To review or not to review?

It's been a while blog, and I've missed you.

I've been working harder and harder lately, it feels, and to little avail. At what point does 'feeling experienced' kick in? Here are some of the things my brain has actually remembered lately:

Editorial is worth three times that of advertorial. Even though getting a journalist to write about a thing would often cost the company less than buying an advert for it. I.e. a typical half page ad might cost £500 but asking a journalist to review your restaurant, hotel or spa for one night would typically cost £300 on the very outside. This is assuming their normal service is in no way disrupted, in which case you might be a bum on a seat that wouldn't have been paid for anyway, as reviews are usually relegated to week nights to protect establishments' busiest times.

The reasponing behind the relative value is that an advert is an advert: it is designed to bring a brand or product to front-of-mind but can only have a limited impact based on whether the item is something you would consider buying, can afford, etc.

A review or editorial piece starts a conversation with you about the product. This is obviously far more engaging, especially from an authority figure (editor of the magazine or well-known critic), a writer you are familiar with and so trust, or even a celebrity figure. After hearing a personable voice espousing the good aspects of a product, instead of seeing them in the sales pitch of an advert, you are far more likely to remember the brand and of course spend your all-important money.

This is a great advantage if you are a writer and want to swan off to four-star hotels all the live-long day (except  Fridays and Saturdays, see above). Less good if you don't want to appear a total sell-out who does nothing but whore yourself out for reviews, with which your magazine will become so stuffed that there is no other content.

Don't get me wrong, I love reviews: film, music, theatre, dance, food, art - written well, there are very few things of which I won't read a review. And magazines like Shortlist runs its reputation on providing reviews and mentions of engaging, interesting and wide-reaching content. But it has established a reputation first.

This is the balancing act; where you don't review, you might be able to pass someone interested in coverage along to sales, where they will buy advertising, thus actually supporting your publication. This is what Shortlist, for instance, need to happen.

So what appeared to be some glamourous perk at the beginning of my career becomes a delicate balancing act: how do I employ a company that simply wants me to visit its venue, at the least expense to the company, so that it actually benefits my magazine instead?