190 Email Review Request Subject Line Templates

Is your review request subject line weak? It doesn't have to be that way. Your subject line is the tool to attract attention. These 190 templates will help.
Reading Time: 18 minutes

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Updated: 4/10/2023

Your review request subject line plays the most important role in your review generation email outreach. Let’s face it, the subject line of the review request email determines whether your customers even open the email in the first place, and unless your customers hate you, they should want to hear from you! 

You’ve wowed your customers. Your team has under promised and over delivered. Customers are satisfied and happy. Their positive experience is still fresh in their minds. You’re ready to ask for a review. 

So what’s stopping you? 

Your emails — your subject lines in particular. Best-case scenario? Your customers are eager to respond. Worst-case scenario? You are ignored or your customers are prompted to write a negative review.

The review you receive depends on your pitch

But you can’t make a pitch.

If you’re missing a compelling review request email subject line, reviewers won’t even see your pitch. Your review request subject line is the opener. You’re competing with everyone inside your reviewer’s cluttered inbox.

And their inbox is cluttered.

According to the Radicati Group, the number of emails sent and received will exceed 333 billion this year. There’s a good chance your reviewers are dealing with information overload. 

Email Statistics Report, 2018-2022 – Executive Summary

The competition is real.

What exactly does this mean for you? If you want amazing reviews, your email review requests need amazing email subject lines. There’s no way around it.

Why the wrong review request subject line means you'll be ignored

This seems obvious, doesn’t it?

If your review request email subject lines are terrible, people are going to waste their time. If you’re a marketer, this is so incredibly obvious that it’s not even worth discussing, or is it? 

We need to know why.

Why are email subject lines ignored? Readers pass on emails for three specific reasons.

1. They’re afraid you’ll waste their time, deceive, manipulate or abuse them. They’re unsure about who or what they’re getting into.

2. They’re repulsed, something about your subject line is a complete turnoff. It’s a small mistake but it’s enough to kill their interest.

3. They’ve missed it. Most of your customers are buried under a never-ending list of emails. They missed your message and it was quickly buried by new incoming messages. 

That’s pretty much it. 

There are other broad reasons at play here, but these three are the biggest offenders. If a review request subject line fails to perform, this is the best place to start.

What does this look like?

If you’re making these mistakes, stop it now.

 Seriously.

These mistakes are unbelievably common. They’re great ways to receive the “mark as spam” designation instantly.

So what can you write? 

That’s a pretty easy question to answer. Your email review request subject line has one job to do. 

Get the click.

This is actually pretty helpful because it limits the kinds of messages you should be sending. Top shelf marketers do their best work when they’re forced to work within restrictions. Email subject lines are no different. Generally speaking, your subject lines should fall into (at least) one of three categories. 

1. It’s fascinating or remarkable

2. It’s educational and or informative

3. It requests/provides clarity, confirmation or verification

At first glance, these three categories seem a bit restrictive, don’t they? In reality, they’re anything but. I’m generalizing a bit to keep things simple here, but you get my point. Your email subject lines should be simple and purpose-driven. 

Mailchimp analyzed 24 billion delivered emails with subject lines composed of approximately 22,000 distinct words. They wanted to answer a simple question. Which subject lines do people respond to? Here’s what they discovered:

What does this mean for brands? What impact does this study have on our review request subject lines? Let’s take a look at several review request subject lines you can use in your email review requests.

1. Review request subject lines that create curiosity/mystique

1. {Customer name}, {negative reviewer name} said some really nasty things about us…

2. {Customer name}, {negative reviewer name} says this is the worst thing about us…

3. {Customer name}, you’ve always been the best at…

4. {Customer name}, do you disagree with {negative reviewer name}?

5. {Customer name}, what if we decided to add this to our {service}?

6. So {Customer name}, {negative reviewer} says we need {xyz}. Do you agree?

7. {Customer name} can you help? {Negative reviewer name} accused us of…

8. {Customer name}, is it a mistake to add this to our {service}?

9. {Customer name}, would this make our {service} better for you?

