It pays to Heat Eat Review

June 2, 2008 | Reviewer: Abi Jones

That’s right, Heat Eat Review is now paying for reviews of frozen and convenience foods. Updated guidelines are available at http://heateatreview.com/contribute.

Please feel free to send any questions to abi (at) heateatreview dot com or leave questions in the comments section and I’ll add them to this post as an FAQ.

So, if I send you a review do I get paid?
You get paid if you’ve already had 5 reviews published on the site. I’m paying people who are somewhat regular contributors. So, if you send me a review and you’ve never sent one before, I won’t pay you. But, if you’ve already had five reviews published (which means you probably also have an author page), then you’ll be paid for each subsequent review.

How does this work?
When you send in a review you’ll get a confirmation email, plus a request to acknowledge the submission guidelines and payment schedule. Once you do that we’ll start charting your way to getting in those first 5 reviews.

Seriously? We’re getting paid now? Holy crap. So I’ll be paid for reviews I’ve sent to you but haven’t yet been published?
If you’ve already had 5 reviews published, yes.

Is a review less likely to be published if the product is not as readily available?
Regional brands are fine for review, but using your own judgement regarding reviewability is best.

Do you have any rules against reviews being published elsewhere? E.g., my own blog or review site?
Previously published reviews (from your own blog or another review site) are not eligible for publication on Heat Eat Review. Exclusivity and fairness are both important. After a review is published on Heat Eat Review you are welcome to publish it on your own blog or website, but not on a 3rd party review site.

Keep the questions coming! We’ll be back to the regularly scheduled review at 1pm Pacific.

Sincerely,
Abi Jones

comments

14 Responses to “It pays to Heat Eat Review”

Davie on June 2nd, 2008

SWEET! You know, I wrote a soup review this weekend when I was bored as hell and have been mulling over sending it in…wasn’t sure if I was worthy, you know? I guess it can’t hurt to try after all…
Abi Jones on June 2nd, 2008

Davie, you won’t be paid for your first 5 reviews, but once you become a regular reviewer you’ll be compensated for every soup you write about.
Chavi on June 2nd, 2008

Slap me silly and color me STOKED. I have some frozen biryani in the freezer (among other things) …
Abi Jones on June 2nd, 2008

@Chavi - I’m glad you’re excited. I wanted to make this worthwhile for people who were already doing it for love, not money.
Davie on June 2nd, 2008

Sounds like a fair deal! A.K.A. extra motivation to get through Jimmy Dean blueberry pancake-wrapped sausages, which were going to be my next project. Too bad I thought they were my own hilarious discovery, when Jon Stewart has actually been making fun of them on his show for, like, 2 years
rob on June 2nd, 2008

What do I get for making wiseass comments in the comments section?
KJ on June 2nd, 2008

I kinda wanna do this. I try lots of different vegan/vegetarian frozen food but I am not the best writer. Oh well~
rob on June 2nd, 2008

I be if you deep fried one of those blueberry pancake-wrapped sausages after dipping it in batter it would be the greatest state fair food ever.
Abi Jones on June 2nd, 2008

@Davie - I’m so glad you have those! I’ve been thinking about them, but I don’t like blueberries. Yeah, that’s that part that’s stopping me.

@Rob - Actually, I’m thinking up some sort of reward for that, too. Not for every comment, just the best ones.

@KJ - You don’t have to be the next Nicholas Sparks (though reviews that involve dead husbands who lovingly look over the dating lives of their left-behind spouses might be interesting). All you have to do is be honest and be yourself. Fanciful and factual reviews are both appreciated.

@Rob - My stomach is not happy after reading that sentence.
KJ on June 2nd, 2008

Well then I will give it a shot!
HaveGoodGetGive on June 4th, 2008

I’ve been eating frozen meals for lunch for the past 5 years. Prepare to get pwnd.
Adam on June 4th, 2008

Well, that’s great! I’m going to get you some more Marie Callendar’s pot pie review. The one you’ve got is VERY misleading.
Amber on June 6th, 2008

I’ve been wanting to submit some things, because I, too, have a passion for trying bland frozen foods and complaining about them (or finding amazing frozen foods one time and then never being able to find them again). Sometimes I take pictures of my frozen food lunches, in H.E.R. style, pretending like I’ll actually submit a review. Then, my office-mate looks at me and asks, “Why are you taking a picture of your dinner like that?” I haven’t come up with a good excuse yet. Then she laughs at me. Then I make fun of her for being an intern. Then I eat something horrible and wash it down with a fruit cup and a 100-calorie pack that I steal from my office-mate’s stash.

I do write for a living, after all, so it’s not a stretch for me to describe how eating a dry piece of Healthy Choice chicken felt like chewing shredded sandpaper covered in condensed tomato soup, or whatever…

This might be the switch kick in the pants I need to enter the world of convenience food reviews…
Meredith on June 27th, 2008

OMG awesome, I’m totally all over this!