Automatic review invitations, without breaking the rules
Asking for reviews manually means asking your happiest customers and forgetting the rest. Attaching it to an existing event fixes that.
The mechanism
Most review platforms accept invitations by blind copy. You add a special address to the recipients of an email you were already sending, and the platform schedules the invitation. No integration, no separate job, no list to maintain.
Attach it to an event that means the customer has actually had the experience. Dispatch is reasonable. Delivery or return is better. Order confirmation is too early and produces reviews about your checkout rather than your product.
Why automate it
Manual asking is selection bias with extra steps. You ask when things went well and you are in a good mood, so your rating reflects your memory rather than your service. Automating it means everyone is asked, which is both more honest and, over time, better for you.
The compliance line
Do not filter who gets asked based on how happy you think they are. Sending invitations only to satisfied customers is prohibited by every serious platform and is grounds for losing your listing. Ask everyone or nobody.
Equally, do not review your own business, or ask staff to. It is obvious, it is against the rules, and it is not worth the risk to a rating you are trying to build honestly.
Watch for the setup warnings
The first time invitations arrive from a new address, the platform will likely flag it as an unrecognised sender. That is a security notice, not a fault. Confirm it and move on.
Do check it though, because the same notice would appear if someone else were scheduling invitations on your behalf.
Test it end to end
Send yourself one, mirroring the real email exactly. Confirm the invitation appears in the platform, scheduled for the right date. Then do not leave a review from it.
Expect a delay
Invitations are usually scheduled some days after the trigger, so the effect is not immediate. Set the delay to roughly when the customer will have formed an opinion, and be patient with the results.
Need help with any of this?
These notes are free and always will be. If you would rather someone just set it up, or you are stuck on something similar, get in touch at hello@opsira.io.