A strong, credible testimonial should contain certain elements with it in order to overcome skepticism and doubt. In this part of the series I want to talk about the elements that contribute to and constitute a powerful, doubt-eliminating, sales-increasing testimonial.
Every testimonial I use contains these key elements, in fact I won’t even use a testimonial without them anymore. Use every one of these elements in order to create the strongest testimonials you can possibly have.
- Full Name – Always include the full name of the person who wrote the testimonial. Although this is kind of obvious I do occasionally see testimonials with only first names which makes them look less credible.
- Picture – A picture is worth a thousand words and in your testimonials it speaks credibility like nothing else can. In fact, I will not even use testimonials on my sales pages without a picture of the person. If you want the absolute BEST testimonials possible then ALWAYS get a picture of the person who gave it. But what happens if you get a great testimonial without a picture? Don’t use it. Or, you could also devote a second dedicated page on your website just to testimonials and use it there. Overall, pictures with testimonials make them 100 times more believable.
- Company or Website – I always prefer to include the company or website of the person who left the testimonial, and sometimes both. However, I never make the links to their website live, there’s no need to send visitors away from your website. A company or website associated with the testimonial makes it all the more credible. In some cases this won’t be applicable to your situation and if that’s the case then don’t feel obligated to use it.
- Audio – Although not an absolute necessity for a great testimonial, using audio can definitely set your testimonials apart and make them OUTSTANDING! Getting recorded audio testimonials from your customers can be a very easy task. I personally recommend using a service like BYO Audio or Audio Generator that allows your customers to call a phone number and leave a testimonial. You can then copy and paste the audio onto your website.
- Who Is The Testimonial From? – You may have the name of the person who gave the testimonial, but who are they in relation to what you are selling? If they are a customer say so! If they are a 2 year veteran user of your service, a member of your site, or a satisfied customer let everyone know. I personally like to state something such as “Product X Customer” right above the person’s name. This let’s everyone know exactly who that person is and re-affirms they are an actual user and customer of the product or service I am selling.
- Permission – Always get verified permission from the person who gave you their testimonial. I actually use a web form that requires a check-box confirmation before the testimonial can be submitted to me. By checking the box the customer agrees to certain terms and conditions about how I can use their name, picture, and testimonial. No matter how you get permission just make sure you get it.
So now you are probably wondering how you can get testimonials along with all these elements from your customers. In the final part of this series I am going to cover how you can get plenty of great customer testimonials which include some of the key requirements that great testimonials should have.
