How To Write A Great Review For Your Favorite Small Business

Almost any time you buy something these days, you get a follow up email asking for a review. I don't know about you, but I used to not put a huge priority on those emails. Now, as a small business owner, I know that reviews and client testimonies are HUGELY important. It took coming over to the entrepreneur side to understand but I want to encourage you that, yes, your words matter and leaving a review is not hard!

With it being after the holidays, maybe you shopped on Etsy or a local small business and they have emailed asking for your review. Maybe there are half a dozen of them, even. Don't feel overwhelmed! Leaving a great testimony does not have to be long or complicated.

There are two kinds of reviews you can leave - one is a product review and the other is a service review. A friend of mine owns a coffee roasting business. Leaving him a review is to review his product, first and foremost. Yes, you can talk about your customer service, but mainly, people want to know what you thought about the product, in this case, coffee. Another friend does reflexology, which is a service. So to leave her a review, you would be primarily talking about how the session went and how she did. You're reviewing her service.

Reviews need to address the thing that others are considering buying. They want to know that the investment is worth it. It doesn't have to be long, in fact, it's better if it's not, so don't worry about writing several paragraphs. Just a few sentences works wonders!

Here's an example for a service: I got my eyebrows done for the first time last year. If I wrote a review, I might say something like, "This was my first time ever getting my eyebrows done. I didn't really know what I was doing but Mary made the process a breeze. She was friendly and completely in control. I would definitely go back and recommend her services."

Now for a product example: "This shirt is exactly what I was looking for! It fits true to size and the color perfectly matches the photos. I am so excited to wear it all the time! The shop was easy to work with and was prompt in communicating and answering all my questions."

These reviews show that I had a great experience with the people who are selling the product/service and the results were as expected. That's what future customers want to know. They want to feel confident that this is something they can spend money on with little to no risk.

One final note - if you have a problem or a negative experience with a business, please try reaching out to them first and give them a chance to solve your issue, before leaving a negative review.


I hope this was helpful and you feel confident to go leave reviews with the business you have purchased from! Have any questions that I didn't address? Leave them in the comments!