how to become an amazon reviewer

If you've ever spent some time on Amazon, you've probably seen the yellow stars beside some products.

These denote the customer reviews left each time someone buys and uses the item they purchased from the platform.

Reviews are critical especially for consumers who are looking to buy an item, but aren't quite sure how it works, and whether or not its suitable for their needs.

They also help people find out what others think about the item, to help them with decision making.

What many people may not know is that like products, the reviewers can become product testers and even get ranked on Amazon too.

If you wondering how to become a product tester for Amazon, and possibly a top reviewer, this complete guide explains everything you need to know.

Who Is An Amazon Product Tester?

An Amazon product tester reviews products all the time and in return, gets free Amazon stuff.

As a reviewer, it's possible to get heavily discounted or free products just by trying them out.

The platform is super popular as it features millions of products you can think of from headphones, to camera lenses, outdoor equipment, to coffee filters and everything in between.

You can try out some of the products on the platform for free or without paying too much.

Many programs and companies seek people who can test out their products and give their valuable feedback on the same.

Some possibly just want more reviews that'll boost their product sales in return, while others just need the feedback to improve on the products they offer.

Either way, the feedback is valuable to the companies, which is why they readily give free products or attractive discounts in exchange for your reviews.

Before discussing how to become an Amazon reviewer, it's important to highlight the benefits of being one.

Benefits Of Becoming An Amazon Product Tester

Initially, Amazon allowed the sellers to give buyers promo codes to get products for free or at highly discounted prices in exchange for customer reviews.

However, Amazon changed their terms of service for customer reviews, which means sellers can give out promo codes but not in exchange for a review.

For Amazon reviewers, the revised terms means you don't have to write reviews or put disclaimers that you got products in exchange for reviews.

However, it also led to review sites changing their rules or shutting down altogether, plus there aren't many free products to go around these days.

You can still get some free items, but most products are now extremely discounted.

If you're signed up with Amazon Prime, it's also possible to get free shipping.

Another benefit is that you get to help other consumers make the best choices possible by letting them know whether or not you enjoyed the product or service you got.

What's more, if you become a top or popular reviewer whose opinion is highly valued, you may get free items and gifts to test so you can give a review in return.

This is because you wield more influence over others' opinions thus you can benefit from the attention brands and retailers give for your services.

Amazon product testing is getting popular by the day. Becoming a product tester is one of the many ways you can save on purchases you make on Amazon.

It's as easy as signing in and offering your review, but to get the free stuff will take more effort and commitment on your part, and you'll reap the huge rewards it has to offer.

We're going to show you how you can become one for any of the items listed in Amazon's categories.

How To Become An Amazon Product Tester

We will now discuss how to become an Amazon tester.

Amazon changed its policy and terms of service, making it harder for brands and programs to get feedback or reviews so the opportunities aren't as many as they were before.

That said though, there are several methods different people use to become Amazon testers and get free or discounted stuff for reviews.

Read on to find out the different ways available so you can pick the one that's suitable for you.

1. Join Amazon Vine

Amazon Vine is an invitation-only program run by Amazon, which selects trusted reviewers who test new and pre-release products, and then post their opinions for other consumers or buyers to read.

The reviewers, also known as Vine Voices in the program, receive free products from the participating vendors, in exchange for their unbiased and honest opinions on the items.

There's no way of getting into the program through making applications, because it's an invitation-only program, but if you have what it takes to become a Vine Voice, you could be selected by Amazon based on your reviewer rank.

Each customer reviewing products on Amazon is also ranked, and their rank indicates the quality of their reviews as well as how helpful they're judged by other customers to be.

Customers that consistently write helpful reviews have a higher chance of receiving invites into the Vine Voices program, as well as those that have a reputation for product expertise in specific categories.

Vendors can't edit or modify the reviews by the Vine Voices, which are identified with a green stripe, neither can they contact or influence the reviewers.

Amazon too can't modify or edit the posted reviews as long as the reviewers' opinions comply with Amazon posting guidelines

Vine Voices aren't paid to write reviews or to participate in Amazon Vine; it's all about their helpfulness as voted by other customers.

Additionally, they can write positive or negative reviews without impacting on their reviewer rankings because customers value informative, objective, detailed, and value substantive reviews, whether negative, positive or neutral.

2. Sign Up For Review Sites

Amazon sellers want to drive up their sales, which is why they seek help from product reviewers who are tried and trusted by consumers to give valuable feedback – positive or negative – on their products.

It's also time consuming and tedious to find individual buyers and contact every one of them, plus you can't be sure as a seller that product testers will even leave a review.

