In a post-incentivized review era, Amazon sellers face significant challenges in acquiring product reviews. This episode dissects various strategies, from legitimate "white hat" tactics to risky "black hat" methods, to help sellers understand the landscape of review generation on Amazon. It provides practical advice and real-world examples, empowering sellers to make informed decisions and navigate Amazon's evolving policies to build social proof ethically and effectively.
Key takeaways
Leverage the Amazon Early Reviewer Program for legitimate, albeit slower, review generation, understanding its compliance within Amazon's TOS.
Strategically request reviews from customers who have provided positive seller feedback or received exceptional customer service, capitalizing on existing positive interactions.
Understand the inherent risks and severe consequences of using 'black hat' or 'gray hat' review tactics, such as account suspension, despite their perceived ease.
Utilize product inserts carefully and compliantly to encourage reviews, ensuring they adhere strictly to Amazon's guidelines to avoid violations.
Employ "review grooming" as a strategy for smaller sellers to ethically compete and gain an advantage against larger competitors in the Amazon marketplace.
Harness your existing email list for new product launches to generate initial sales and organic, compliant reviews from a warm, engaged audience.
In October 2016 Amazon laid down a rule that's a double edged sword--incentivized reviews are no longer allowed. On the one hand, it gives sellers with higher quality products a more level playing field, but on the other hand, it makes getting genuine reviews increasingly hard. In this episode Dave and I talk about what you can do to generate reviews after Amazon banned incentivized reviews. We talk about all the possible ways to get reviews, i.e., legal ways, illegal ways, and those we think might be in the "gray area". We're not in any way encouraging you to use the "black hat" and "gray hat" ways of getting reviews--we simply want to give you some awareness and it's up to you to decide which strategies you want to use in your own business. The review strategies we discuss in this episode are all taken from Dave's blog post on How to Get Amazon Product Reviews in 2018. We also discuss which methods we actually use in our own businesses to provide examples. The strategies that we discuss in detail are the following: Amazon Early Reviewer Program Request Reviews from Customers Who Have Left Positive Seller Feedback Request Reviews from Customers You've Provided Customer Service To Friend and Acquaintance Reviews Product Inserts Discounted Products Launching Products to an Email List Review Grooming – How Small Sellers Dominate Large Sellers From the list you can clearly see which ones are definitely illegal in Amazon's TOS, but ironically those are the ones that are easiest to do. While getting reviews gets definitely tougher, keep in mind that the risks of using black hat strategies are far too great and the end results too costly. Resources mentioned: EcomCrew A
What does this episode say about amazon & marketplaces?
Leverage the Amazon Early Reviewer Program for legitimate, albeit slower, review generation, understanding its compliance within Amazon's TOS.
What does this episode say about dtc strategy?
Strategically request reviews from customers who have provided positive seller feedback or received exceptional customer service, capitalizing on existing positive interactions.
What does this episode say about amazon & marketplaces?
Understand the inherent risks and severe consequences of using 'black hat' or 'gray hat' review tactics, such as account suspension, despite their perceived ease.
What does this episode say about amazon & marketplaces?
Utilize product inserts carefully and compliantly to encourage reviews, ensuring they adhere strictly to Amazon's guidelines to avoid violations.
What does this episode say about amazon & marketplaces?
Employ "review grooming" as a strategy for smaller sellers to ethically compete and gain an advantage against larger competitors in the Amazon marketplace.