10. {Customer name}, {reviewer name} says you want this. Are they right

11. {Customer name}, {reviewer name} says you’re an…

12. {Customer name}, do you think we should ignore this… 

13. {Customer name}, did we let you down? 

14. {Customer name}, did we make you…

15. {Customer name}, this is bad. Did this happen to you? 

16. {Customer name}, are we the idiots for doing this? 

17. {Customer name}, they called us an @#$%!*^. Are they right?

18. {Customer name}, you can’t do this to us!

19. {Customer name}, they said we were [adjective] for this. Are we?

        20. {Customer name}, would you give us zero stars?  

        21. {Customer name}, this reviewer says we’re terrible at…

        22. {Customer name}, we tricked you into this, and you fell for it…

        23. {Customer name}, you’re not going to believe what they said about you

        24. {Customer name}, were we honest or dishonest with you?

        25. {Customer name}, you don’t want us anymore? 

        26. {Customer name}, we made a mistake, and it may cost you

        27. {Customer name}, should we stop doing this for you? 

        28. {Customer name}, according to [reviewer], we’re the…

        29. {Customer name}, did any of our employees do this to you?

        30. {Customer name}, do you think this is wrong?

Did it work? Aren’t you curious as to who this {reviewer name} is in the templates?

Curiosity is an attractor.

As people, we’re naturally curious about unanswered questions. We obsess over secrets, and we focus on solving puzzles. These subject lines feed a reviewer’s curiosity and need for novelty.

Answer their questions. 

If you lead with curiosity, satisfy their need in the email like this:

Subject: [Customer name], you’ve always been the best at…

[Customer name],

You’ve always been the best at giving it to us straight. Right now, we need your help. A reviewer by the name of [reviewer name] thinks we’re kind of the worst.

He said some pretty bad things (about us).

So here’s where you come in. Is [reviewer name] right about us? We’ve worked with you for [#] years, and it seems you’ve always been happy, but maybe I’m missing something.

Would you share your story?

[Button with a link to the specific review site or a review funnel link

[Your name]

See how I maintain the scent of that subject line in the body of the request email? That’s what you’ll want to do if you decide to use mystique to trigger a response.

2. Review request subject lines that create action/alarm

31. {Customer name}, {reviewer name} says you should avoid us at all costs!

32. “It’s almost impossible to reach you.”

33. “You’re ripping people off.”

34. “This is the worst I’ve ever had in my life!”

35. “{Customer name}, I’ve had better than you…”

36. “You’re nothing but a dirty scammer…”

37. “I’d give them zero stars if I could.”

38.I have mixed feelings about this place.”

39. “They’re not bad, but they’re not good either.”

40. “{Customer name}, the owner of {business} is a horrible person.”

41. “Only @#$%!*^ buy from {business name} 

42. “The @#$%!*^  at [business name] are [stealing] from you”

43. {Customer name}, “we’re just going to let you down.”

44. “If I could take back my five-star rating I would.”

45. “They have a long history of failure.”

46. “Their customer support team is the absolute worst!”

47. {Customer name}, {reviewer name} said we’re going to rob you. 

48. “They’re no good. They always seem to…”

49. “{Business name} is the worst in their industry”

50. “If you choose {business name}, you’ll lose all your money.”

51. “[Company] just cost their customers a lot of money.”

52. {Customer name}, if you’re not careful, we’re going to rip you off.

53. “The [company] company deserves to fail” 

54. “[Company] has a proven track record of failure.” 

55. “They give you everything except what you want.” 

56. “If you buy from this company, you deserve what happens to you.” 

57. “Failure is [Company]’s middle name.”

58. “They don’t deserve the customers they have.” 

59. “They refused to give me what I want.” 

60. “If you look up ‘regret’ [Company] is what you find 

Can you feel the nervousness and tension behind these review request subject lines? What’s going on here? Why would anyone use these subject lines to attract attention? Where did they even come from?

They come from your negative reviews.

Here’s how it works:

Step 1. You take snippets or excerpts from your negative reviews. Use excerpts that are broad, generic or extreme. Avoid using excerpts that show specificity or a known failure on your part (if you’ve screwed up, there’s no need to draw attention to it).

