8 Examples of Emails Brands Use To Get More Reviews

Review strategy • Aug 30, 2021

Want to know the secret to getting customers to leave a review? We've got you covered.

It all starts with the review request email - it's the power house of collecting reviews. Understanding what makes one effective is the secret to getting customers to leave reviews. We asked brands on Junip that are killing it with reviews and have impressive submission rates what their strategy is. They gave us the low down on how they're sending review requests and showed us the emails they send to customers. We’ve taken our findings and put together a list of best practices to use when creating your own review emails. Plus, we've included a few examples from the same brands who shared their strategies with us.

Let’s dig in!

1. Let customers know why their feedback is important

As a rule of thumb, you should be sincere in all of your customer interactions and make them feel like a valued customer...because they are! Some touch points are better for this than others, but review requests are a big one. Letting customers know how important their feedback is and how you plan to use it goes a long way to making them feel appreciated beyond their purchase. Think about how a customer would feel after reading your email - would they feel good? Making a good impression on a customer before they leave a review is always a good thing. The more personable and sincere the email, the better. The founder of Ponyback Inc., Stacey Keller, stands by this approach and shares her thoughts on why treating customers like friends is so important at Ponyback:

“I want my customers (aka. my friends), to feel like my friend. So at every customer email and interaction, I sign my emails from Stace. I try very hard to ensure they are treated like a friend and not just a customer.

I think people are much more willing to give a review when they know the impact it can have. I also let them know why it is soo valuable to have their feedback” - Stacey Keller, founder of Ponyback Inc.

Tip: publicly responding to reviews to thank customers for the feedback, also goes a long way in making a customer feel appreciated!

2. Offer a reward

It’s all about the give and take. Expressing how much you appreciate a customer’s feedback is enough for some customers, but there’s still a handful that need that extra push. This is when incentives come in handy. Rewarding customers who leave their first review is a simple way to increase your review submissions and drive repeat customers. So, how much of a discount should you offer to get a customer to bite? That’s a good question. Ultimately you should consider your brand’s financial goals before deciding. However, we see brands of all sizes offering a standard $5-$10 coupon on a customer’s next purchase as an incentive. ELAVI, a functional snack company, uses this strategy and has said it re-engages customers for a follow-on sale and builds their library of reviews visible on their site, which they love to see!

Tip: If you’re giving customers a discount, don’t keep it a secret! Make it clear in the email that customers will get a discount for leaving a review (more on this later).

3. Switch up the sender

Something else we saw brands taking to the next level was personalization. Using a customer’s first name in the subject line or in the header of the email is a special touch, but it can be kicked up a notch. If you want to go that extra mile, send the email so it looks like it’s coming from someone on your team, or even better - the CEO. This builds on the point of treating your customers like a friend and making sure they feel like a valued customer. When the CEO is the sender and signs off on the email, brands have reported higher engagement rates. Doing this also helps your email stand out in an inbox amongst other brand's marketing emails. This also doubles as a hack for getting past inbox filters that re-direct your emails to the spam folder - or as Gmail calls it, the ‘’Promotions” folder. As an added bonus, brands say they receive lots of product feedback in the replies when the sender is a person's name rather than the company name.

Tip: Don’t use your *actual* personal email address. Create a dedicated email address that uses a personal pre-fix. For example, if your name was Jane Doe, you could use jd@company.com. This will keep your inbox tidy.

4. Send at the right time

We’ve said this before, but it’s true! Timing. Is. Everything. You want to send a review request to customers after you know they received their package and had time to enjoy it. It's hard to get a customer to leave a review for something they haven't tried yet, so getting the timing right is everything. This now begs the question of how long should you wait before sending a review request? At Junip, we recommend a 7-10 day delay after an order is shipped. Although, you should also consider other variables that impact shipping times like international orders, product returns, how soon customers use your product, how long it takes to see results, etc. TRUE Linkswear, an athletic shoe brand, waits 14 days after a customer receives their shoes so they have enough time to test them out. They also do this so the shoes are still relatively fresh and will look good in photo reviews. However, Huron, a men's personal care company, segments their email flows and adjusts the time delay based on the product purchased. Some products take longer to see results, so this strategy gives customers enough time to maximize benefits before being asked for a review.

Tip: Use an order tracking app with your ESP to know when a customer's order has been delivered. This will let you trigger a review request with perfect timing.

5. Grab attention with the design

When it comes to the design of your email, being intentional with the styling and formatting is key. There’s no “magic template” per se, BUT a well-designed email can do wonders for getting customers to complete your CTA. In the examples below, some brands have more simple designs than others. Stylish or not, both approaches perform just as well. Each approach incorporates some combination of bolded text, emojis, buttons, pictures, or callout boxes to capture a customer’s attention. Having consistent branding (i.e font, colours, logos) in your emails is also a good way to appeal to customers. Other design elements brands use specifically for review requests are previews of the review form. These are pictures of the product purchased with star ratings beneath. This acts as a clear CTA and reminds the customer which product they're being asked to review. Examples of what they look like are featured below!