of the toy within a review for me to find it useful. After a while, those kinds of reviews blur into each other because they all follow the same format and, frankly, that gets boring for me.

Also, photos are OK sometimes, especially when it comes to lingerie (sizing issues), but overall I'm not a big fan of them. Now, I do like some user photos on the product page moreso than in reviews, but even then I feel many different ones aren't necessary.
12/06/2011
Contributor: badk1tty badk1tty
I'm with Kristi. If I'm reading a review that's similar to studying for my chem midterm, I'm done with it. If you're going to make it long, at least keep it worth the read.
12/08/2011