Step 2. You turn them into alarming subject lines. Be sure to add the quote from the reviewer so your recipients have context and understand what you’re trying to say.

Step 3.You send them to your happiest, most satisfied customers/clients. 

But when?

When do you send these out? You send these alarm triggering review request subject lines out at two distinct moments. 

1. Right after you’ve wowed a customer/client

2. To known loyalists, customers who love, admire and trust your company 

That’s how you minimize risk.

Doing this accomplishes several important things. It grabs your customer’s attention immediately. It motivates them to take action quickly on your behalf.

 

Agencies: Learn how to craft an irresistible sales pitch, win more clients, and drive agency growth with our Review Management Revenue Generator guide. 

Download it Now

 

3. Review request subject lines that are direct and trustworthy

61. What do you think about the subtle changes to our {product}?

62. Hey {Customer name}, are you willing to be radically honest with us?

63. {Customer name}, what do you think we should change about {service}?

64. Hi {Customer name}, can we ask you {#} questions? Takes {#} min.

65. {Customer name}, what can we do to earn a review from you?

66. {Customer name}, Did we earn your trust?

67. {Customer name}, what should we fix/keep doing?

68. They said: “{Quote from a negative review.}” Are they right?

69. They said: “{Quote from a positive review.}” Do you agree?

70. {Customer name}, would you work with us again?

71. {Customer name}, you’re one of our best customers. Help! 

72. {Customer name} have we let you down?

73. {Customer name} did we make you happy?

74. {Customer name} where did we fail with you? 

75. {Customer name} what do you like least about us? 

76. {Customer name}, would you write us a review? 

77. {Customer name}, how can we improve? 

78. {Customer name}, how can we make you happy?

79. {Customer name}, did we take good care of you? 

80. {Customer name}, can we get some feedback?

81. {Customer name}, what can we do to earn a review from you? 

82. {Customer name}, were we average? 

83. {Customer name}, did we meet or exceed your expectations? 

84. {Customer name}, if asked, would you recommend us to friends?

85. {Customer name}, we’re about to _____ is this a bad idea? 

86. {Customer name}, what can we do to improve our [performance]?

87. {Customer name}, did we solve your [problem]?

88. {Customer name}, what do you think about this? 

89. {Customer name}, can we ask you anything

90. {Customer name}, would you share feedback on [Yelp]?

These review request subject lines are open, direct and sincere. They act as skilled generalists. They’re able to generate the interest you need from apathetic yet open-minded reviewers.

When do you use these?

You use them when customers are on the fence about you, your business or the results you’ve provided. Use it when you’re dealing with neutrals who are willing to be convinced or sold.

4. Review request subject lines that increase significance, status and prestige

91. {Customer name}, you’re part of an elite group…

92. {Customer name}, you’re in the top 2%. One of our best customers and…

93. {Customer name}, you’re an {attribute}. What do you think about…?

94. {Customer name} you’re amazing! Here’s what you did for us.

95. {Customer name}, you know something others don’t. You know…

96. {Customer name}, you’re in the top 3%, what do you think?

97. You know us better than anyone else. What do you think?

98. You’re one of our [first] customers. What do you think?

99. You’re our [biggest] customer. Is this wrong?

100. {Customer name}, you’re our most knowledgeable customer. Are they right?

101. {Customer name}, what do you think? You’ve been with us since the beginning. 

102. You’re our most [connected] customer. What do you think we should do? 

103. Would you be angry if our company made this decision? 

104. {Customer name}, should we keep this or dump it?

105. {Customer name}, you know us best. Are we the idiot here? 

106. They said “This will piss your elite customers off.” Are you angry?

107. {Customer name}, {reviewer name} says won’t be interested in this. Are you? 

108. {Customer name}, should we ignore {reviewer name}? They said…

109. So {Customer name}, how would you handle this? 

110. {Customer name}, you’re our best customer but you don’t know anything about…

111. {Customer name}, do you think you’re a garbage customer? 

112. {Customer name}, you’re part of our Top [20].

113. {Customer name}, they think we’re crazy. What do you think about this?

114. {Customer name}, we built [Company] for you, not them. What do you think about…

115. {Customer name}, do you even care about this? 

