I’m always amazed when I come across a sales letter,
usually online, and there are NO testimonials.
They’re powerful response and conversion boosters and
are so easy to implement. You’re only hurting your
own marketing efforts, and leaving cash on the table, if
you’re not using them.
And if you have them…make sure you’re using
them the right way to maximize response.
You have lots more flexibility and available power with
online copy. Simply because of more available formats.
The most powerful testimonials are video testimonials. And
it’s easy to see why. They engage more senses and
stimulation. People can see and hear it. And videos add
much more credibility especially if no editing has been
done. It’s coming straight from the horses mouth.
The second most powerful testimonials are audio followed by
standard text.
And today you’ll learn how to use text-format
testimonials to give your conversions a big boost.
Try to get as much specific, relevant, and detailed
testimonials as possible. This is much more compelling and
stronger than general statements. Highly detailed comments
are perceived as more believable.
You’re giving readers something they can wrap their
heads around when you use numbers, data, and specifics.
Some marketers may choose to extract ‘only the
juice’ from testimonials and this is a huge mistake.
A little bit of customer rambling, spelling mistakes, or
poor grammar only adds to the credibility factor.
Use longer testimonials rather than shorter ones. This is
related to the previous point about heavy editing.
Don’t do something like this…
“…great product…”
“…loved it!”
“…provocative…a real winner.”
I think you get the idea here.
When you cut and chop a testimonial it creates the
impression that you’re leaving something out for a
reason. And that creates suspicion which is something you
don’t want to do.
This next one is a bit of a no-brainer. But I’ll say
it anyway…
Always use real testimonials instead of fake ones.
I’m telling you, there’s something about
comments made from other people that’s very difficult
to emulate. People will sense it and see right though you.
And you’ll be cutting your own business throat.
And more importantly…
Fake testimonials are lies. It’ll find its way back
to you, eventually. And it won’t be good. So
don’t do it.
The visual use of your testimonials will have an effect on
your readers. But there is some flexibility here. You can
group them all together as a block of testimonials. Or you
can scatter them throughout your copy. Then again, you can
combine the two.
All three approaches can be effective. But the second and
third call for more skill on the copywriter to blend them
in for greatest impact.
One thing…
Leading with testimonials can be dangerous to your
conversions.
When someone is fresh on your page, starts to read and the
first thing seen is a testimonial…you’re
risking losing that reader. Here’s why…
People are skeptical, especially on the web. Lots of people
are skeptical about testimonials and if their real, or not.
One thing you want to avoid is building on that
pre-existing skepticism.
The best thing to do is offer one or more testimonials
after you’ve established some kind of relationship
with the reader. If you’ve done a good job of that,
then they’re more relaxed and open to your
testimonial.
Testimonial identity and location. Always…always get
first and last names, and specific geographical location.
John Smith, Los Angeles CA…or California.
Please…please avoid being minimal here. Don’t
do…
J.S. California
And not having ANY name or location is so worthless you
might as well not have a testimonial to begin with.
I’m serious! You’ll only be inviting people to
leave your site. They’ll think, “Uh
huh…sure.”
To spice things up a little you can blend names and
locations with a comment.
John Smith, from Los Angeles California sent us his
unsolicited praise for …blah.
These are all very basic and easy things you can do for
powerful testimonials. Even though that’s true, I
still see online businesses violate these common sense
guidelines every day.
Don’t be one of them!
----------------------------------------------------
A former college dropout, Dan "The Man" Lok transformed
himself from a grocery bagger in a local supermarket to an
internet multi-millionaire. Discover how you can maximize
your website profits in minimum time. For a limited time,
you can test-drive Dan's Insiders Club for 30-days
Risk-Free and get $1,165 dollars worth of bonus gifts. Rush
cover to:
http://www.websiteconversionexpert.com/testdrive.html
No comments:
Post a Comment