Discussing the program before acceptance

Contributor: - Kira - - Kira -
Mentors - do you accept a student as soon as you receive the request or do you message the requester first to see if it would be a good fit for both of you? I've mentored a few students now and had a lot of luck with everyone being willing to learn and very nice. A few, I think, are confused by the expectation of the program.

I wrote up a welcome letter explaining how the program works and what my expectations are of the student and what they can expect from me as a mentor. I thought that I might send this to prospective students before accepting them to make sure that they understood what the program was so they could make an informed decision on if they wanted to participate given the time and dedication it takes to write quality reviews. I'm also super detailed, so I know my attention to detail may be frustrating for some people.

Then I thought that this might be overkill. That it might feel too formal, like I was handing out a syllabus before a college course or something. It's really something I thought of doing to make sure that I didn't take on anyone that didn't want to fully participate to leave spots open for those that did. I seem to fill all my spots in a short period of time. I'd hate to pass up someone who is really dedicated for someone who doesn't mesh with my style or doesn't have the time for reviewing and wasn't clear on what it would take.

Thoughts? I don't want to turn away someone that could be awesome by outlining expectations and the program in general, but I also want to be helpful and make sure everything is clear before signing up. I'm conflicted. What do you do?
01/25/2012
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Contributor: Adriana Ravenlust Adriana Ravenlust
I have a template I saved that I send AFTER I accept students that's similar. I think, if you can do it on a light-hearted way that isn't too long (don't want to scare anyone off), it can be a help.

Would you feel comfortable posting what you wrote up here?
01/25/2012
Contributor: Silverdrop Silverdrop
How much of it can you put in your mentor description? For a one on one class, I think checking for compatibility is important.
01/25/2012
Contributor: - Kira - - Kira -
Adriana - Blarg. Mine probably isn't light hearted lol. I was taught to write in a super formal manner and something about a word processing program being opened clicks that part of my brain on. It's also pretty lengthy. I'll message it over to you cause it's a work in progress and I don't want to broadcast it. At least not until I'm totally happy with it.

Silverdrop - The little profile only allows for a small word count. You can't fit very much in there.
01/25/2012
Contributor: unfulfilled unfulfilled
I think everyone could benefit from being mentored under you. I love your very thorough and detailed reviews. I finally just set an alert to tell me when you have a review up because I always enjoy reading them and I have missed several in there and think to myself where did that come from? I have a lot of reading to do to catch up with all of yours but one day I'm going to have them all read.
01/25/2012
Contributor: Beck Beck
My very first message is one I write up explaining everything about how it works and so on, but I have started to type one in word that way I can just copy it and paste it, because I am currently re typing for every student. What a pain that is! I am going to finish my just calling it my guide for class.
01/25/2012
Contributor: Beck Beck
Quote:
Originally posted by Silverdrop
How much of it can you put in your mentor description? For a one on one class, I think checking for compatibility is important.
I couldn't agree with this more! I wish that they were better educated on the program before even requesting the mentor. Also that potential students would message the mentor and talk with us before, that way we all know if we are compatible.
01/25/2012
Contributor: Kindred Kindred
I have a set message I send that details my expectations, but I send it after I accept. I base my acceptance on their initial message, if they seem sincere and truly interested. I don't worry if they cancel since having an opening has rarely been an issue for me. I can't think of one student that has canceled, although I have canceled some myself.
01/25/2012
Contributor: Jobthingy Jobthingy
I have sent before and after depending on my initial feeling. It is nothing set in stone, it is just something on a whim that just says (in a nut shell) that I expect them to take this seriously, if they are not going to be around for a long period of time to let me know, (I will do the same for them if I am away on vacation or whatever), and that i am here to help no matter the question.
01/25/2012
Contributor: Ryuson Ryuson
Most people I mentor contact me after I've introduced myself to them or mentioned the mentor program to them, but I agree that their initial message is a big deal.