116. {Customer name}, are we supposed to discuss this with you first?

117. {Customer name}, help us get more customers like you. 

118. We beat [competitor] last year because of you. What do you think about…

119. You’re one of the [13] best customers in our company. Should we…

120. We don’t want your opinion, we want your…

We all have a desire for significance. 

It’s more important for some than it is for others, but the need is there. These subject lines feed your customer’s need for significance. This works well when you notice some of your clients are focused on a few specific things:

These headlines meet their needs.

Use these review request subject lines directly after a purchase, visit or event. You can approach this one of two ways. Segment your audience ahead of time by asking questions. Or, you split test these subject lines, allowing reviewers to self identify.

Here’s where this backfires. 

If you use cheap praise, flattery, or ego strokes this approach is likely to fail. If you want this to work, you need s-p-e-c-i-f-i-c-i-t-y. You need to be genuine in your approach — no manipulation, Machiavellianism, or sycophantic behavior.

Don’t butter your customers up. 

Be real, be specific, be direct. Tell them why you need their help and respect their time. Get to the point, be smooth, precise, and relaxed in your delivery.  Using prestige requires lots of nuance; if you’re able to use this well, you’ll strengthen the customer relationship. 

It’ll add a whole new dimension to the relationship. 

You may actually earn a friend. 

Do it wrong and you may alienate a very good customer who now believes you’re a sleazy or dishonest person. If you can’t be genuine, it’s best to use a different strategy or approach.

5. Review request subject lines that trigger positive rebellion

121. {Customer name}, you couldn’t even say thank you

122. {Customer name}, he thinks you don’t know what you’re talking about…

123. {Customer name}, you’re a know-it-all… and we love that about you

124. {Customer name}, why on earth would you do that?

125. {Customer name}, did you know you’re friends with a liar

126. Our customers aren’t good… [In body of email: They’re the best. Then explain why]

127. {Customer name}, you’re not really likable, are you? [In body of email: They’re loveable. Then explain why]

128. {Customer name}, who do you think you are? [In body of email: You’re a [rockstar], that’s who]

129. {Customer name}, is this really what you stand for? [In body of email: You’re all about fairness, kindness, etc.]

130. {Customer name}, no one likes jerks but you? You’re a… [In body of email: You’re an incredible customer, etc.]

131. {Customer name}, you’re a special kind of… [In body of email: You’re a special kind of loyal]

132. {Customer name}, I think we should see other people… [In body of email: A reviewer who was never actually a customer we should “see other people” can you believe it?]

133. {Customer name}, why would we stick with you? [In body of email: Because you stuck by us, even when it was hard. Thank you for everything]

134. {Customer name}, you don’t deserve it… [In body of email: You don’t deserve to be treated poorly. You’ve been so loyal, so patient, and supportive. Have we taken good care of you?]

135. {Customer name}, no one “wants” a customer like you… [In body of email: they’re absolutely desperate to find a customer like you. You’ve been incredible.]

136. {Customer name}. What kind of person behaves the way you do? [In body of email: You go out of your way to help us, you trust us to take care of you, you visit us again and again. You treat our employees like people. It’s incredible. Who does that? You do, apparently]

137. {Customer name}, you’re not the first customer to fail… [In body of email: Failure’s not your thing. You’re one of the first customers we’ve had who stuck by us and kept us going. Even when things were tough.]

138. {Customer name}, nobody wants you… [In body of email: Nobody wants you to leave. Your ideas, your support, you cheering us on. It’s kept us going. Our customer support reps are super excited when you call in. You’ve got your very own fan club here. 😉]

139. {Customer name}, why should we help you? [In body of email: Because you’ve always gone out of your way to help us! That’s why.]

140. {Customer name}, who cares what you think? [In body of email: We do. We absolutely care what you think. You’re a wonderful customer and we’re grateful for your trust. Are we taking good care of you?]

141. {Customer name}, I’ll bet you don’t even know the answer… [In body of email: … to this reviewers bizarre question]

142. {Customer name}, you deserve to lose everything because… [In body of email: a customer said this because their package arrived early]. 

