A new product launch is exciting until you realize you need to get reviews and get them fast. This is quite possibly the second biggest hurdle for new sellers out there outside of finding a profitable product to sell. It can be stressful knowing where to spend your time and energy and which methods you should avoid to not risk getting your Amazon seller account suspended. There is a pretty solid strategy that both small sellers and large brands use to get their review counts up pretty early on in the game. Let’s dig into it now.
Amazon Early Reviewer Program
This is a program I personally used for each product launch and one that I highly recommend that you use for your business. This program is designed for brand new item launches, specifically, products with five or fewer evaluations. This is not only a no brainer but a very cost-effective way of getting 5 very detailed revisions on your new listing. What’s great is they pull from recent customers of yours to ask them for a survey. They are typically very detailed and as long as you have sold a high-quality item, the evaluations should be glowing!
There are a few stipulations on which SKUs are eligible though. First off, the price of your item must be a minimum of $9. This is just the pricing structure that Amazon decided on for this program. As I recommend a selling price of $40 minimum, this pricing minimum shouldn’t be an issue to most reading this. I highly recommend this program to all Amazon sellers. It’s a very effective way of getting those first five reviews all the while staying compliant with this platform!
Amazon Vine Program
This is another awesome review offer from Amazon for sellers. It’s similar to the Early Reviewer Program but different in the way the reviewers get your product. Unlike the Early Reviewer program, You actually provide free samples to these examiners to provide you with evaluations. These reviewers are part of a group called Vine Voices and are the most trusted examiners that this platform has in their arsenal. The surveys will be extremely detailed and feedback-driven. I have found that I actually received some incredibly valuable information from these and used it to improve my product! This program is on a per SKU basis. The price is $60/SKU. As the seller, you will only be charged after the first evaluation comes in. To get access, you will need to enroll in Amazon Brand Registry. This step is to verify that you are in fact the brand owner. Once you are accepted into the program and they send units from your inventory to the reviewers, there’s not much to do except waiting. Over time you will see between 10 and 15 evaluations come in. One thing to note: Amazon does not guarantee a positive examination. Keep this in mind when you are sourcing and ensuring a high-quality level.
Email Auto-Responder
A third and final strategy is simply to ask for a review! Yes, it’s that simple. You’d be surprised how many customers LOVE leaving reviews especially if they enjoyed your merchandise. For this method, you will end up using software like Feedback Whiz to set up autoresponders for your customers. In a nutshell, this software will issue a standard email to each customer at designated times. Personally, I found that sending one at five days post-delivery and another email at 14 days was the most effective. This gave the customer plenty of time to enjoy my product and develop a sense of how they feel about it. You will experience a pretty strong return rate in the range of 5-7%.
I hope this trifecta strategy of review building helps you and your business in 2021. It’s a fair bit of work but is 100% Amazon compliant and ensures that you are getting high-quality examinations from the get-go. I’ve heard one too many horror stories of the alternative, paying people to leave evaluations. This is considered a “black hat” strategy and should ALWAYS be avoided. Here’s to your review count in 2021!
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