Testimonials

Like I mention in Fast Food Copywriting, testimonials on a sales letter aren't important. It's the proof that's important (testimonials are a form of social proof.)

When I launch a brand new product, testimonials are the last thing on my mind. Usually my strategy is: I set up a simple dimesale so the price goes up with each sale, the price increases quickly and that's my social proof.

I post my special offer on forums and link to my product via the forum post instead of the actual URL to the sales letter to get people posting on the thread... more social proof.

Once the initial launch has died down I can usually cannibalize these forum posts and use them as testimonials. I look up the person's picture and URL and contact them asking if it's ok to add their comment as a testimonial -- with a link to the sales letter so they can see how it looks. I've almost never been turned down... who doesn't want their URL mentioned on yet another page?

I have mentioned before that 2008 is the year I am doing everything right. I have a blog I update every week or so. Every one of my products has an affiliate program and a plug and play solo ad so affiliates can easily promote it. ALMOST every product also has an upsell to another product -- many have more than one.

May 2008 was the month where I made sure just about every sales letter had a testimonial... with a picture if possible. Check out the sales letter for Head First PHP. I have 10 testimonials on the right sidebar of that page and 5 more at the end of the sales letter.

How did I do it?

Simple: They are all on a mailing list, so I added a timed follow-up to offer a bribe... in exchange for a testimonial.

Notice how I worded that. I sold them on the bribe first, the "what's in it for me" ... and then said, here's what you need to do to get it.

It's no different than a sales letter. You need to SELL them on the benefits of that bribe. You need to have a headline (in an e-mail that's more like a simple sentence), tell a story, and lead in to a call to action.

This time, the call to action is not to buy, but to write up a review for you... much more difficult.

Have you ever thought of how many steps you put your customers through even for the most simplest transactions?

Writing a testimonial means: (1) Hitting the reply button. (2) Finding where they saved your product on their hard drive. (3) Reading through the product to refresh their memory. (4) Explain their favorite part and what they did with it. (5) Add a URL and their name at the bottom. (6) Hit the submit button.

No call to action ever takes one single step... they're ALL complicated.

You are asking for a BIG favor from your customers by asking for a testimonial. Think about it... most of those 10 steps in the order process required very little thinking, or work. The only cost really was in money. This time, you are asking for their TIME... something much more valuable than money.

The call to action on a testimonial is a tougher sell than selling a product. No big deal, you'll get lower conversion rates... but you MUST sell them.

Here are my five tips to getting testimonials:

Testimonial Power Tip #1:
Always ask in a timed followup (7 to 30 days after purchase).

Just write your blurb and stick it in a follow-up and forget about it. This way when you get new customers, your autoresponder will automatically ask them for that review. You won't have to keep asking, figuring out who you've asked and who you haven't... it's easy.

Testimonial Power Tip #2:
Offer a bribe.

Head First PHP contained an e-book but also a daily video. My autoresponder sent a link to a new five minute video... every day for about 30 days.

At the end of those 30 days I said, if you want a link to download all the videos in one zip file, send me an honest review and I'll give you that link. That's how I ended up with 15 testimonials in the span of a couple days.

Testimonial Power Tip #3:
Ask multiple times.

Sometimes people won't get your e-mail, they'll get busy or they won't understand the bribe well enough from just one e-mail to do all those steps required to giving a testimonial.

Add multiple followups either a week or a month apart saying: If you've already given me a testimonial... thank you... now take action and actually use it. Also say if you haven't given me a testimonial, now's your chance to get that bribe.

For another product (Black Hat PHP) I bought resale rights to a product and used that as a bribe. I cut up the sales letter into follow-ups.

• In one follow-up I explained the problem.
• In another, I said here's the solution and here's what you can do to get it.
• A week later the follow-up said here's a video demonstrating the bribe, if you still want it, send your review.
• A week later, a list of benefits... and by the way, here's how you can get the bonus for free.
• A week later, here's the final summary and call to action... review my product so you can get the bribe.

Testimonial Power Tip #4:
Follow-up if the testimonial isn't good enough.

People will try to do the bare minimum to get that bribe and when that happens, ask more questions. When someone says, "It was good. I liked it." Ask what did you like? Did you use it on any web sites? What did it do for you?

• Teach you how to build a bird house with half the materials and 1/3rd the cost... if it's a how-to build bird houses product.
• How to finish your homework faster and get better grades so you have more time to relax and play video games if it's a "how to do homework faster" product.
• Decreased your blood pressure, gave you more awake time, and enough energy to run a marathon if it's a "raw super foods" infoproduct.

Ask questions and try to get some real answers about what they liked the best, what was the most useful and most importantly how it affected them.

It might take a few back and forth replies but eventually you can get enough from that e-mail interview to put it together into a decent testimonial.

Testimonial Power Tip #5:
Be specific.

It all goes back to what's in it for me. Social proof comes in three steps: First, proof that you (the originator) did it... second, proof that someone ELSE did it (these customers) and third, proof that THEY (the prospect) can do it. Without step #2 you just can't have step #3.

By getting your customers to tell you which chapter they liked the most, you can continue selling within your testimonial by mentioning all these cool benefits.

That's how I get customers to hurl testimonials right at my head, the easy way. If you want to know how to write that sales letter so you have a place to stick those testimonials, my latest project is: Five Minute Copywriting.

Please, comment below and share your tips for getting testimonials and social proof to spice up your existing sales pages and therefore increase your conversion rates and get more sales.

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