← Earn Online Cookstown · All 125 ideas
Online reputation and review management
Online reputation and review management means helping businesses invite customers to leave reviews, monitor feedback and respond to it. You can start by offering a small, clear service to local businesses, but reviews must be requested and presented fairly <a href="https://truenoise.co.uk/services/engagement/reviews-reputation" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">True Noise</a>.
Open the interactive guide (checklist, video, read-aloud) →In plain words
- You help businesses ask for fair customer reviews.
- You check reviews and spot unanswered comments.
- You draft replies for the business to approve.
- You never write fake reviews or hide bad ones.
- You can do much of this online from home.
Who it suits
Suits someone who writes clearly, is organised and tactful, and can handle both praise and complaints professionally. It may suit people interested in marketing services who are comfortable contacting local businesses and working with their online accounts.
Businesses may value help keeping track of feedback and replying calmly. A clear, reliable service can also help owners notice recurring customer concerns and improve their service.
Step by step
- Choose a local business type and relevant review sites. Pick a type of business you understand, such as a café, tradesperson or accommodation provider. List the review sites that matter to that business, rather than trying to cover every platform. About 30-60 minutes.
- Define a small, specific service. For example, offer review checks, draft replies for approval and help sending fair review invitations. Say exactly what is included, and do not promise a particular rating or number of reviews. About 30-60 minutes.
- Agree the business's tone and approval process. Ask about the business's services, tone and common customer questions. Agree who approves replies and who handles sensitive complaints before you begin. About 30-60 minutes.
- Review existing public feedback and listings. Check the agreed review sites and note unanswered feedback, repeated themes and listing details the owner should verify. Do not change a listing as part of this check unless the client has authorised it. About 1-2 hours.
- Prepare a fair request and reply templates. Draft a neutral review-request message and a few reply templates. Invite customers fairly rather than choosing only people you expect to be positive True Noise. About 1-2 hours.
- Agree how review invitations will be sent. Agree the client's approved contact process before sending anything. Providers may use SMS, WhatsApp or email, but do not add promotional offers to a message intended only to request a review Kangaroo UK True Noise. About 30-60 minutes.
- Agree account access and protect it. Ask the client for only the access needed for the agreed work. Do not post replies or change listings without the client's authorisation. About 30 minutes.
- Monitor feedback and draft calm replies. Check new feedback on the agreed sites, flag urgent complaints to the client and draft individual replies. Do not share private customer information in public responses. About 15-30 minutes per check.
- Send a short report and improve the process. Tell the client about recurring themes, replies still awaiting approval and possible service improvements. Ask what is working and adjust the process together. About 30-45 minutes per report.
Your first 15 minutes
Choose one local-business niche, review a few businesses’ public review pages, and prepare a one-page sample audit with practical suggestions for a business you could approach.
The money
Set a clear price for a defined amount of work, such as checking agreed sites, drafting replies and sending a short report. Consider the time, account complexity and how often the client wants checks; agree what is extra before starting. There is no reliable typical earnings figure.
Example only: These are made-up figures to show the arithmetic, not a suggested market price. One week's client work: £80 income − £5 costs = £75 before tax. Separate illustration in euros: €90 income − €6 costs = €84 before tax.
The rules
You can offer this service in the UK and Ireland, as long as you follow the laws, platform rules, tax obligations and data-protection requirements that apply. In the UK, guidance bans certain fake and misleading review practices. It also bans offering services to traders to carry out or facilitate those practices. The facts here do not establish a general licensing requirement for review-management work.
UK and Northern Ireland
- Fake and misleading reviews. Don't write or commission fake reviews. Don't hide that a review was incentivised. Don't publish reviews or review information in a misleading way. If you publish reviews or review information, take reasonable and proportionate steps to prevent and remove fake reviews, concealed incentivised reviews, and false or misleading review information. You must not offer services to traders to carry out or facilitate these prohibited practices. These rules apply to relevant commercial practices from 6 April 2025 CMA.
- Fair review requests. Invite customers consistently and fairly. Don't only ask people who are likely to leave a positive review. Don't offer a benefit in exchange for a review. Google and Trustpilot prohibit this True Noise.
- Registration and licensing. The CMA guidance doesn't set out a registration or licensing requirement for these fake-review practices. It doesn't establish a general rule for every service that might be part of review management CMA. If you add work that may be separately regulated, check with the relevant regulator.
- Trading income and tax. The first £1,000 a year of trading income is covered by the trading allowance. This £1,000 is gross income before expenses. If your trading income is over £1,000, tell HMRC. If you need to register for Self Assessment, the deadline is 5 October after the end of the tax year GOV.UK Tax Help for Hustles GOV.UK.
- Customer data and ICO fee. Use the ICO self-assessment tool to check whether your data-handling activities mean you need to pay a data protection fee. Whether you need to pay depends on your activities. The ICO gives advertising or marketing another person’s business, goods or services as an example of work that requires a fee. Check whether this applies to your work ICO. As a practical step, keep client access and customer details secure.
- Northern Ireland support. If you're starting a business in Northern Ireland, Go Succeed offers free advice Mid Ulster District Council.
Ireland
- PAYE and other income. If you're a PAYE worker, register for self-assessment using Form 11 if your taxable non-PAYE income is over €5,000 or your gross non-PAYE income is over €30,000. Below those amounts, declare it on Form 12 through myAccount Revenue.
- Self-employed tax. If you're self-employed, pay income tax, PRSI (Class S) and USC through self-assessment. Preliminary tax is due by 31 October Citizens Information.
- VAT threshold. The VAT registration threshold for services is €42,500 Revenue. If you're unsure whether your turnover or activities mean you must register, check with Revenue.
- Business name. If you trade under a name other than your own, register the business name with the CRO. Online registration costs €20 CRO.
- Reviews and permissions. Follow each review platform’s rules. Trustpilot requires you to invite customers consistently and fairly True Noise. No Ireland-specific licence requirement is identified for this service. If your work expands beyond review management, check with the relevant authority.
- Data protection. Handle account access and customer details carefully. No Irish data-protection registration or fee requirement is specified for this service. If you need to find out which obligations apply, check with the Data Protection Commission.
Checked against official sources: 22 October 2026. Not yet reviewed by a qualified tax or legal adviser. General guidance, not legal advice. Check the official link beside each point before you start.
Common mistakes
- Promising a certain rating or number of reviews.
- Asking only customers you expect to leave positive reviews.
- Posting replies or changing listings without the client's permission.
- Using the same reply for every complaint or sharing private customer details publicly.
- Adding offers or promotional messages to a review request.
AI-made demonstration: this module has a 20-second street-chat video in the interactive guide. The presenter and the people in it are computer-generated, not real people.