HOW TO WRITE A DAMN GOOD TESTIMONIAL
You probably already know that believable testimonials can bolster your
credibility and boost sales.
Pithy, hook-laden, interesting, and detailed testimonials work like crazy
inside your sales pitch to convince prospects to buy.
However ... boring testimonials just put readers to sleep. And can KILL
response.
Remember the "4 S's": Great testimonials are specific ... short
... sizzling ... and signed. (And avoid the "4 L's": Long, lame,
lazily-written, and lacking a point.)
I am forever astounded when I see copywriters passively slap dumb testimonials
into their pitch. As if just having someone say something nice carries mysterious
selling power.
When you are in total control of your advertising, you are also hands-on
in the acquisition of testimonials. That means you have at least some interaction
with the people willing to give you a good quote ... and you help them format
it in a way that carries the most water for your pitch.
Don't be shy. Ecstatic customers want to give you an effective quote. Most
aren't all that articulate, and will welcome a little coaching on how to
say what's on their minds.
When you reach this point ... where you can confidently look a satisfied
customer in the eye and divine what part of your amazing service/product/business
really rang their chimes ... it is totally ethical to help them verbalize
their feelings.
Including the specific results that brought those feelings of gratitude
to the surface.
When you control the way a testimonial is presented, you're doing everyone
a favor - the quotee, the reader, and your own bottom line.
So: What do you ask for in a "controlled" testimonial? Simple.
Take all the benefits of your USP... list them ... and aim to have at least
one testimonial target each benefit.
Let's say your USP is that you are fast, simple, easy, and cheap.
Okay, then you would ideally want at least four testimonials in your ad.
One would say something like "This is the fastest service I've ever
had - I really felt taken care of."
The next: "It was so simple, my four-year-old helped assemble it."
And the next: "I can't believe how easy it all is once you know the
inside secrets. I would have never discovered any of this on my own - like
everyone else, I always thought it was difficult. Well, it isn't."
And the last: "Not only was this super-affordable ... but, heck, it
worked so well it paid for itself the first week. Don't get ripped off again
- this is a genuine bargain."
All signed by real people in real towns. With photos.
See the power here? The worst kind of testimonial you can have is the incoherent,
boring one that goes on and on about nothing relevant. You chase readers
away with drivel like that.
Almost as bad are the "rah rah" ones that say "Joe's the
greatest. I really like him." No convincing going on, no furtherance
of the sales pitch.
Ah ... but when you intersect testimonials with the benefits of your USP
... then you're really cooking.
Automatically, you are hitting on major sales points with every quote.
No amount of bragging you do can match the enthusiastic "third party" endorsement
of a real person ... especially when it's specific and details your USP.
Something happened to spur your testimonial-giver to contact you. However,
without understanding the nature of testimonials, they almost always obscure
the specifics. They mumble.
That's why you should be involved. Find out what the writer meant when they
said "Thanks - I really enjoyed your product." It may take a phone
call and a little detective work to discover that they just doubled their
income using your stuff.
They won't come up with "money quotes" on their own very often.
They're not writers, and they're not marketers. Most folks think all you
want is a pat on the back.
But what works best are mini-stories of redemption, unexpected success,
and life-changing discoveries.
All boiled down to one or two brisk sentences.
A great copywriter should know how to "translate" vague, uninteresting
testimonials into sizzling pieces of sales-enhancing copy.
** Copied with permission from AWAI Online
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