There are so many benefits and advantages to asking clients for reviews, as I talked about last time. Reviews and feedback help you prove yourself as a professional freelancer, and they also show you your business from the customer’s perspective. That being said, there is a difference between a good review and a bad review, and it has nothing to do with the actual star rating that they give you.

Good reviews vs bad reviews (and why it matters)

As you can probably guess from the title of the blog post, positive reviews are real, authentic reviews, and bad reviews are false or inaccurate ones. Good reviews are real ones from actual customers, and bad reviews are ones that are coming from false customers who have never seen or used your product or service. The dangers of being caught out for creating or posting those include:

• Losing trust from returning clients: You put a lot of time and effort into the work that you do, and that time and effort is what earns you the reputation that you have. Are a few false reviews worth losing the trust that you have created with returning clients? These are people who are trusting your service and business, and even if they know the hard work that you do, they may go elsewhere if they know you are putting up false testimonials.

• Earning suspicion from potentially new clients: Any curious passers-by to your website or service page are going to be immediately suspicious if they see those false reviews. Not only does it look unprofessional, but it also makes them wonder why you are allowing or asking for them at all. What are you trying to hide?

• Frustration from possible allies: Many professional freelancers will work (or have worked) with other freelancers offering complementary services. If you earn a reputation for false reviews, then this can also sometimes loop them in and put their own reputation into question. This will lose you a lot of respect and often leave you stranded in a mess of your own making.

False reviews aren’t worth the risk

Regardless of the intent in allowing or, worse, asking for false reviews, the risk of being caught in the act isn’t going to be worth what it can possibly give you in return. The consequences can also follow you for years after since the internet is forever. Realistically speaking, online shoppers are skeptical and suspicious at the best of times, even if every single review that you have is 100% authentic and accurate. So, don’t give them any more ammunition to possibly report you or broadcast to the world that you have false reviews posted.  

While reviews are critical for helping you show your stuff, the only ones that matter are the ones that you earn. That’s my thoughts on the matter, anyway. What do you all think? In my next post, I’ll be talking about what I think makes a good review when you are looking at leaving one on someone else’s page, or reviewing one on your own!