What drives quality product reviews onto a product site

[Whitey]

Does anyone know of any information sources and links , or have good experience that can describe the best methods to drive 1000's of quality product reviews from zero reviews ?

Assume the products are well branded and the site has good traffic & conversions.

What are the best tried and tested methods ?

[rogerd]

Obviously, making it easy to submit reviews is one key step.

The most likely reviewers are those who have purchased the product from you. These buyers might also be flagged as a "verified buyer" in your review system. I'd suggest contacting them by email

I recently bought a piece of consumer electronics gear and the vendor offered me a reward ($25 coupon or gift certificate, I think). That's expensive, but it might be a good way to start seeding new reviews.

[Whitey]

What are the "known" & metric ranges for UGC across these two categories [ previous customers and general useage ], and is there a realistic limit to what will convert into comments ?