If you were going to order up a review from ReviewMe and the above is what they show as the first 10 blogs, which blog stands out the most?
I think it’s great that ReviewMe allow publishers to set their own price. However, as you can see, some publishers are taking advantage of the system. Because blogs are listed from highest price to lowest price, a few lower ranked blogs are pricing themselves super high in order to show up on the first page. Why would they do that? They’re using ReviewMe as a source of traffic instead of a source of income. They know the chance of getting a $750 order on a two star blog is very slim but it may make an advertiser visit the blog and check it out. While that may send some traffic, the conversion can’t be very high.
All this price gaming makes my blog look like a bargain. I’m the only five star blog on the list but I’m nowhere close to being the most expensive. This may help to explain why I get so many review requests. It also makes me feel like raising my review price.
I think ReviewMe should continue to allow publishers to set their own price. However, to prevent price gaming, a limit should be placed on the price range based on blog rating. For example, a one star blog can choose between $0 to $100, a two star blog can go up to $200, three stars go up $400, four stars up $750 and five stars have no limits. That would prevent lower ranked blogs from trying to game the system just for traffic. I would love to hear from some of the lower ranked blogs how much traffic you get from being on the ReviewMe first page. Looking through my own referrals, I doubt it’s that much.