Can you imagine purchasing something new online without reading the reviews?
Customer reviews have become an important, if not vital, component of online sales. If we take a trip in the way back machine all the way to 2020, we will learn quite a lot of things, but one of those things happens to be that 40.5 percent of Amazon shoppers claim reviews as helping to make informed purchase decisions. We can only assume that the number has increased in the last three years.
Amazon knows the importance of a product review and knows that the number of reviews on products matters to their customers. That is why they created the customer review program, Amazon Vine.
What is Amazon Vine?
Amazon Vine is a product review program that provides readers with legit, honest reviews on product listings.
Reviewers, who are selected invitation-only, are invited to try and review products sold on Amazon are Amazon customers who have spent time and effort writing thoughtful reviews. Their written reviews, or Vine Voices, are shared on product pages and are showcased to help customers make smart and informed purchases. The helpfulness of their reviews can assist other buyers in making educated decisions.
How does it work?
Amazon’s Vine program is exclusive, meaning you just can’t enroll and start receiving free stuff. Customers who are consistently writing insightful reviews are invited to participate based on their reviewer ranking. The program does not offer any sort of financial compensation – only free items to review.
Consider this… let’s say your hobby is golfing and you make a lot of purchases on Amazon for golf-related products. If you review those products consistently, your reviews are insightful and helpful and give a reflection of the quality of the product, Amazon may consider you to participate in this program where you receive free items to review in a specific product category. Amazon’s invitation isn’t permanent. You stay in the program by continuing to write helpful reviews.
Now, let’s imagine that you have made a new product and you want to sell it on the Amazon platform. Amazon currently has over 12 million products listed for purchase. It would be incredibly difficult to gain visibility with that much competition. But, if you enroll your business in the Amazon Vine program, you now have the golden ticket to customer feedback. And positive feedback (while not guaranteed) is priceless.
Amazon Vine reviewers are also subject to posting guidelines and are encouraged to be honest. Even if that honesty might feel a bit brutal if a negative review is warranted.
Is there a fee?
Technically, no. However, there are tax implications on those free products received by Vine Voice reviewers.
If you are on the other end of the sale and you want to promote your products with positive reviews from Amazon’s most trusted reviewers, the current enrollment fee to participate is $200. There have been some major changes in recent years, including a simplified workflow for the program, new costs, and increased limits on how many products can be enrolled per seller. The products must be enrolled in FBA or fulfillment by Amazon and you must have up to 30 units of a new condition product in available inventory. Eligible products have less than 30 reviews.
To learn more as a seller, go to Amazon Seller Central and log into your Amazon Brand Registry account. You will then click “Advertising” and navigate to the Vine section. Enter the parent asin you want to enroll. If you are in Vendor Central, navigate to the “merchandising” tab and click “Amazon Vine.”
Is it worth your time?
As a buyer and reviewer, if you are an Amazon shopper and you have spent time increasing your Amazon review ranking, this is a great way to earn some free product while also helping fellow customers with their purchase decisions by writing high-quality reviews. Your expertise equals free swag.
For those selling products, there is no guarantee they will receive customer feedback by utilizing Amazon vine reviews. It’s a relatively low-cost risk you take to increase brand awareness, boost product views, and increase your sales.
Are you wanting to learn more about making money with Amazon? Read this post to learn more!
