Just to be upfront before I begin – this is a sponsored post. I’m being paid by the site I’m reviewing to write this review, though it won’t influence the outcome in any way. Sorry if ’sponsored posts’ ain’t your thing, but hey, it’s not for every one.

Review Me is a new service from the same folks who brought you Text Link Ads. As such, if you have an approved blog in the TLA system, chances are you will have had it pre-approved for Review Me. You still have to sign up on the site, but if you put in your blog details, it should skip the whole “48 hours to approve” thing.

As the name suggests, Review Me is centred around reviews. The idea is advertisers hook up with bloggers who will write reviews for them. It’s important to note that, unlike TLA, Review Me is only open to bloggers.

Once you’re signed up and approved, the process seems very simple and straight-forward.

1. You check your account activity for new review offers.
2. You accept an offer if you want to.
3. If so, the site will let you know how long you have to write the review, and any guidelines.

Based on my experiences so far, the norm for #3 seems is 48 hours to write the review, a minimum review length of 200 words, and a strict requirement of disclosing the fact the post is sponsored. This is a very good thing which can ensure a certain level of trust can be maintained between the blogger, and their readers and – to a lesser extent – the advertisers. By forcing the disclosure policy everyone knows where they stand.

The site itself is easy to use, though it does have a certain childish/unprofessional feel to it thanks to the design. It’s definitely “Web 2.0″ – rounded corners, trendy colours, expandable boxes and so-called AJAX functionality everywhere. More or less, it works just like the Text Link Ads site – if you’ve spent any time managing your approved blogs in the TLA system, you’ll feel right at home on Review Me. The only real difference is the use of a “tag-cloud” in the sidebar instead of a list of categories. Like I said, it’s very Web 2.0. If anything, the design is the major let-down for me; it just doesn’t feel credible enough to attract the steady stream of advertisers it’ll need to make it as worthwhile an income stream as TLA has proved. For the record, I think TLA has a much better and more suitable design for what it hopes to achieve.

One thing I do like about Review Me is you can see exactly what level your site is rated at compared to others – and more importantly – how much you can expect to receive per post. I’m sure there is a nice, fancy algorithm behind this and it’s not just an arbitrary number you get assigned.

So In Summary…

Review Me looks like it could be a winner. It’s open and upfront policies prove the team behind it know bloggers well and have really thought about their target market. On top of that, the ease-of-use lets anyone get up and running quickly – perfect for this world where people of all skill levels have a blog. The only real gripes I have are subjective. The first is the design; it’s just not good enough for something should be looking to attract serious advertising revenues. The second is the issue of pay per-post. Some people don’t mind, while others see it as a blogging sin – disclosure or not. I’m not fully decided either way. There’s something about it which makes me slightly uneasy, but at the same time I think “why shouldn’t I earn some money for writing something?” At the end of the day, it’s your call whether you feel comfortable enough publishing a review for the company, site, or whoever is paying you to write it.

Good

• Quick and Easy to get started.
• Open and upfront – requires disclosure of paid posting.
• It’s got the TLA crew behind it.

Bad

• Design looks a bit amateurish.
• Even with disclosure, Pay Per-Post is almost up there with selling your soul, to some.

And Finally.

If you signup at Review Me just now, they’ll offer to pay you to write a review of Review Me itself.