On Amazon, product reviews have a big influence on a product’s ranking, traffic, and sales. The more product reviews a product has, the more likely it is to boost its discoverability and buyability – two key factors in Marketplace success.
Previously, the Amazon Vine programme was only available to vendors that needed help ramping up sales and advertising on new products, but as of late 2019, the programme is now available to any sellers who match the requirements.
Amazon followed up in May 2021 with another announcement: the launch of a new and better Amazon Vine experience. We’ll go through how Amazon Vine (the Vendor program) operates and what you can expect from the current upgrade in the following article.
What Is Amazon Vine ?
Online shoppers now are among the most well-informed in history. They research a product’s attributes and how it compares to similar options before making a purchase.
The majority of that research, as well as the ultimate purchasing choice, is highly impacted by product reviews from other customers. Amazon, of course, has taken notice.
Amazon welcomes trustworthy reviewers to become “Vine Voices” and comment on new items, as well as pre-release items, as part of the Amazon Vine program, in order to assist potential shoppers in making an informed selection.
Having a reasonable number of reviews on new products is, of course, advantageous to all shoppers on the site. However, it also allows vendors to highlight their newly introduced products and give their online presence the attention it deserves.
In a word, the Amazon Vine program works like this: vendors and sellers submit their products to the program, and Amazon Vine Voices reviewers receive the product for free in exchange for an honest evaluation.
Vendors and sellers, of course, have no ability to alter or change the reviews in any manner. And the review will not be tampered with as long as it follows the relevant guidelines.
How Does the Amazon Vine Program Work?
Amazon gives Vine members free products that participating vendors have submitted to the program. Vine reviews represent the Vine Voices’ personal thoughts. The vendor has no control over, modification of, or editing of the reviews. As long as Vine reviews follow the posting criteria, Amazon does not modify or edit them. The green stripe Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program identifies a Vine review.
Because the Amazon Vine program is limited to high-quality reviewers who have been invited, sellers can usually expect thorough and well-articulated reviews. However, there is no assurance that the product will receive a positive review, as with any other review solicitation campaign. Based on input from other customers, Amazon encourages reviewers to join the Vine program.
What are the parameters for joining the Amazon Vine Program?
Previously, the Amazon Vine program was only available to vendors. This functionality has been available to sellers since 2019.
To be qualified, you and your products must meet the following requirements:
- Be a participant of Amazon’s brand registry.
- Have less than 30 reviews or ratings on the product you want to engage in the Amazon Vine program.
- The item should be available in ‘New’ condition through Amazon FBA.
- Make sure you have enough inventory.
- Products are launched only at the time of enrolment,.
- On the listing page, the enrolled product must have an image, title, and description.
- No digital software, program, or adult products allowed.
What products are excluded from Amazon Vine?
The Amazon Vine programme does not apply to all products. Items on the restricted products list aren’t eligible. In addition to that,
- Products that require Amazon to bundle them in order for them to be reviewed or delivered.
- Products that require reviewers to purchase and review another product. For example, you can’t enroll an ink cartridge in the program since it needs to be reviewed by a printer.
It’s also worth noting that some items aren’t eligible for the Amazon Vine Program. Among them are:
- Items sold in packages
- Items that are heavy or bulky
- Goods for trial
- Hazardous substances
- Items that you can dropship
What is the price of Amazon Vine?
Amazon Vine is now available for free. Previously, Amazon charged suppliers a fee of up to $2500 for each enrolled ASIN.
Another thing to keep in mind while signing up for Amazon Vine is that just because you’ve signed up for Vine doesn’t imply you’ll get positive feedback on your product. As a result, you must confirm that all of the information you provide on the product listing page corresponds to the actual product.
Benefits of Amazon Vine Program for Sellers
Aren’t the advantages of having good reviews self-evident? But allow me to point up a few.
- Better conversions as a result of an increase in high-quality visitors.
- Boost brand recognition for freshly released or slow-moving products.
- A brand’s trustworthiness is built through reviews.
- More reviews equals more sales, therefore products with more reviews appear higher in Amazon search results.
- You’ll have a better idea of how your target market views your goods. This provides you with more opportunities to develop your product.
- Because of their trustworthiness, reviews from Vice Voice tend to carry more weight in the eyes of potential buyers.
New Updated Amazon Vine
In 2021, Amazon Vine received some updates to make it easier for Amazon companies to participate.
More goods, for example, are eligible. Amazon now allows merchants to enrol things that they may already have on hand at an Amazon warehouse. As a result, if the product is already part of the Amazon fulfilment network, it can be entered into the program.
Although direct fulfilment is not yet supported, this improves circumstances for heavy-bulky and hazardous units.
Let’s look at a few of the new features.
Usability has been improved
The platform has been enhanced to make it easier to use. One of the key goals is to provide useful information in the form of tooltips that explain each field. You’ll find newly designed pages that improve the user experience and make it easier to utilise.
Capacity for active enrolment
You can currently have up to 5 distinct ASINs active in the Amazon Vine program. Items will stay active until they are cancelled with no orders, or until 90 days have passed from the enrollment date or the scheduled start date, whichever comes first.