143. {Customer name}, you’re not loyal, you know that, right? [In body of email: You’re extremely loyal. Thanks for standing by us.]

144. {Customer name}, we’re going to kick you out of our club [In body of email: …Because we’re inviting you to our VIP customer club! Thanks for sticking with us all these years!]

145. {Customer name}, you’re not going to get anything good from us. [In body of email: You’re going to get our best; results that are personalized around you and what you need]. 

146. {Customer name}, I think it’s time for you to leave [In body of email: …Inferior quality products behind. We’re redesigning our product lines and we need your help to make it special. Would you share your feedback with us?]

147. {Customer name}, there’s no way we’re going to help you. [In body of email: purchase cheaply made knockoffs. We’d like to give you the best, but we need your feedback to do it. Can you help?]

148. {Customer name}, stay away [In body of email: from competitors who say this about their customers [quote]. We love you and we want to know if there’s anything we can do to make your experience with us better?]

149. {Customer name}, You’re not going to get what you need… [In body of email: You’re going to get exactly what you want and what you need. Tell us, what do you want? What’s your experience with us?]

150. {Customer name}, we don’t want you… [In body of email: to leave. We want to make sure that we’re doing our part to take great care of you. Tell us, how can we improve?]

Remember how we talked about maintaining the scent in your email with mystique?

You’ll want to do that here. 

Rebellion is a dangerous trigger to use. It’s unbelievably effective, but it’s likely to trigger anger if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Here’s why.

Rebellion has the potential to create a dramatic emotional response. Defensiveness, stress and anxiety are possibilities. When reviewers open that email, they may be high on these emotions. 

Relieve their stress.

Like this.

Subject: [Customer name], did you know you’re friends with a liar?

Hey [Customer name], 

So [reviewer name] thinks you’re friends with a liar (us). He posted a review online stating that we lied about [product]. Here’s the thing though. 

We didn’t lie. 

You know that. You know our services pretty well. What it includes, what it doesn’t. 

Would you be willing to vouch for us? To set the record straight? We’re getting picked apart and we could use your help. 

Takes just 3 min.

Are you willing to share your story?

You’re amazing! 

Help us out here.

[Button with a link to the specific review site or a review funnel link

[Your name]

See what I did there?

I grabbed their attention using rebellion as a trigger. This gave them a taste of the emotional cocktail we received. Then, I relieved their fear.

Finally, I gave them a single action step — not four or five or six. 

Just one. One. 

There are no footer links to compete with. No social media links. No links to products or services. No site links. Just one link directing them to your review portfolio.

That’s it.

6. Review request subject lines that create urgency

151. Urgent: {Customer name}, we’re in trouble, and we need your help…

152. Urgent: {Customer name}, we’re being attacked. Can you help us fight back?

153. {Customer name} they said we {Lied}. We didn’t. We need your help ASAP.

154. Help needed ASAP: {Customer name}, it’s horrible. They’re accusing us of…

155. {Customer name}, it’s our Last Chance to Fight Back. With your help, we can win.

156. {Customer name}, they called us an {adjective}. Help! 

157. {Customer name}, they said nasty stuff about us. It shows up in Google in 48 hrs. Help!

158. {Customer name}, we’re getting bad reviews! We’re innocent I swear! 

159. {Customer name}, we’re getting blackmailed by {reviewer name}. Help! 

160. {Customer name}, we’re getting review bombed, can you help?

161. {Customer name}, they’re threatening to cancel us, help! 

162. {Customer name}, this reviewer is lying on us, can you set the record straight?

163. {Customer name}, these are our worst reviews, and they’re all lies. Help!

164. {Customer name}, there’s no way out for us, unless you… 

165. {Customer name}, we only have 48 hrs to fix this. Can you help? 

166. {Customer name}, these [scammers] are [blackmailing] us. Can you help? 

167. {Customer name}, we can recover if you help us before [Friday]. 

168. {Customer name}, would you vote for us? [URGENT]

169. {Customer name}, [Reviewer] said our [product] is terrible [In body of email: we don’t sell [product] though. Please help!] 

170. {Customer name}, we’ve failed. Can you help us explain?

