I write a lot of reviews these days. It’s a really great way to make some extra money and the products I sign up to review are usually products I don’t mind saying a few good words about. It’s a win-win situation for me and the company I am being paid by. However, lately I’m starting to get peeved at the people who comment on my reviews. Not you guys of course. You are my real readers. You’ve come to know me over the years and you care about me. Some of you comment on my review site and I love that. Your comments are always interesting and unique and most importantly they answer the question I usually pose at the end of my post. But you know what a majority of the comments are? Copied and pasted canned answers from people who don’t read my normal blog or even the post which they are commenting on. This gets my goat.

I know reviews can be boring. I don’t read them very often myself unless the product being reviewed is something that I am already interested in or the blogger who is reviewing them is super funny or interesting. I don’t pretend to be super funny or interesting but I do try to write reviews from my own unique perspective. I do put the work into each review. I don’t copy and paste content or slap one photo up and call it a day.

I also realize that review posts are always contests. There is always incentive to comment and a prize for some lucky commenter. I realize that whenever you attach dollars and prizes to posts then you are going to attract readers that are only there for the prizes and dollars. But here is where I come in and can make a difference. I don’t think it’s fair that people who don’t even bother to read my review posts should be allowed to win the prize. If your comment does not answer my question at the end of my post then I think you should be disqualified.

So here’s my secret to my loyal blog readers: You have an advantage over all those copy-and-paste commenters who are not loyal SAJ fans and don’t know me from Adam. They don’t read my posts. You do. So if you are so inclined, you could win an easy $100 just for paying attention! Go ahead and skim the review if it’s boring. I understand, I do it too, BUT pay attention to the prompting question. Eighty percent of the other commenters are not paying attention and I am going to throw their comments out when I use random number generator to pick a winner.

Speaking of… here’s a review I wrote about V8 V-Fusion + Tea. It’s a surprising little drink that gives you some get-up-and go and tastes good. And guess what? The answer to my prompt question is NOT what your favorite flavor is!

Okay. I’m done ranting.