A good post purchase review email template is short, comes from a real person, asks for one thing (a click to the review form), and arrives after the customer has used the product: 3–7 days after delivery for physical goods, the same or next day for digital products, and within 48 hours of finishing a service. Follow up with people who don't respond, then stop.
Below are five templates you can copy, the timing for each, and how to send them automatically from Stripe.
New in this update: The templates now include Stripe-automation notes, so if you use Stripe, you can send review requests automatically when a charge comes in, skip the manual work, and collect transaction-verified reviews that carry a "Verified by Signed Reviews" badge backed by a completed Stripe charge instead of a generic "Verified Reviewer" tag.
Post Purchase Review Form vs Review Email: Which Converts Better?
A post purchase review form is the page where the review actually gets written (star rating, headline, review text) and it can appear two ways: embedded on a thank-you page right after checkout, or reached through a review request email.
- The on-site form alone reaches only the customers who are still on your site. Most people leave after paying; the form they never saw generates nothing. Worse, a form alone proves nothing: anyone can fill one in, which is why unverified on-site forms are easy to flood with fake reviews.
- The email-to-form flow reaches every customer: the review request email goes out when the charge comes in (or after a delay you set), and its link opens the form on your own review page.
- The verification layer is what makes the form's output trustworthy. When the review is matched to a completed charge from the payment processor, the review the form collects becomes a payment verified review: the strongest badge a customer can see. See payment verified reviews for how that works.
If your goal is review volume plus verified status, the email-to-form flow beats an on-site form alone.
The golden rules of any post purchase review email template
Before the templates, three principles that determine whether your emails get opened, or deleted:
1. One ask, one action
Your email has exactly one job: get the customer to click the review link. Don't cross-sell. Don't ask them to follow you on social media. Don't include three different CTAs. One email, one link, one action.
Campaign Monitor reports that emails with a single CTA receive 371% more clicks than emails with multiple calls to action.
2. The subject line is everything
Most review request emails die in the inbox. Your subject line needs to:
- Be from a recognizable sender (your brand name or founder name)
- Not look like marketing ("Your order #1234, quick question")
- Be short (under 50 characters for mobile)
"Quick question about your order" reads like a note from a person. "Please review your purchase" reads like marketing.
3. Timing matters more than copy
The best-written email sent at the wrong time will get ignored. The rules:
| Product type | When to send | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Digital products | Same day or next day | Immediate value delivery |
| Physical products | 3–7 days after delivery | Time to unbox and use |
| SaaS / subscriptions | 14–30 days after signup | Time to experience the product |
| Services (consulting, etc.) | Within 48 hours of completion | Fresh impression, not yet stale |
| Consumables / food | 5–10 days after delivery | Time to try the product |
Never send a review request before the customer has received the product. It's a common mistake. In November 2024 the FTC charged Sitejabber with collecting reviews at the time of purchase, before customers had received what they bought, and presenting them as reviews from people who had experienced the product. Sending a review request at checkout, before the customer has the product, generates reviews about expectations, not experience.
Template 1: E-commerce, physical products
Subject: How was your [Product Name]?
Hi [First Name],
Your [Product Name] arrived [X days] ago, hope it's everything you expected.
When you have a moment, we'd love to hear how it's working out. Your review helps other customers make better decisions, and it helps us make better products.
[Leave a review →]
Honest feedback only, please: good, bad, or in-between. We read every one.
Thanks, [Founder Name / Brand Name]
Why it works: Short, personal, and explicitly invites honest feedback. "Good, bad, or in-between" signals that you're not fishing for 5-star reviews, which increases both response rate and review authenticity. The founder's name as the sender (rather than a generic brand email) increases open rates.
Stripe automation: For physical products, set a send delay that covers shipping plus 3–7 days of use. Signed Reviews picks up the new charge from Stripe and sends after that delay. Its email names the purchase amount and your business rather than the product, so keep [Product Name] for emails you send yourself.
Template 2: SaaS, subscription products
Subject: [X] days in, how's it going?
Hi [First Name],
You've been using [Product Name] for about [X] days now. We built it to [solve specific problem], and we genuinely want to know: is it working for you?
If you have 2 minutes, a quick review would mean a lot: [Leave a review →]
No pressure, no incentive, just honest feedback from a real user. It helps other [industry/role] professionals decide if [Product Name] is right for them.
Thanks for giving us a try, [Founder Name]
P.S. If something isn't working, reply to this email. It goes directly to me, and I'll make sure it gets fixed.
Why it works: The P.S. gives the reader a direct line to the founder. That converts people who wouldn't leave a review but might report a problem, reducing churn and negative reviews simultaneously.
Stripe automation: For SaaS, the first subscription payment starts the invitation. Set a delay after it to give the customer time to experience the product. Renewal payments don't start new invitations: each customer gets one sequence (an invite plus up to 2 reminders), ever.
Template 3: Services / freelancers / agencies
Subject: Thanks for trusting us with [project/engagement]
Hi [First Name],
Working with you on [specific project] was a pleasure, thank you for trusting us with it.
If you're happy with how it turned out, a quick review helps us enormously. Most of our new clients find us through reviews from people like you.
[Leave a review →]
And if anything fell short, please tell me directly. I'll make it right.
Best, [Your Name]
Why it works: Services are personal. The review request should be personal too, from the specific person they worked with, referencing the specific project.
