Get More Product Reviews with Amazon’s Early Reviewer Program

Getting Natural Reviews for Your New Products on Amazon Just Got a Little Easier

***Update: Amazon is making it easier for third-party sellers to get their products into the Amazon Vine Program, and so the Early Reviewer Program is no longer available.***

The program was not Amazon Vine for third-party sellers, but Amazon did not turn a deaf ear to sellers, especially once sellers were no longer permitted to give samples for review.

So What Was the Amazon Early Reviewer Program?

Let’s Talk About What It Was Not

• It’s not Amazon Vine. Amazon Vine is a program where Amazon vendors can send their products for selection from a large group of Amazon reviewers who can choose to receive the product for free (but are taxed on the value) and then write a review. Amazon Vine has since opened up to third-party sellers who are brand owners.
• It’s not a program to solicit reviews from random shoppers on Amazon to entice them to buy your products.

Now, What the Early Reviewer Program Was

• The program asked customers who had already purchased your product to write a review (Amazon would frequently do this anyway, but the next point is the difference).
• Amazon offered a small incentive ($1 to $3 in Amazon credit or a gift card) to write a review of your product that they had already purchased.
• As a seller, you could only do this for products you had registered as part of Brand Registry.
• The program closed for a product once 5 reviews were reached or one year had passed.
• It cost you as a seller $60 to enroll a product (product variations were enrolled together with the parent).
• A badge was placed next to the reviewer’s review stating that it was part of the “Early Reviewer Rewards” program.

Make the Most of the Program to Get Honest Amazon Customer Reviews

The great thing about the program is that the reviews will come from customers who actually purchased the product because they wanted to and not because there was an upfront incentive.

Only once the product has been purchased will Amazon follow up with an email inviting a review.

Sellers are not allowed to advertise that they are part of this program. Amazon wants this to be as natural as possible and knows that getting those first five reviews can be tough.

Did You Have Access to the Early Reviewer Program?

Enter Seller Central, and check the Advertising tab, then Early Reviewer Program.

How to Make the Most of the Program

This program is for products with fewer than 5 reviews and a price above $15. More details in the FAQ here.

Select from products that meet those criteria, and that have already had a sale or two. Doing so will give you the chance to test out the program and hopefully get reviews fast. If you like what you see, you can enroll your other products.

If you’re just launching products, you can enroll them too, and you won’t be charged until the first review posts.

If you want to add all your products that meet the criteria, go for it!

However, you might want to consider a few things. There seems to be little risk with the program, but no program, especially no new program, is without risks.

Consider This When Adding a Product to Amazon’s Review Program

Customer perception could be affected

Instead of letting reviews build naturally, this program will certainly aid in getting reviews in the next best possible way, but those first reviews will have the badge that they were part of the program.

Other shoppers might not take the time to think about how well-thought-out the program really is and just think that these were paid reviews. Shoppers could avoid purchasing, or be more incentivized to leave negative reviews with a bad experience if they think the reviews have been stacked in favor of the seller.

The program may need time to be effective

In our experience, reviews don’t come in just days after launching. It still takes time for those reviews to roll in (a couple to a few weeks), but it does work. Just be patient.

The Upside of Entering the Program Soon

There is an upside to moving quickly, though: customers could be very pleasantly surprised to get the email with the request to write a review. If lots of sellers jump on the bandwagon, the program could become oversaturated, and Amazon could scale it back.

Also, Amazon indicates that some criteria have to be met to write the reviews. They don’t include all of it, but it seems apparent that they’ll ask those they think are real accounts (have made purchases and written reviews previously).

The Upside in General

Amazon announced a while back that sellers are not allowed to send out free products for review.

Many sellers were doing this to help get reviews for a new product after launch. The Early Reviewer Program is a great way to stay within the guidelines and get real reviews.

The program really seems to indicate that Amazon heard seller complaints about not being able to get reviews for new products. A cost of $60 for a potential 5 reviews might seem steep, but think about the cost of sending out free samples.

With this program, you have the chance to get reviews from customers who were interested in the product for the product’s sake and not because they were getting a discount. Remember, Amazon customers don’t enroll in this program; it’s not a club.

A customer who purchased your product may or may not get an email after the fact inviting them to write a review for a modest Amazon credit.