Build a Better Blog: Write a Review

This week’s task in the Blogger Challenge (task #28) is to write a review. Yeah! One of the things I love about blogging is reading and reviewing — books, curriculum, experiences, you name it! I have a huge stack on the bookshelf in need of reading and reviewing right now in fact!

Ideas for Reviews

In his workbook, Darren lists a few ideas for reviews:

Books (check out mine for The Tender Years, Making Waves, Who is My Shelter, Read and Share Bible, and more)
Movies (my thoughts on Eat, Pray, Love and Oceans: The Documentary)
TV shows (Minute to Win it anyone?)
Another web site in your niche (check out these great kidmin blogs)
Music (our Spring Line Up of Songs, thoughts on Yancy)
An article from a magazine or web site (love this stuff!)
A gadget if you’re a tech blogger (though not a tech blogger, Todd does this all the time on his kidmin blog)
A toy if you’re a parent blogger (Tony reviewed a Gabbit game on Ministry to Children)

Personally, I do a lot of books and curriculum resources. Recently, we’ve been doing a unit on How to Use My Bible, so I’ve been trying to get reviews out on all the Cool Bible Tools we’ve discovered. I also plan on doing a few reviews on classroom decorations we’ve found (easy on the budget and fun!).

Always Room for Improvement

Darren lists many tips in his workbook to improve your reviews. Here’s two that I could improve on:

Visuals —anything that can help your readers visualize the product you’re reviewing will help. Use pictures, videos, screen captures, or diagrams wherever you can to add depth to your review post.
Details on How to Obtain the Item—if your review is about a product that can be purchased, give as much information on how they can buy it and how much it’ll cost.