Hi there
OK, first up…an announcement for everyone in or around Melbourne.
Many of you would know Brett McFall, or at least who he is.
For those of you who don’t, Brett is an expert on making money online, and he travels the world teaching other people how to do it.
Anyway, I’m not going to give you a complete bio of Brett, suffice to say he’s the real deal, and many of you reading this will vouch for him
The point is that he’s running an event on the 6th and 7th of December in Melbourne. Check it out here:
http://www.brettmcfall.com/seminar/special.html
I’ll keep you in touch with any events I hear about in Australia I think you might find useful.
OK, now it’s on to … TESTIMONIALS.
Now, why do you think testimonials are so important?
Well, whenever you make any claim about your product or service, you need to back that claim up with PROOF.
And while there are lots of different ways you can prove your claims, the best way is with testimonials.
This is because what somebody else says about you holds a lot more weight than what you might say.
Now, there are a few different types of testimonials.
You can have written testimonials, video testimonials (where you tape somebody giving the testimonial) and audio testimonials. Obviously the only ones you can use on paper are written ones, but a combination of all 3 online is extremely powerful
And dont worry about having too many testimonials. You really can’t have too many testimonials. Some of the best sales pages have dozens and dozens. Other websites have separate pages of them.
In fact, I once heard about a direct mail campaign which involved sending out a box full of testimonials to the prospect with a short letter. But the sheer number of testimonials was what sold the product. So don’t ignore what you’re hearing here. Testimonials are an incredibly powerful way of proving your claims and selling your product or service.
OK. Let me give you some really specific testimonial tips.
First of all, the best format for testimonials is “Once I was lost…and now I am found”. So, once I had a problem, I used such and such’s product, and now the problem has gone away.
So, if its lawnmowing, a good format would be “Once my garden was a mess, but Hugh’s Gardening Service came and fixed it up, and now all my neighbours are jealous”
Or if you’re a mortgage broker, it could be “I was paying too much on my home loan, but I went to Hugh’s Mortgages and now my repayments are less”
Of if you’re selling a product on making money, it could be “I tried all sorts of programs to make money online, but they all let me down. But now that I’ve tried Hugh’s program, I made lots of money”
OK. Now you either just get them from your customers, and they’re often fantastic. But if you dont think your customer’s going to give you one you can use, you can always ask them what they got out of your product or service, and put that into words for them. Then, just send it to them to check it over.
Once you’ve got your testimonials, the best way to put them in your sales letter is to make them stand out.
Put a big colourful border around them. Shade the box in a different colour. Use a different font. Highlight a few keywords. Even pull out a short phrase and put it at the top of the testimonial in a different colour.
Another great way if you’re online and you’ve got lots and lots of testimonials is to put the ones you dont use in a panel down the side of your webpage. After all, they tell a story themselves.
And put in as much information as possible as you can about the person who gave you the testimonial. Just initials or a first name is not very effective.
You want to include as much information as possible, including their full name, city/town, country, their contact number, an email address, their website, and a photo. Obviously you wont have all this information, but the more information you include, the more it looks like your testimonial is from a real person.
But here’s a word of warning….
…Do not, under ANY circumstances, make them up. Its not only illegal, but immoral as well. And if you get caught…watch out.
So if you dont have any testimonials, you can offer your product or service to a few people for free on the condition that if they like it, or found it useful, they give you a testimonial.
And then keep talking to your customers, and ask them for feedback about your product, which you can use if they give you permission. BTW they wont just offer it, you have to ASK THEM.
And make sure you keep a record of their approval. Otherwise they might just come after you in a few years, claiming that you didnt have their permission.
So, there it is. Go forth and collect! I’m forever asking my clients how many testimonials they’ve got. And usually new clients who haven’t used direct response marketing before dont have any. And the first thing I tell them to do is got and get as many as they can possible get.
Next week I’m going to tell you all how to write about the benefits that your product or service has. There’s a couple of cool tricks on how to find really strong benefits, and how to write about them in your sales message.
In the meantime, if you have any questions, or would like me to write on something specific, please feel free to add your comments or get in touch with me on my website.
All the best
Hugh Thyer
www.salescomefirst.com
