I've thought about this for a while, and I think that I've compiled some good tips from myself and others that will help new reviewers immensely.
1. Please be detailed. I've edited probably 50 or more reviews with no detail, and I wanted to send it back to the writer
so bad but didn't because
technically, they did write a good review, just without a lot of detail. Obviously, your review shouldn't go on and on, but definitely try and describe the scene of your first use and/or first impressions when you get the toy.
2. Don't be afraid to be explicit. This is an adult forum, and the only people who should be accessing it are adults. (Check out
Di's Guy for this couple's great work at writing explicit reviews.) Don't be shy or embarrassed, these are sex toys that we're talking about!
3. If you need help or examples, try and answer the prompt questions in the boxes or look at the review example.
4. If it's a toy that requires button pushing, or does not come with a product manual,
please explain how it's used. It's rare, but sometimes toys that are NOT self-explanatory come without a product manual, and I have to play around with it.
5. You don't have to add pictures, but they're always a plus. Adding pictures, especially with a ruler or other form of measurement in the same picture, shows people how big the toy is. I know that I have a hard time imagining the size of things, and am always surprised when toys show up when I expected them to be bigger or smaller.
6. Get your partner involved! If you have a partner and use the toy on them, too (or they use it on you), let them write some! They'll be able to provide another point of view and perhaps another opinion on the item.
7. Don't be afraid to mention the things that are incorrect or unclear. You're not going to like every single toy that exists, and that's okay. If the product information is incorrect, pass it along to an Admin (
Leila has taken care of that for me once), and the same goes with things that are unclear. If you don't like the toy, mention why. If you don't like the buttons and it's super hard to use, mention that. If the toy has a design flaw (such as a sex machine that doesn't thrust hard enough and the motor jams when it's inside because it isn't strong enough to come out), mention it. A sex toy that's right for me won't be right for you because we're different people.
8. PLEASE USE A SPELLING/GRAMMAR CHECK. I personally use Grammarly, which is a free browser extension. You can even get it on your phone. When you misspell something or make a grammatical error, it displays a red line under the word and allows you to click on its suggestions for correction. It can also auto-correct words. Using correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling will make your review a million times better because it's actually readable.
9. Don't be afraid to look at other reviews for inspiration, especially if it's a type of toy that you've never used before. If you only write reviews for non-vibrating dildos and try out a vibrating dildo, your prior reviews and area of expertise won't help as much. Go to reviews of the product you're reviewing, see what's on theirs, and make your own review. Also, it's good practice to go on the product information page and grab some stuff from there - the material, methods of cleaning, and measurements can all help you (although I recommend measuring everything yourself because I've had some measurements on the product details be off). It all goes back to detail - try and think about it as if it's science rather than a sex toy review. How did it perform, how did you perform? Think of things objectively (without personal opinions and beliefs) rather than subjectively (thinking of things WITH personal opinions and beliefs).
10. Don't be afraid to ask for help. If there's a contributor on the website that you're friends with, or you like their style of reviews, whatever it may be...just message them. Or, you can ask it in this thread! No one should be left in the dark about anything that they need help with.
Hopefully, these help any reviewers when writing their own reviews.