For shoppers who want to become testers and get free products but don't know the specific Amazon sellers who are offering free items in exchange for reviews, there are Amazon review sites for this purpose.

Review sites are platforms where Amazon sellers and shoppers find each other easily and quickly to exchange free stuff for reviews.

All you need to do to become an Amazon tester through a review site is to sign up for the site, and wait for an alert when a new review opportunity comes up. Some sites let you login and see the products available for review or testing.

Products are either shipped directly to you from the seller, or you'll get a promo code, which you can use to get the items at heavily discounted prices or for free.

In the latter case, you'll buy the product from Amazon, but enter the code at the checkout page to get the item free or at a discounted price.

Some sellers may ship for free, while others may require you to pay for the shipping, but if the product costs more than $35, Amazon gives you free shipping.

Prime members enjoy free shipping on any Amazon fulfilled or sold product.

Among the review sites that give you the opportunity to become an Amazon product tester include:

VIP Power Club

This is a free to join club that lets members save up to 99 percent on newly added or newly released products on Amazon.

Once you sign up for the club, you'll get email notifications on Amazon coupons for products that have just been released, and these will help you save money on a wide variety of products, with huge savings ranging from 20 percent to 99 percent.

Snagshout

This is another good review site that offers good discounts on Amazon products, while helping brands promote their products and grow.

You can get coupons on products and save lots of money, with up to 90 percent off for the best product deals.

TestZon

This site works with companies that are seeking out reviewers who can test their products. You can find hundreds of free items or heavily discounted products and there's a large variety you can pick from.

When you find a product you like, you need to get approval from the seller based on the number of products they want to give out, after which you'll get a coupon code to buy it on Amazon.

Once you test the product, you can share your feedback on Amazon, though it's not a must you do so.

LootHoot

You can check out this review site if you're looking for opportunities for product testing. Just join LootHoot (free), and start browsing through the different deals available.

You'll get a coupon code to buy the item on Amazon, test it, and then leave a review. This site can get you up to 40 percent off on various products, though you can even get them for free.

Home Product Testing

This site offers a wide range of Amazon items you can test for free or get them at highly discounted prices.

Simply browse the available items, and when you find the one you want to test and review, click Reveal coupon.

This will give you more information on how to get the product for free or at a discount and how to leave your review.

Product Testing Group

This section will focus on Product Testing Group review briefly.

This is a platform that brings sellers and product testers who seek opportunities to try out new products for free or at low costs.

You can get items to test for free, or discounts of between 5 percent and 90 percent off.

The process is similar to other review sites: find the product you want to test, get a discount code, and use the code to buy the item on Amazon.

You're not obliged to leave a review though.

Vipon

This is another popular Amazon review site that offers a variety of products and deals.

You can check out upcoming discounts or claim those on current deals, and plan your shopping around it.

The discounts range between 50 percent and 100 percent (free) on selected products, but you can get products from several categories, even for international Amazon marketplaces.

3. Join Amazon Prime

All the above review sites and many others allow you to access free or discounted products but it doesn't account for shipping fees, which in some cases are pretty high.

However, you can join Amazon Prime and get free shipping, plus have a higher chance of getting selected by sellers as a product tester.

You can search products exclusively and maximize on your savings, but you have to pay a subscription to become a member of the program.

You also get free access to music, movies, books and a lot more.

Influencers and bloggers earn from running blogs and vlogs or social media pages/channels that have a significant following.

It's quite some work to gain such followers, and at first you may have to do free reviews for sellers to grow your profile.

However, once you have a sizable number of followers, sellers will reach out to you to test their products and write reviews on them.

This can be lucrative as there are many brands out there willing to pay for reviews, but you'll also get many free products as the sellers stand to gain more customers from your valuable feedback.

Amazon has its own Influencer program for people with huge followings on their social media accounts to become product testers.

This way, you won't need to have a blog or vlog to join. Just sign in and join the program, giving details of your name, social media following etc.

Amazon Influencers will have their own Amazon page complete with a custom URL, which they can use to recommend many products to their followers and get paid for it.

If you don't want to sign up for review sites, join Amazon Vine or Prime, or don't have your own social media page/channel or blog/vlog, you can join product tester groups on Facebook or Reddit and become an Amazon product tester.

Facebook offers groups, and there are thousands of product tester groups on Facebook, including those aimed at sellers on Amazon, product testers and reviewers.

Sellers join such groups to look for reviewers, so you too can join if you're a product tester or aspiring to be one, and connect with the sellers to review the products you're interested in.

On Reddit, you can find a wealth of deals, from freebies to discounts on various services.

