How To Get Way More Testimonials (Starting Today)

We’ve all heard that testimonials are one of the most effective ways of boosting sales page conversion, especially when those testimonials are optimized to make the biggest impact on the page. Other people saying your stuff is great simply helps you sell more of that stuff.

But getting those testimonials? Sometimes that’s the “hard” part.

For a lot of people, asking for them in the first place can feel awkward, and for others, they’ve been on the “I should get to doing that soon” list for so long that it’s taken on a life of its own. There are a lot of things that could be getting in the way of you asking for – and receiving – those delightful words of praise for the wonderful things you do.

So, today I’d like to give you some direction that can make it a little easier for you to get your hands on more testimonials moving forward.

Here are 5 simple ways you can get the testimonial train rolling, so that your future customers can see the words that will make them feel more comfortable buying from you.

1. Ask your current / customer base for a testimonial.

We’ll start with the obvious. Assuming that you have had someone (or a collection of someones!) trade you money for your products or services in the past, there are people who are already in a position to give you testimonials starting today.

Send each of them a personal email that thanks them for being a customer, and ask them if they’d be willing to write up a little testimonial for you. You can start doing this today.

If it’s been a while since they’ve purchased, and you’re feeling like your request might feel a bit weird coming to them so late in the process, you can tell them that you’re revamping your sales page, and you’d like to add more testimonials. That can soften he request.

You can straight-up ask them for a testimonial, or you can direct them to the kinds of things you’re looking for them to say, if you think that kind of direction will make the process easier for them.

(Not sure what to say? Take a look at my personal testimonial template – you can just copy-and-paste it into your own emails.)

2. Take advantage of the “honeymoon period”.

When you sell a product or service, there’s this brief “honeymoon period” where the positive feelings your customer has about your product or service are at their highest.

Maybe you have a client who has had a two or three phone calls with you, and they’re really happy with how working with you has gone so far. Or maybe they’ve just purchased a product and they’ve just started using it or going through it, and they’re immersed in the excitement of owning it.

Basically, their experience is still “current” for them, and they haven’t forgotten about it and been drawn away by the other things in their life. Generally, it lasts from 1 to 4 weeks, depending on the person and what they’ve bought. That’s where you want to get in touch with them.

It’s a good idea to work this into your standard processes so that it always gets done. Ask clients for a testimonial after their third call. Email buyers 15 days after purchase. That sort of thing.

This honeymoon period is an absolutely fantastic time to get in touch and ask for a testimonial. They buyer is still excited about their purchase, so they’ll be more willing to say yes to giving you a testimonial – and their experience is fresher, so their words will flow more easily and they’ll be more likely to say something meaningful.

3. Jump on social media mentions.

If you’re a regular social media user, keep your eye out for anyone who says anything nice about you, or the products you sell, or the services you offer.

Sometimes this will be a simple thing like “I loved this blog post from @ittybizkris”. It’s not always over-the-top. Other times it will be more testimonial-y like “I just made my first product with Product In A Weekend, and it was SO helpful!”

Once they say something complimentary, respond to them as soon as you can. Talk to them, ask them questions, keep the conversation going.

In some cases, you can use the bits of that conversation to assemble a more robust testimonial for your product, your service, or even yourself. When that happens, it’s pretty cool.

In other cases, once you’ve engaged to a certain level, you can take it into email and say “Hey, I appreciate you saying nice stuff about me. Would you be willing to write up a testimonial?” (Again, you can use my testimonial template for this part.)

4. Jump on fan mail.

Every so often you’re going to get fan mail. Maybe it will be for your blog posts, maybe it will be for your launch content, and maybe it will be for your products or services.

Whatever it’s for, don’t waste the opportunity to respond in a way that will bring you one step closer to asking for a testimonial. These people are literally coming into your inbox saying, “I spontaneously decided it would be a pleasure to way nice things about you today.”

Honeymoon period, begin!

If your fan mail is a direct compliment on your product or service, you can ask right then. Just say, “Thanks so much for saying those awesome things – by the way, would you be up for a testimonial?” Then you’re off to the races.

(Also, if what they already said is good enough, you can just ask them if you can use that as a testimonial.)

If it’s not so direct, then build up the engaged conversation just like you would on social media. It may take a few emails back and forth until you feel ready to ask them for a testimonial, just like with the social media mentions. Just be patient – good things come to those who build connections.

5. The carpet bomb.

This one takes a little bit of a finer hand, but no more than asking a favor of someone you know in real life.

Simply email your list, and say, “Hey there – I’m looking to add some more testimonials to my pages. If you’d be interested in saying something about any of my products or services – or about me – please reply.”

People like doing nice things for other people they like. This can work better than you might imagine. When I revamped the IttyBiz website, I sent out an email asking for “tiny testimonials” about the blog, the newsletter, or Karma Store products, and I got over 100 responses.

If a cat like me can get 100, you can probably score a few yourself.

And even if you don’t get many, you’re still putting the request out there – which means that in the future, your audience might be more likely to spontaneously give you testimonials after purchasing something new.