When to ask for a review

The wording of the ask matters less than people think. The timing decides almost everything.

Ask too early and there is nothing to say yet. Ask too late and the moment is gone, the order is forgotten, and the feeling has faded into "yeah it was fine I guess." The window where somebody is actually willing to sit down and write three sentences about you is a lot narrower than most people plan for.

Right after the good part, not right after the sale

The sale is not the moment. The sale is just money changing hands. The moment is whatever comes after it that actually delivers on the thing they paid for.

For a shipped product, that is when it arrives and looks like the photos. For a commission, it is when the finished file lands and matches what they imagined. For a subscription or a membership, it is the first time whatever they are paying for actually shows up as promised. For a service, it is the moment the client can see or use the result.

Ask before that moment and you are asking someone to review a transaction, not an experience. That gets you "seems fine so far," which tells a future buyer nothing.

Specific timing for a few common cases

A physical product: a few days after delivery, once there has been time to actually use the thing rather than just unbox it.

A commission or custom work: right after you send the final file, while the reaction is still fresh. This is often the single best moment in the whole relationship.

A subscription, a membership, or anything recurring: after the first real delivery, not at signup. Someone who just joined has an opinion about your pitch, not your product.

A one-off service, a session, a booking: right after it wraps, while the outcome is still the thing on their mind.

Send it once, not on a loop

One well-timed ask beats three reminders. If somebody does not write a review, a second nudge a week later rarely changes their mind and mostly reads as pressure. Better to make the first ask land at the right moment than to make up for a badly timed first ask with a follow-up.

A verified link solves the timing problem for you

If you are using TheyRave, a one-time review link tied to a specific purchase or delivery does most of this timing work automatically. Send it the moment the thing you are proudest of actually happens, not before. The link only works once, so there is no awkwardness about somebody reviewing twice or the link floating around after it has stopped being relevant.

The short version: figure out the one moment your customer is happiest, and ask right then. Everything else is a smaller lever than that one.