Skip to content
Custom LabelBook a demo
Writers & editors

Test the product.
Say what you found.

We commission freelance writers, product testers and video creators to produce commerce editorial that runs on some of the largest publishers in the world, under their mastheads rather than ours. Text reviews and UGC video across 518 categories, with the product, the protocol and the data supplied.

Who this is for

You're the one your friends text before they buy anything

The best reviews come from people who were going to buy the thing anyway. If you pre-order, unbox it the day it lands, and hold a genuine opinion about a hinge, this is work you will enjoy being paid for.

We supply the product, the protocol, the data and the deadline. You supply the judgment.

  • You are an early adopter by instinct, not by job title
  • You read spec sheets for pleasure and know which numbers are marketing
  • You notice the flaw on day thirty that nobody caught on day one
  • You have returned something because it was merely fine
Open briefs

Four ways onto the desk

All freelance, all per-commission or retainer, all remote. Rates are quoted per brief before you accept anything.

01Freelance · per commission · remote

Product tester & reviewer

Get the product, actually use it, write the review. You keep the hardware in most categories.

THE WORK
  • Hands-on testing against a written protocol per category
  • Single-product reviews and head-to-head comparisons
  • Original photography of the product in real use
WE LOOK FOR
  • Demonstrable expertise in one or more categories
  • You can explain why a product loses, not just why it wins
02Freelance · per commission · remote

UGC video reviewer

Unboxing, setup, real use, honest verdict. Shot on a phone, not in a studio, and used alongside the written guide.

THE WORK
  • Vertical short-form reviews, demos and comparison clips
  • Talking-head verdicts to accompany written roundups
  • Deliver raw plus a cut edit against a supplied brief
WE LOOK FOR
  • You are comfortable on camera and can carry a piece to camera
  • A reel or portfolio of product-led short-form
03Freelance · per commission · remote

Commerce writer

Buying guides and roundups written to a publisher's house style, with the data, catalogue and testing notes supplied.

THE WORK
  • Buying guides and ranked roundups from a supplied brief
  • Write to a specific publisher's style guide and templates
  • Cite every specification, price and verdict claim
WE LOOK FOR
  • Published commerce or consumer-tech writing
  • You can adapt voice to a masthead that isn't yours
04Freelance retainer · part-time · remote

Category editor

Own a category end to end: what gets commissioned, who tests it, and whether it is good enough to publish.

THE WORK
  • Commission and brief writers and testers in your category
  • Line-edit and fact-check before anything reaches the publisher
  • Set and maintain the testing protocol for the category
WE LOOK FOR
  • Editing experience at a consumer or commerce title
  • Deep knowledge of a category family and its retail landscape
How it works

Paid from the first commission

  1. 01

    Apply with samples

    Send links, not a cover letter. Two or three pieces of published work, or a reel for video, plus the categories you know properly.

  2. 02

    A paid test commission

    If it looks like a fit, we commission one real piece at the standard rate. Paid whether or not we continue.

  3. 03

    Onto the bench

    You get matched to publishers whose style and categories fit yours, with the brief, the category data and the testing protocol supplied.

  4. 04

    Paid monthly, credited on the page

    Net-30 on approved work. Your byline runs on the publisher's site, and your testing notes stay attached to the claims they support.

The deal

What you can count on

Commerce writing has a reputation problem, most of it earned. These are the terms we hold ourselves to, and you should hold us to them.

  • You are creditedReviews carry a named reviewer. That is an editorial requirement, not a perk.
  • You keep the test unitsIn most categories the product is yours after testing. Where it must go back, we say so before you accept.
  • Nobody buys a verdictNo advertiser or brand sees a draft or influences a ranking. If you are asked to soften one, we kill the commission.
  • Your work is portableYou keep the right to show commissioned work in your own portfolio, with the publisher named.
Apply

Send links, not a cover letter

Two or three pieces of published work, or a reel if you shoot video, plus the categories you actually know. An editor reads it.

Prefer email? admin@customlabel.ai

Links beat cover letters. Read by an editor.