Amazon Review Request Emails Might Not Help Much With These Types of Products

As I was having a conversation with a seller the other day, an interesting thought tickled my gray matter as the discussion turned to review request emails.

“I need review request emails, right?”

“They are not required, but — if you do them the right way — they are effective. Who is your primary target customer?”

“People looking for a unique gift.”

As the hamster went into overdrive on her little wheel, a process flashed through my mind. Customer shops for gift. Customer buys gift. Customer fills out a separate, different shipping address where gift will be sent. <Eeek!>

When the item ships, the buyer gets a review request email because s/he was the person who paid. What’s wrong with this picture? The buyer will have never seen the product. S/he will have no earthly idea (unless the end user provides explicit details) of whether the product worked, smelled good, tasted good, solved a problem, etc. <Eyes wide open!>

There is a lot of gifting going on for birthdays, anniversaries, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Christmas, quinceaneras, bat mitzvahs, bar mitzvahs, christenings, weddings, baby showers … and the world turns.

So, if the vast majority of your business comes from a gift-giving audience, you would want to give serious consideration to whether it would be worth the effort to send a product review email.

Chances are good that the person being asked to review the item would have no clue. Why? Because they weren’t the same person who received and/or used your product. The recipient of the gift would be. And there isn’t a way to contact him/her.

Sure, the buyer might leave a review with the comment that the giftee loved the item, but that doesn’t happen regularly.

So, What Else Can You Do?

There are other places where Amazon private-label sellers can add a request for review. Before you begin slapping a link everywhere, though, I strongly suggest using a link shortener / redirect plug-in (my fave is Pretty Links Pro) for several reasons:

The link will be branded to your product (if you install this WordPress plug-in on the site with your branded domain name). That lends itself to credibility and trust.
You can easily change the backend link if necessary while the Pretty Link remains the same. If Amazon changes where shoppers go to leave a review, no problem! Just log into Pretty Links (or whatever link shortener you use) and update it. Takes 2 seconds.
The link will be easy to type. Using Google’s or Bit.ly’s link shorteners creates awkward links with weird formats that are hard for customers to remember and type.

Once you have your redirect link set up, add it to:

Your product packaging with a quick request to leave a product review.
The front of the instruction manual (if you have one).
On a thank-you card inserted into the product’s packaging. You might also want to give a coupon code for them to use on another one of your products.

What about the other portion of your buyers or products who do not have a large gifting audience? Here are some tips for writing Amazon review request emails that are more likely to get a response.

The only legal purpose for contacting Amazon buyers via email is for providing customer service. Checking to make sure they product was delivered is an overused (and annoying) practice that Amazon and customers frown on.

If you can offer customers useful tips or ideas for getting a better experience with your product after they have received it, you’re on the right track.

Offer tips, hints, hacks, use ideas, care instructions, or other details that you personally would find helpful if you had bought this product.
Do not provide information that is (or should be) in your Amazon listing copy. Remember, the person already owns your product by the time your emails arrive, so including information to sell the customer is a waste of space.
Make your review request a sub-goal of the email. Don’t focus primarily on that. Instead, give lots of helpful information, then quickly ask for a review.
Use a third-party Amazon email service. They offer seriously more features than Amazon’s in-house email platform. Yes, they are legal to use. Two great ones are Feedback Express and Feedback Genius From Seller Labs.

Here’s one example of an email that offers genuine customer service and a request for review.

Hello,

Congratulations on your purchase of ABC Brand Refrigerator/Freezer Organization Bins!

Did you know that these sturdy containers can be a godsend in every room of your house? Use them in:

Kitchen cabinets to store/organize spices. Put herbs into one bin, common spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder, etc.) into a second container, and the others into a third basket.

Bathroom cabinets to organize medicine and makeup. Stop searching through bottles and such every morning. Quickly find your prescriptions, cosmetics, toilet tissue, and more once they are organized.

Laundry room for dryer sheets, clothespins, etc. Why pay more for specific laundry-room organizers when these bins do the job perfectly?

Got a minute? Tell us (and other shoppers) about your experience with your organization bins when you leave a product review.

Have questions? Need help? Just reply to this email and you’ll have our full attention!

Sincerely,
Us

Every Amazon seller depends on good product reviews in order to have a successful listing that ranks well and converts lookers into buyers. Without the social proof that many shoppers need to feel safe, they are unable to make a confident buying decision.

If your Amazon products would benefit from post-purchase review emails, carefully consider what information you will include, then craft your messages with the goal of being supremely helpful, not salesy.

The results are likely to deliver more stars to your rating score, which will bolster confidence in your Amazon product listing. More stars + more confidence = more sales!

Want a new, proven approach for getting more Amazon product reviews legally?