How To Get Powerful (and Believable) Testimonials

Testimonials let you show off the good side of your business I mean, let’s be realistic here. I’ve never seen an iffy testimonial published and I expect you haven’t either but even so, testimonials show some proof that you’ve solved real problems for real customers. And that’s what makes you more credible to prospective customers.

Blogging superstar, Jon Morrow recently created a testimonial page for his Guest Blogging program because he knew that a little bit of proof goes a long, long way. But how do you get those amazingly powerful quotes? Here are some tips to get testimonials that make your prospects go “WOW, I gotta get me some of that.”

Listen to your customers and if they say something nice, ask them if you can use that in your marketing. I bet they say yes.

Ask your customers for a testimonials when they are feeling great about what you’ve delivered.

Give your customers some tips on what to include in the testimonial. We all love to hear how awesome we are to work with but the most useful testimonials delve a bit deeper. Don’t be afraid of giving your customers an outline of what to write like:

How did you help them overcome their specific problem?
How much profit did they generated as a result?
How did the final product meet their needs?
Were they surprised by your service delivery?
How did they find the experience of working with you?
Would they recommend you to their friends or colleagues?

[Copyblogger covered these questions in more detail (and more) in their post 6 Questions To Ask for Powerful Testimonials - a great read]

Edit your testimonials. That doesn’t mean rewriting them completely but you may need to make them more succinct. Pick out the best parts to create a shorter, more powerful testimonial.

Include as much detail as possible about the author of the quote. “Belinda Weaver, Owner of Copywrite Matters, August 2011” is so much more believable than “Business Owner, 2011”.

A testimonial is a story and it’s stories that help us connect. By guiding your customers a little more you can you get the makings of really powerful story. A story in which you are the hero.

Do you ask for testimonials from your customers? When you read testimonials and case studies, do you believe them?

The Copy Detective

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A little bit of magic from Belinda (The Copy Detective)

Belinda is an seo copywriter and marketing copywriter who confidently walks the line between writing effective copy and creating an engaging brand personality. You don’t have to choose between them! Oh and she's also The Copy Detective.

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http://www.bridiestypingservices.com/transcribing-services Bridie Jenner

Interesting to see you mention about editing… I tend to post mine up as they were written as I feel it looks more genuine to see a testimonial with a typo rather than they’re all polished. Would be interested in what others think…
- http://www.copywritematters.com.au Belinda Weaver
  
  It is definitely a fine line between keeping the authenticity and picking out the best parts to create a more powerful testimonial. If I get a testimonial that’s quite short I publish it as is but if it goes over two or three sentences (which can make it five or six lines) I often “trim the fat”, picking out the sentiments that I want to really stand out to other people.
  
  If you do that, I highly recommend running it by the author to make sure they are happy with the edited version!
http://twitter.com/KateToon Kate Toon

Hey,

I’m a huge fan of testimonials and credit them for the volume of enquiries I receive and the fact that I now have an actual waiting list!

I don’t edit, but instead put them up as is (typos and all). I do however ask the reviewer to include the elements you mention above, most importantly job title and website, or even a link back to their Linkedin profile so that people can see they’re genuine customers and not just me, or my friends!

I also try to spread the testimonials over a few different review sites. LinkedIn, Google Places and True Local, then cut and paste from there onto my website testimonial page.

One good way of ‘editing without editing’ is to bold key phrases that really make you sound awesome!

Finally if the testimonial is in a public arena I think it’s good to respond to it as soon as possible.

Great post as always.
- http://www.copywritematters.com.au Belinda (The Copy Detective)
  
  HI Kate – thanks for commenting and your extra tips! That’s a great idea to let people link back to their LinkedIn profile. I do people ask if they would mind posting the review on LinkedIn because I can always copy it from there [for my website] but only they can post it on LinkedIn. I think I might start including Google Places and True Local though.
  
  Do you find your clients are receptive to the overhead of not only writing a review but posting it in a few places?

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