Parent ASINs
A parent ASIN can now enrol up to 30 units. The key purpose is to make your product available in all of its colours and sizes for review, ensuring that the reviewer gets the item that best fits them.
Fees for enrollment
Regardless of the number of variations submitted, the money for membership in the program will be charged per parent ASIN (up to 30). As a result, you won’t have to pay for each variation separately. In addition, the cost is consistent across all categories.
The fulfilment process has been simplified.
As previously stated, one of the benefits of the 2021 upgrade is that Amazon will employ products from their warehouse stock. That means you won’t have to worry about getting your products to the Amazon Vine participants because Amazon will do it.
This means that there will be no more Vine labelling, misplaced things, or delays.
How can I be sure that my product will be reviewed fairly?
It’s understandable to be concerned about the impact of customer feedback on your product.
Amazon Vine is an invitation-only programme, meaning not just anybody can share their thoughts about your new listings.
Invitations are only issued to people who have a proven track record of publishing reviews. The reviewer’s input from other customers is used by Amazon to evaluate eligibility.
When you read reviews on the platform, you may label them as helpful or even report them as improper or deceptive; Amazon analyses this information to decide who is worthy of being invited into the programme.
You can feel confident that your product will receive a thorough and honest review. However, like with any review, this does not ensure a favorable outcome.
What’s the best way to get started with the Amazon Vine Program?
You must enrol in Amazon Vine by following the steps outlined below:
- Log in to Amazon Seller Central from the home page.
- Under the Advertising tab, select Vine.
- In the search box, type the ASIN you wish to enroll in.
- Set up ASIN enrollment and specify the amount of Vine Voice units you want to make available (up to 30).
- After registering the ASIN(s), go to the enrollment information page and pick the ‘Details’ button to keep track of the progress.
The amount of ASINs that can be enrolled in the Vine programme is limited. Per product, you can add up to five ASINs.
You must give complimentary product units, which are then reviewed by Amazon Vine voices. They can start requesting the merchandise after 24 hours if you enroll. They then do an analysis and begin an evaluation of your product.
There will be three levels of enrolment. They are as follows:
- Basic level – register 5 products
- Plus level – enroll 10 products
- Premium level – register up to 20 products
What Are the Consequences of Negative Reviews?
A negative review has no impact on a Voice’s reviewer ranking. Vendors have no interaction with Vine Voices and have no say on which Vine Voices might review their items.
If you are a vendor and you receive a poor review, it is considered best practice to respond publicly. Any opportunity for vendors to interact with their customers online will only assist to market your business. It’s a terrific method to demonstrate customers that you care and are working to resolve the issue.
It can be risky, so sellers should avoid becoming overly defensive or allowing their emotional attachment to the brand to get in the way when responding to a negative review.
Additional Channels to Boost Reviews
There are some more options for increasing product visibility and reviews, such as:
Amazon’s Early Reviewer Program allows a seller to submit a stock-keeping unit for $60. (SKU). Users who have purchased the product will subsequently be encouraged to leave reviews on Amazon. You will not be charged until at least one review has been received.
Affiliate marketing — To attract new customers and drive traffic to your new product pages, you can use Amazon Associates or your own affiliate marketing programme. This is a low-cost approach for generating reviews, especially since Amazon reduced commission fees for certain products from 8% to 3%.
Amazon posts – Looking for a low-cost way to drive traffic to your product pages? Create postings about your new or present products to draw attention to them and give buyers a simple method to see what you have to offer.
New product launch lists – Allow your consumers to sign up for email alerts about new product releases. You can send an email after a product launch with a link to the product page and a request that they leave a review if they buy it.
Google and Facebook ads – Both ad campaigns make it simple to drive highly relevant traffic to your Amazon dashboard from these pages. This channel lets you tag incoming traffic sources, allowing you to keep track of your KPIs and product performance.
Ad package inserts – This can only happen at the manufacturing stage, but include package inserts in product boxes is a simple approach to encourage buyers to post reviews (positive or negative, but hopefully positive)
Review sites run by third parties – You might use a variety of third-party review sites to help fuel the discourse about your items. Vipon, Snagshout, and LootHoot are some of the most popular sites.
Post-purchase emails – After order confirmation, delivery, and as a follow-up, you can automate the process by sending post-purchase emails. These can boost brand awareness and encourage consumers to submit feedback.
Conclusion
Amazon Vine recognises users who spend time reviewing products, forming communities, and making the Amazon platform a valuable resource for all customers.
This program allows vendors and sellers to have their products suggested to customers by someone who has personally touched the item in their hands and understands how it works, as determined by Amazon.
Reviews are the modern digital form of human recommendations, and word of mouth has traditionally been one of the most powerful advertising techniques.
When reading a typical review, it’s easy to see if the writer is coming from a position of dissatisfaction, a situation that’s unique to that particular customer, or simply making another internet rant. The fact that the reviewers who participate in Vine Voices are completely objective and carefully chosen is what makes the Amazon Vine Program such a valuable tool.
Giving potential consumers the peace of mind that comes with a positive review is likely to increase sales and give your business the boost it needs to keep expanding.