I feel like a 'syllabus' may be a tad formal, but the mentoring program is a formal training for receiving products worth real money for real reviews.
01/25/2012
Contributor: js250 js250
I check the student's profile out prior to accepting them and will accept them depending on the message I receive with their application. I have found, myself, that a lot of the students are very uncertain about the program, are not aware of the details and are jumping into it to get graduated vs. to better their reviews. I have a letter I give them upon acceptance detailing in a short, fun way that I look forward to helping them learn to navigate the site, write detailed reviews and will be here for them if they have any questions. I have had a few deadbeats, but most of them seem to do really good. There are the exeptions, I have had four who have done an amazing job and are really dedicated. Those ones make the work worthwhile!!!
01/25/2012
Contributor: - Kira - - Kira -
Quote:
Originally posted by unfulfilled
I think everyone could benefit from being mentored under you. I love your very thorough and detailed reviews. I finally just set an alert to tell me when you have a review up because I always enjoy reading them and I have missed several in there ... more
Awww thank you so much! Skip the first couple. They were sucky. LOL
01/25/2012
Contributor: - Kira - - Kira -
Thanks everyone for the input! For those that have little letters or something that they regularly say - do you mind posting it or messaging it to me? I think mine is too formal and wordy. I'd like to get a better idea of something more casual and less like it's a college course. lol
01/25/2012
Contributor: Coralbell Coralbell
I used to send messages explaining the program and my expectations after I accepted students, but I have started doing it before I accept them, due to the number of students I've had that never finished the class.
01/25/2012
Contributor: Hot 'N Sexy TexasMama Hot 'N Sexy TexasMama
Well, I thought I'd share this. I just posted it on a review that I edited for a brand new EF member. I write each of these individually and try to point folks towards the mentor program if I see they are new to Eden and only have one or two reviews.

~~~~


Hot 'N Sexy TexasMama

Hi! I was the editor/proofreader for your review and I wanted to take a moment and share some information with you since I see that you are new to the site.

I'm assuming that you would like to become an advanced reviewer so that you can request free products to review. If that is the case, there are two ways you can become an advanced reviewer.

a. Write two or more reviews and then put yourself up for a vote from the community members to become an advanced reviewer. This sounds like the quickest way and it is fairly fast.

b. Work with a mentor and submit reviews to them. Once you submit two reviews, they have the option of graduating you and you automatically become an advanced member that way. Sometimes they may recommend that you do an additional review or two with them to get a better feel for the program and they will often ask you to use the extended format.

Why work with a mentor when you can become an advanced reviewer fairly quickly? Well, I have found that when I worked with mentors (and I worked with two different mentors at various times), my votes on reviews from other members became higher and this meant that I was able to request higher priced items to review because my personal ratings were higher. You see, my mentors were able to help me understand what goes into a review to make it better.

For instance, if I was your mentor, I would recommend for this review that you give the following information to make your review better:

a. the length and girth of the dildo along with more information like what material it was made of and how to clean it

b. the measurement of what size hips this item will fit (the product page says up to 52" hips but many people don't want to keep going back and forth between the product page and your review to get that information)

c. How do you clean this? Spot clean it? Have you ever tossed it in the washer? What are the straps made of - do they itch?

Do you see how having a mentor helps?

If you are interested in the mentor program - you can find out more here which also includes a list of mentors.

Thanks for your review and I hope you enjoy yourself on the site. Please feel free to contact me if you ever have any questions and I'll be glad to help you or find someone who can help you.
01/25/2012
Contributor: Kindred Kindred
Quote:
Originally posted by - Kira -
Thanks everyone for the input! For those that have little letters or something that they regularly say - do you mind posting it or messaging it to me? I think mine is too formal and wordy. I'd like to get a better idea of something more casual ... more
I think I gave this to you previously, but here is my typical message. I adjust it slightly for already advanced reviewers.

I'm happy to work with you, but there's a few things you should know. In terms of the program itself, you have to do at least 2 reviews with me to graduate, although we can certainly do more if you feel you are not ready to review on your own after the two. Everyone is different in this respect. Once we both agree that you are ready, I will graduate you.

One thing I ask is that you do not request a community upgrade while enrolled with me as a student. As a mentor, we are given compensation in the form of a $25 gift card for graduating a student into advanced status. If you request an upgrade vote and become advanced while still my student, I am no longer eligible to receive the card. I ask that you not do this out of respect. You will automatically become an advanced reviewer once I graduate you.

Now that I have accepted you as a student, we need to decide on your first toy to review. You can either review an item you already have or we can try to pick out an item for you to review and request it as an assignment. The price limit is $30 regardless of your rank and typically they ask that it not have 3 written reviews for it already, but that is not a hard fast rule. Is there something in particular you had in mind? If you give me a few ideas, I can also try and make a few suggestions. Once we have a few possibilities, I will pass them forward and hopefully they will approve one and assign it to you. There is also no wait time needed between assignments. Once you have completed one, we can request another assignment immediately.

For writing your first review with me, I would strongly suggest reading some reviews of some of the advanced reviewers to get a sense of what information to include. Here are also editing guidelines with common errors.

link

After you write your review, there is an option at the bottom to submit it to your mentor. When you do this, it will be sent to me and I have the option to read, edit, and comment on it. If necessary, I will return it to you and suggest changes. We can do this back and forth as many times as necessary until we feel it is ready to be posted. At this point, I will publish your review directly.

We can work at your pace, but I would certainly appreciate being kept informed if you have any issues that prevent you from completing your review in time. Things happen, so I totally understand, just let me know so I know what is going on. Personally, I will try to respond to any reviews you submit to me within a week.

In the meantime, here is a thread I created that has a lot of useful information.

link

And here is an excellent thread with some review writing tips.

link

Hopefully I have answered most of your initial questions. Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions regarding reviewing, the website, or the community. I'm here as a resource to help you.

So the first thing is to select a few items that you might be interested in reviewing. The Product Search feature can be helpful in narrowing down your choices. link . I look forward to hearing from you.
01/25/2012
Contributor: - Kira - - Kira -
Ooh! These are great! I'm gonna go tweak mine some. Thanks so much!

Wonderful reference links, too.
01/25/2012