How To Write Awful Testimonials-Part I

In fact, I am going to teach you exactly the opposite- how to write profit-pulling testimonials. The way you write your testimonial can affect your business either positively or negatively, and it is time that marketers seriously consider learning the art of writing a good testimonial, because I see many people goofing it all up time and again. I am not just talking just about the little guys, but even many of the gurus make the same mistakes while writing a testimonial. In this article I will give you four specifics of a profitable testimonial. 

1. Give the specifics of the product: One way to write credible testimonials is to give specific details about the product you have purchased, while at the same time taking care not to make it a spoiler ( I learned about this trick from Mark Hendricks's Grand Master List Building course, which is a bit dated but still a useful course not just on list building but even niche and affiliate marketing). For example, if you have purchased an information product and are extremely happy with it, you can write about why you are happy with the product. For example, you can write about the pages or chapters of the ebook where you found extremely good information. Below I will give you a sample of what such a testimonial would look like:

—
Hey Peter,

I just finished reading your ebook on launching a WSO, and to say that I was overwhelmed would be an understatement. While your product was good overall, I found certain chapters more interesting than others. For example, on chapter XX, page number XX, you tell when and at which time one should launch a WSO, then at Chapter XX, page XX, you give a lot of information on how to build a list of buyers using WSOs. I am truly amazed to find that you could provide such an overwhelming amount of information for such a low price! Keep up the good work!

Your name here
www.yourdomain.com

————
That was something I just got off my head, without any thinking or prompting. You can do it even better!

2. If the product in question is a script and you are using it on your website, provide a link to it: This technique works great if the product in question is a software or script that you've installed on your website. Just take a look at my testimonial for turbo membership. I did nothing except telling the truth. I was (and still am) extremely happy with how the turbo newsletter manager helps me. In the testimonial's body, I just wrote that I am using it for my newsletter and then put a link to my newsletter site.

Believe it or not, my statcounter stats tell me that I've got several visitors from that one link! Once people noticed that there was somebody who was actually using a product offered by the membership, they flocked to my website just to see how it all works, and then ended up subscribing to my newsletter. :) The last thing may or may not happen in your case – it all depends on the kind of content you publish on your site, but one thing is for sure : you WILL get traffic using this testimonial trick.

3. Don't give a testimonial for every product out there: Just when you thought that this technique is extremely profitable, the reality is exactly the opposite. By all means, you are free to purchase 100s of products every month, but I bet you are not 'extremely satisfied' with all of them. With me, I am extremely satisfied only with 10% of my purchases, and somewhat satisfied with 40% others, and undersatisfied with the rest 50%. I, as a rule, provide testimonials only for products with which I am extremely satisfied. This way my credibly remains undiluted because people don't get to see my testimonial at every corner of the web.

There are some gurus who think otherwise: they believe that giving a testimonial for every product out there and splashing their names across the internet is going to help their business in a big way. I don't know if this attitude has served them well or not, but whenever I see the testimonials of any of those gurus on a sales letter, I am quick to back off! It is as if the very presence of their testimonials taints the product for me! :D

4. Don't be too selfish: Your attitude while writing a testimonial will change drastically if and only if you believe that you are writing the testimonial not just for helping yourself with some traffic, but for increasing the credibility of a product that you are confident will help others as much as it has helped you, for helping a customer make a purchase decision. The testimonials and reviews at Amazon.com serve the writers as much as the future customers – that is how testimonials are meant to work! When you start providing a testimonial for the sake of it rather than helping others, it soon boomerangs on you!

I sincerely hope that these four tips will help you write a better testimonial the next time. Next week I will send you some more 'testimonial' tips.