How to Get Your First Software Reviews (10 in 3 Weeks)

The fastest way to get your first software reviews is to pick one review site, ask 20–30 customers who've just had a clear success with your product, and send each a personal note with a direct review link. Expect roughly a third of them to follow through, which gets you about 10 reviews in three weeks. Don't pay customers yourself or only ask the happy ones. G2, Capterra and TrustRadius all prohibit incentivised or gated reviews outside their own programs.

Here's the full plan, the message to send, and when to ask so people say yes.

Step 1: choose one platform

Reviews compound on a single profile: category rankings, badges and reports all depend on how many recent reviews one listing has. Spreading 10 reviews across five sites leaves you invisible on all five.

Your buyer	Start with
SMBs, self-serve	Capterra
Mid-market or enterprise, sales-led	G2
Enterprise, long evaluation cycles	TrustRadius
Developers	G2 (or SourceForge for open source)

Make sure the listing exists and is claimed first: G2, TrustRadius, G2 vs Capterra.

Step 2: build the ask list

You want customers who've had a clear win recently, not your whole user base. Look for:

• Customers who renewed or upgraded in the last 90 days
• People who praised you in support tickets, chat or email
• Accounts that hit an activation milestone (first report sent, first integration live, first invoice paid)
• Long-time users with regular logins

Aim for 20–30 names. Exclude anyone with an open bug or billing issue. Ask them later, once it's resolved.

Step 3: send a personal ask

A founder-signed, plain-text email works far better than a branded campaign. Here's a template:

Subject: Quick favour, 5 minutes?

Hi Maya, you set up [specific thing] last month and it's been running every week since. That's exactly what we built [Product] for.

Would you write a short, honest review on [G2/Capterra]? It takes about 5 minutes, and it helps other [role]s decide whether we're worth trying: [direct review link]

Whatever you think, good or bad, is useful to us.

Thanks, [Your name]

Why it works: it names a real outcome, gives an honest time estimate, links straight to the form, and explicitly invites honest feedback. That last part is what keeps it within review-site rules.

Step 4: use the platform's own tools

Review sites run their own review-collection programs: verified invite links, campaigns and, on some sites, reviewer gift cards paid by the platform. Using those is allowed. Paying reviewers yourself, offering discounts for 5-star reviews, or routing only happy customers to the review link isn't, and it can get reviews removed or your profile penalised.

Step 5: follow up once, then thank

• Send one reminder after 4–5 days. Not more.
• Reply publicly to every review, including the critical ones. Buyers read replies, and a calm reply to a 3-star review builds more trust than ten 5-stars.
• Thank reviewers personally. Some will share the review or introduce you to peers.

Step 6: make it automatic

Once you have the first 10, build the ask into the product:

• An in-app prompt after a clear success moment (not on login)
• A line in renewal confirmation emails
• A review link in your customer success team's quarterly check-ins

Incentives: what the platforms allow

You can thank reviewers, but only for an honest review, never a positive one. The specifics:

Platform	Incentives	Rules
G2	Gift cards, charity donations, or your own non-profit, through G2 review campaigns	The incentive must be for an honest review. A reviewer gets one gift card per approved review, issued 3–5 business days after approval
Capterra (G2-owned since 2026)	Gift cards in Capterra's review collection campaigns	Reviewers can't be employees, affiliates or competitors; gift cards are sent within about two weeks of publication
TrustRadius	Review-generation campaigns on Premium	Long reviews, verified reviewers

In the US, the FTC's rule on fake reviews (in force since October 2024) bans buying reviews that are fake and offering incentives conditioned on a review's sentiment. Run incentives through the platform's own campaigns, and ask everyone in a group, not only happy customers.

What to expect

Roughly a third of personally asked, recently successful customers write a review. Generic blasts to the whole list get low single-digit percentages. Ten reviews usually makes you eligible for category rankings and seasonal badges in a niche category. That's when review sites start sending you buyers.

When to ask

Responding to reviews

Every review deserves a reply, and the critical ones matter most:

• Positive: thank them by name and mention the specific thing they praised. Two sentences.
• Mixed: thank them, address the criticism directly, and say what you're doing about it, with a date if you can.
• Negative: stay calm, don't argue, offer to fix it ("I've emailed you directly"), and follow up publicly once it's resolved.

Prospects read replies as evidence of how you treat customers. A thoughtful reply to a 3-star review often does more for conversion than another 5-star review.

After the first 10

Once you have 10 reviews on one platform, keep a steady trickle rather than another burst. Review sites weight recency, and a profile whose last review is eight months old looks abandoned. Two or three new reviews a month, from the automated asks in your product and renewal emails, is enough for most early-stage SaaS.

Related

• B2B software review sites: where to list and in what order
• SaaSworthy and SoftwareSuggest, smaller sites where a few reviews go a long way
• AgentLaunch's catalog, which marks review sites separately from launch platforms

FAQ

How do I get my first reviews on G2 or Capterra? Ask 20–30 recently successful customers personally, with a direct review link, on one platform. Expect about 10 reviews in three weeks.

Can I pay for software reviews? Not yourself. Use the review site's own campaigns, which may include platform-funded gift cards.

What is review gating? Only sending review requests to customers you know are happy. G2, Capterra and TrustRadius prohibit it.

How many reviews do I need? About 10 recent reviews is enough to start appearing in niche category rankings.

Can I give customers a gift card for a G2 review? Yes, through G2's review campaigns, as long as it's for an honest review rather than a positive one. G2 issues one gift card per approved review.

Is it legal to pay for software reviews? Incentives for honest reviews are allowed on G2 and Capterra through their programmes. Paying for positive or fake reviews isn't, and in the US the FTC's 2024 rule prohibits it.