Leave Reviews
From restaurants to books, small businesses rely on word of mouth and reviews. Make a habit of leaving a quick review after eating or shopping at a locally-owned business, or review your favorite find each week. Reviews don’t just persuade customers, they also unlock rank. Many systems require a set number of reviews before doing things like recommending matches. (This helps avoid review-stuffing, too.)
How to do it:
Reviews don’t have to be intimidating. I used to do promotion for authors, and people would tell me how much they loved a book, but when I said “could you put that in a review?” they’d backpedal. Most were embarrassed to have the author read their comments, but I’m married to an author. Every time he gets a five-star review his entire day lights up, even if it just says “great book.”
Keep it simple. Describe your experience with some context: “Great selection of puzzles” or “Salmon was delicious” is enough, or go all-in with creative writing and pictures. It’s all good! Award the stars. If it isn’t a perfect review, say why. “Food was very good, but service was slow so I’m taking off one star. Will definitely try it again, though.”
Leave reviews for small/local/minority-owned products and businesses anywhere you can. Google maps, Yelp, Facebook, etc. If you really love something, write a short post about it! Or ask for recommendations on your wall — someone may know exactly where you can buy that thing locally!
NOTE: some of the businesses we love to boycott have the most robust review economies because they dominate the market. We recommend you DO leave reviews for great small-business products places like Amazon or Google, even if you don't personally use those services. Many consumers check those reviews before buying in-person.
