How to Request Reviews with Automations

Last updated: March 14, 2025

Overview

Sendlane Automations allow you to automatically request a product review from Contacts who purchase from your store using personalized and branded emails by creating Automations. Read on to learn how to set up a review request Automation!

In This Guide

  1. Create an Automation

  2. Add Triggers

  3. Add a Wait Node

  4. Add an Email Node

  5. Add Additional Nodes for Review Reminders

🚦 Before Getting Started

  1. Style and customize your review submission thank you page

1. Create an Automation

  1. Click the Automation icon

  2. Click New Automation

  3. Click Start from Scratch

  4. Enter a name for the Automation

  5. Click Start

2. Add Triggers

  1. Click +Add Trigger

  2. Click your eCommerce integration’s tab

  3. Select a trigger based on the type of request you want to make

    1. Recommended: To send a request once the customer receives their order, select the Order Placed trigger then select Fulfilled from the Order Status dropdown

    2. To send a request immediately after purchase, select the Product Purchase trigger

  4. Select a Limit Per Contact

    1. No Limit - Contacts will be sent through the Automation every time it is triggered

    2. Do not trigger when already in Automation - Contacts will be sent through the Automation only once until they reach the end

    3. Once Per Day - Contacts will be sent through the Automation the first time it is triggered in a 24 hour period

    4. One Time Only - Contacts will be sent through the Automation only the first time it is triggered

3. Add a Wait Node

Timing is critical when requesting product reviews, and wait nodes are here to help!

If your request arrives too early, customers might forget about it by the time they’ve formed their opinion of your product. If it arrives too late, customers may have lost motivation or momentum.

We recommend using a wait node of at least seven days after the Automation’s trigger.

You may want to adjust this timing based on factors that affect your customers’ shopping, purchasing, and product experience like average processing and/or shipping times.

Keep the following questions in mind when setting up wait nodes.

  • How quickly do customers receive their product? Buffer your review request timing with enough time for customers to have received their order.

  • Do customers see results from your product immediately or after extended use? For example, if you sell candy, customers are likely to try a piece soon after delivery and form an opinion immediately. However, if you sell skin care products, customers may try the product immediately but won’t form an opinion until they’ve used the product for a few weeks or even months.

To add a wait node:

  1. Click the + button

  2. Click Wait

  3. Enter the number of days to wait

  4. Click Done

4. Add an Email Node

Add an email node to start designing your product review request!

To add an email node:

  1. Click the + button

  2. Click Send Message

  3. Click Email

Learn more about Automation email nodes here.

Add a Review Block

The review block will automatically pull in the highest priced purchased product’s image, description, and direct link to the product’s review form. Use the Display, Content, and Styles tabs to customize the look of the review block:

  • Display - Change the block's layout orientation and image size

  • Content - Rearrange the product image, name, and review link button styling and text

  • Styles - Adjust styling for the block background and spacing, font, and color options

We recommend keeping your review request emails simple with the review request as the only call to action. Here's some sample copy for inspiration:

Subject

What do you think of your purchase from Company Name?

Body

Hello {{ contact.first_name | default('Friend') }}! Thank you so much for shopping at Company Name. We'd love to hear what you think about your new product!

Automations using the Order Placed (not Product Purchased) trigger can link directly to the review submission page by entering  trigger.getOrder.review_request_link as the URL for any hyperlinked images or text.

5. Add Additional Nodes for Review Reminders

Some customers will inevitably miss your initial request for product reviews, or perhaps they hadn’t had enough time to use your product when the initial request was sent. Add additional nodes to your review request Automation to serve as reminders.

Add Another Wait Node

Make sure to provide enough time between the initial request and the reminder for customers to become familiar with your product and to not feel rushed.

We recommend at least seven days between the initial request and a reminder.

Add a Conditional Split

Before adding additional reminders, add a Conditional Split to avoid requesting a review that has already been submitted.

To add a Conditional Split:

  1. Click the + button

  2. Click Conditional Split

  3. Set conditions:

    1. Reviews > Submitted Review > Recent > Set the same length of time as the wait node

  4. Click Done

Add an Email Node

Add an email under the No branch of the Conditional Split to send reminder emails to Contacts who did not submit a review during the wait time:

  1. Click the + button under the No branch of the Conditional Split

  2. Click Send Message

  3. Click Email

  4. Create a new email or duplicate the first email in the Automation

⏭ Next Steps

Now that you've completed the required Automation to request reviews from purchasers, set up an Automation to respond to reviewers with an email, and a final Automation to notify reviewers that you've left a public reply on their review:

  1.  Request Reviews with Automations

  2. Respond to New Reviews with Automations

  3. Notify Customers of Public Review Replies with Automations