How to Collect Product Reviews for Your Handmade Candle or Soap Business Simple strategies to get your customers talking about your products!

Product reviews are powerful—they build trust, influence purchase decisions, and give potential customers confidence in your products. In fact, a 2022 study found that 93% of consumers say online reviews impact their buying choices.

So, how can you get more reviews for your business? Often, customers need a nudge! This article is here to walk you through proven strategies to collect more reviews so you can attract new customers and grow your business. 

Before we get into the details of requesting product reviews, it is important to note that the timing of these requests is crucial!

If you ask too soon, a customer will not have had enough time to enjoy your candle or soap so the request won’t be relevant to them yet.

On the other hand, if you wait too long, they might not feel motivated to share a review because it’s been months since they used the product.

A good rule of thumb is to send a review request anywhere from seven to 30 days after purchase. This timing strikes a balance between giving customers time to experience the product and keeping the purchase fresh in their minds.

Gathering product reviews doesn’t have to be complicated—there are multiple ways to make the process easy and seamless. By using a mix of digital and offline approaches, you can encourage more customers to share their feedback and build trust with future buyers.

Here are six ways to collect more reviews for your handmade business.

One of the most effective ways to ask for, and receive, product reviews is through post-purchase emails. To maximize the chance of customer responses:

• Personalize the email by including the customer’s name and the specific product they purchased.
• Include a way to leave the review in the email or require only one click for customers to write their reviews.

Apps like Judge.me, Stamped.io, Yotpo, Loox, and Klaviyo Reviews automate review requests and display them on your website when the platforms are integrated. These apps help save you time by:

• Sending scheduled review request emails that allow customers to provide feedback right in the email—and sometimes upload their own product photos.
• Adding product reviews directly to your site.

Including a review request card in every order is a simple, analog strategy to ask customers for reviews. Be sure to:

• Include a QR code linking to the review page.
• Include a thank-you message that encourages customers to share their experience and mentions how their feedback helps other shoppers, as well as supports your small business.

If your business has a loyalty or rewards program, incentivize customers to submit reviews by offering rewards points when they do. Customers can then redeem these points for discounts or exclusive perks, making it a win-win situation for everyone!

Don’t hesitate to ask customers to submit reviews through your regular social media and email marketing as well! Here are some ways to do this:

• Send dedicated emails that explain how important reviews are for your business and how they assist shoppers in understanding your product quality and service, along with a clear call to action.
• Create social media posts that highlight reviews and invite customers in your audience to share their experiences with you.
• Run social media giveaways or hold drawings where leaving a review counts as an entry.
• Use a custom hashtag that makes it easy for customers to tag and share their reviews.

If you collect customer phone numbers as part of your marketing efforts, a well-timed text message is a quick and convenient way to request reviews. Since SMS messages have high open rates, this method is especially effective!

Apps like Postscript are designed specifically for SMS texting with customers, while review apps like Judge.me and Klaviyo offer SMS texting features.

Offering incentives to customers can increase review submissions, but it’s essential to approach this ethically and legally. Effective strategies to encourage customers to leave reviews include:

• Discounts on future purchases
• Loyalty points for each review submitted
• Entries for giveaways, where each review acts as an entry into a monthly or quarterly drawing.

However, be mindful of how you structure these incentives. Avoid providing rewards solely for positive reviews, as this may violate marketplace guidelines and undermine customer trust. Instead, promote honest feedback and let customers know their genuine experiences—whether positive or negative—are appreciated.

For ecommerce platforms, a healthy response rate to product review requests is between 5 and 10%.

If your response rate is below 3-5%, look at adding an additional point of contact to give customers another chance to respond. Or consider refreshing your email copy or the design of review request cards if they could be improved.

And if you’re getting more than a 10% response, you’re doing great! We’d love to hear in the comments what you’re doing to achieve this kind of success!

Building a library of product reviews takes time, but by using the information and ideas shared here, you’ll be able to create a steady stream of valuable customer feedback. Set up a post-purchase email flow, explore review apps, and make review requests part of your customers’ unboxing experiences. Then, reward them for their time and engagement.

The more social proof you collect, the easier it becomes to attract and convert new customers. So start now, keep refining as needed, and watch your handmade business grow through the power of product reviews!