Mailchimp found that people respond to a sense of urgency or importance.

words that impact email open rate

The hidden truth here is honesty.

If everything is urgent, or you routinely use urgency triggers as a way to manipulate attention, people stop listening. Another important component of Mailchimp’s study is this: Email recipients really don’t like to be “told they’re missing their last chance to get something they’ve already been emailed about.” 

How do you use this to request reviews?

There are lots of ways to use urgency as a review request trigger. Here’s a short series of steps you can customize for your business.

Pretty straightforward, right?

7. Review request subject lines that thank customers and subscribers

171. {Customer name}, thank you from the bottom of our hearts

172. {Customer name}, thank you so much for…

173. {Customer name}, this means so much to [me] thank you so much

174. {Customer name}, you’ll have our gratitude forever

175. {Customer name}, my [mother/father/wife/husband/other] cried when she saw your email

176. {Customer name}, you’re the only one who cared. Thank you 

177. {Customer name}, you went out of your way to help? Thank you so much. 

178. {Customer name}, I wanted to thank you for taking the time… 

179. {Customer name}, our {CEO} read your feedback to everyone… 

180. {Customer name}, our {customer support team} is bragging about you non-stop!

181. {Customer name}, thank you for sharing your feedback last year… 

182. {Customer name}, thank you for coming to us with [problem]. Did we fix it? 

183. {Customer name}, thank you for telling us about [problem]. How did we do? 

184. {Customer name}, thank you for the kind words on our last call. 

185. {Customer name}, you’ve been with us [6 years]. Thank you so much. 

186. {Customer name}, no one knows what you’ve done. Thank you so much. 

187. {Customer name}, thank you for talking to us about ###.

188. {Customer name}, our time with you has been a gift, thank you! 

189. {Customer name}, thanks for your purchase. Did we take care of you?

190. {Customer name}, thanks for your patience with…

Research from Mailchimp shows people love to be thanked.

It isn’t because of the ‘thank you’ it’s because of the word pairs. Apparently these word pairs provide readers with the context that a single word can’t convey. Here’s an example from their study.

review request subject line word pairs mailchimp

Thank yous are powerful until they’re not.

Until they’re ruined.

You’ve probably had an email where someone said thank you, and then they turned it into a glorified sales pitch. If you’re like me, this kind of thing leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. It damages the relationship and it makes it more likely that subscribers will ignore your subsequent emails.

Don’t do it.

If you’re going to give customers or subscribers a thank you, focus your attention there. Don’t attempt to sell them anything; don’t woo, manipulate, persuade or coerce them in the slightest.

Just say thank you.

Nothing more, nothing less.  There’s just one problem.

What exactly are you thanking your customers or subscribers for? Believe it or not, there’s a whole lot to be thankful for. As you practice gratitude, you’ll find that you notice more and more things to be thankful for.

Here are a few examples.

The opportunities for gratitude are endless! 

Saying thank you builds the relationship. It shows subscribers and customers that you’re paying attention to their efforts. That they matter and you’re willing to acknowledge them when it counts. 

It’s a huge relationship booster.

But it only works when it’s done from a place of genuine warmth and gratitude. If it’s used as a way to manipulate people into doing what you want, it hurts your relationship.

The review you receive depends on your pitch

Your review request subject line is where it starts with review management.

Are your review request subject lines weak? You’re far less likely to receive the reviews you’re looking for. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Your subject line is the opener, the tool you need to attract reviewer attention and earn great reviews (that deserve to be thanked in your positive review response).

You’re competing with hundreds.

Thousands of emails in each reviewer’s inbox. The average office worker receives 140 emails per day or 980 emails per month.

The pressure is on.

You’ve wowed your customers. Your clients have underpromised and over-delivered. Customers are satisfied and happy. Their positive experience is still fresh in their mind.

What does this mean?

You’re ready to ask for a review. With the right psychological triggers and a careful (and sometimes clever) approach, you’ll have everything you need to create successful email review requests, with no barriers necessary.

 

Agencies: Let us show you how Grade.us can help you 2x, 4x, and even 10x your Business with our suite of Review Management tools. Schedule a no-obligation demo to learn more. 

Schedule your Demo

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