Stripe automation: Signed Reviews invites each customer once, after their first charge comes in (immediately or after your delay). If you invoice in milestones, that first charge may land mid-project, so set a delay long enough to reach completion, or send this email yourself after the final payment.
Template 4: Short follow-up (for non-responders)
Subject: One quick question
Hi [First Name],
No worries if you're busy, just one quick question:
Would you recommend [Product Name] to a friend?
[Yes, absolutely →] [Not really →]
That's it. Takes two seconds.
Thanks, [Founder Name]
Why it works: The binary question reduces friction to near zero. "Yes" clickers can be routed to a review form pre-loaded with a positive sentiment; "Not really" clickers can be routed to private feedback. This is sometimes called a "sentiment gate".
⚠️ Important: If you route "yes" clickers to a review form, you must also give "not really" clickers a path to leave a review. Otherwise you're review gating, funneling happy customers to public reviews and unhappy ones to private feedback, which the FTC's guide for marketers warns against: "Don't ask for reviews only from customers you think will leave positive ones."
Template 5: Delivery-triggered (physical products)
Subject: Your [Product Name] was just delivered
Hi [First Name],
According to [carrier], your [Product Name] just arrived. Here's a quick question while it's fresh:
[Leave a review →]
We ask after delivery, not before, because we want reviews from people who've actually used the product. No rush. When you've had a chance to try it, we'd love to hear what you think.
Thanks, [Brand Name]
Why it works: The delivery trigger is the most accurate timing for physical products. And explicitly saying "we ask after delivery, not before" signals integrity.
Stripe automation: Signed Reviews has no delivery trigger. It can't see carrier tracking, so send this one yourself from your shipping tool, or set a Signed Reviews send delay that covers typical shipping. Signed Reviews writes its own subject line, so the "just delivered" wording belongs to emails you send yourself.
What to avoid
Don't incentivize positive reviews
The FTC's 2024 rule explicitly prohibits incentives conditioned on a review expressing a particular sentiment. "Leave a 5-star review and get 10% off" is illegal. "Leave a review and get 10% off" is still allowed, but your email copy must make the distinction clear.
Don't send more than 2 reminders
One initial request plus up to 2 reminders, then stop. That's the sequence Signed Reviews sends, and reminders stop once the customer clicks the review link.
Don't ask for reviews at the wrong time
- Immediately after a support ticket is resolved? Yes (fresh relief/gratitude).
- Immediately after a billing issue? No.
- After a feature request you haven't built yet? No.
- On a customer's billing anniversary? Yes (moment of reflection).
Don't use no-reply addresses
A no-reply sender address says "we want your opinion but not your conversation." It depresses response rates and damages brand perception. Use a real address, even if it's just a team alias.
How Stripe-native review collection automates everything above
If you process payments through Stripe, you can automate the sending. Here's how it works with Signed Reviews:
- Connect your Stripe account by installing the Signed Reviews Stripe App (one click, minimal permissions)
- Configure your timing: send immediately or after a delay you set. There's no delivery trigger, so cover shipping time in the delay
- The platform picks up each new charge from your Stripe account
- Review invitations send automatically at the timing you configured, with your branding: one invite plus up to 2 reminders per customer, ever
- Every review is tied to a Stripe charge: the review carries a "Verified by Signed Reviews" badge backed by that charge record, not a generic "Verified Reviewer" tag
Stripe events to use if you build it yourself
Signed Reviews doesn't use these events; it pulls new charges from your Stripe account. If you wire up your own review emails, these are the events to listen for. Descriptions follow Stripe's event types reference.
| Stripe Event | When It Fires | Best For |
|---|---|---|
charge.succeeded |
A one-time payment succeeds | Physical products, digital downloads, services |
invoice.paid |
A subscription invoice is paid | SaaS, memberships, recurring billing |
checkout.session.completed |
A Stripe Checkout session completes | Checkout-based flows with metadata |
payment_intent.succeeded |
A PaymentIntent succeeds | Custom payment flows |
Why Stripe-triggered emails beat manual sends
| Manual Email | Stripe-Triggered | |
|---|---|---|
| Timing accuracy | Whenever you remember to send | When the charge comes in, or after the delay you set |
| Personalization | Generic "Dear customer" | Auto-populated with the customer's name, purchase amount and your business name |
| Verification | Email confirmed only | Stripe charge ID cryptographically bound to review |
| Refund handling | Manual, you must track refunds | Automatic, review hidden after a full refund or dispute |
| Scale | Breaks down as order volume grows | Scales with your plan (up to 5,000 invitations a month on Scale) |
| FTC compliance | Depends on your process | No review gating built in; set a delay so requests land after delivery |
The combination of automated timing + transaction verification means every review on your page is backed by a real Stripe charge. No email-only "verified" badge. No manual invitation list. No wondering whether the reviewer actually bought something. See Stripe proof of purchase verification for how the verification architecture works end-to-end.
Further reading: How to Collect Verified Customer Reviews · Stripe Verified Reviews · Stripe Proof of Purchase Verification · How Stripe Review Verification Works
Every review tied to a real Stripe payment
Signed Reviews attaches a cryptographic signature to each review, linked to a completed transaction. Free to start: unlimited self-service reviews, 10 automated invitations, no credit card.
Start free → How verification works