Most people don't know it has a thread for product giveaways and content for free, but if you scour through the platform, you can find interesting deals worth your while, even though it may take some time and patience.

Steps To Start Reviewing Products On Amazon

So you're a product tester, but how do you become an Amazon reviewer and stand the chance to become a renowned reviewer that sellers are drawn to? Here are the steps you need to take:

1. Create An Amazon Account

This is the first step to becoming an Amazon reviewer. Sign up for an account on Amazon that's linked to your email ID, and then shortlist your expert niche to start reviewing products.

Niches can be cosmetics, stationery or technology among others. You can also download the Amazon app to your mobile device so you can review on the go.

2. Write Reviews

The more reviews you write for every product you buy from Amazon, the more visibility you stand to gain.

You can even apply for offers or discount codes to get the products for a lower cost than the original cost.

Be consistent and ensure your profile isn't flooded with reviews. The reviews should be unbiased, objective and honest.

3. Track New Product Launch Dates

As a product tester and reviewer for Amazon, you need to stay updated on the new product launch dates for your niche.

Once you post your review, it'll appear among the top five review sections. Consumers get to see these first and if they find them helpful, you get more votes, which in turn boost your reviewer rankings on Amazon.

Check for spelling and grammar before you post.

4. Write Your Personal Experiences

Once you review the product you've purchased, make sure you're writing your personal experience so you can help the consumers with decision making.

You can add pros and cons of the products you review, for other customers to decide if they want it or not.

If the reviews are helpful, the customers will vote more and this will impact on your reviewer rankings.

5. Review Products You Really Like And Want

There's no point in reviewing something you're not interested in. Review products you want to have and are interested in, based on your niche.

This also creates the mindset for the consumers that you, the product tester and reviewer, are knowledgeable and genuine about the product.

Consider the product questions you would want answered if you were the customer buying the item, whether it's worth the money, if it really works and other competing brands out there.

Help the customer decide if it's right for them.

6. Check Existing Reviews

Items with many reviews may impact on whether or not people read your reviews.

If there are few or no reviews, the likelihood of your comment or feedback being noticed is higher.

When you get Helpful Votes from customers, your ranking will improve.

7. Optimize And Update Your Reviewer Account And Profile Often

Don't flood your account with reviews, but make sure your account and profile has your contact information, your preferred theme and it's easy for sellers to find you.

Market yourself if you want to be found and if you want your feedback and review opinions to be valued.

People have to find you first so they can see what you have to say on different items.

8. Review Items You've Previously Purchased On Amazon

This is a good place to start as an Amazon product tester, especially if you want to get an invitation to join Amazon Vine.

If you have little or no reviews yet, you won't impress Amazon.

Pad out your profile with reviews, but not flooding it altogether, and make sure they're helpful and well-written.

If you have product photos or videos if possible, include them in the review.

Good quality product reviews of the items you bought and have used yourself shows that you're a verified buyer and people can scan through your history of reviews.

Make sure the reviews are engaging and informative, and have every detail the consumers want and find interesting.

Tips On How To Improve Your Amazon Reviewer Ranking

Now that we have learned how to become a tester for Amazon, let's understand how you can better your Amazon Reviewer ranking.

Amazon's reviewer ranking applies a simple algorithm that logs the number of times your reviews have been voted as helpful, and sorts them out by dates, with the most recent ones scoring higher.

Reviewer listings are updated regularly, between one and three days, which also updates the user ranking.

It's not just based on your personal performance, but also that of other reviewers so it can fluctuate accordingly.

You can improve your rankings in many ways, but here are some of the things you can start with:

Leave many reviews for items bought on Amazon or other stores and sites on the platform too
Speak professionally in your review, avoiding informal phrases or insults
Ensure your review is as detailed as possible, and add images or videos where necessary

If writing pros and cons, add bulleted lists, plus a concluding statement
Think of what consumers may find useful to help them make decisions better
State whether or not your recommend the product at the end of your review

Final Thoughts

Becoming an Amazon product tester may seem like a long, tedious process, but once you start, you'll reap the benefits of your labor as you go along.

With these tips above, you now understand how to become a product tester for Amazon.

Being an Amazon product tester is extremely rewarding. Not only do you get freebies and sometimes earn rewards, but it's satisfying to know that you helped save thousands or millions of people money they'd have spent buying products and not benefiting from them.

Give any of the methods we've listed here a try and start receiving free and heavily discounted products to test.

It's a sure and simple way of getting products you never thought you could have before.

Author: Scott Macarthur Scott L. Macarthur is a marketing consultant and an online author. He is mostly engaged in providing his expertise to startups and SMBs. He is also an author on TheNextWeb.