Using testimonials just makes good marketing sense. From blatant celebrity endorsements, to Jared (the guy who lost a ton of weight eating Subway sandwiches), to any infomercial you’ve ever seen, to direct marketing brochures used by businesses in your own city, testimonials SELL.

Think about it. Third party endorsements—things other people say about something—work better than first-person ads that just push information at you. Let’s look at what influences YOUR buying decisions. For example, if your sister told you about a travel agent that got her and her husband-to-be 40% off of their honeymoon trip to Spain, would you ask for the agent’s phone number to help you score a great trip to the Bahamas for your 10th anniversary? Do you use someone’s services (i.e. lawn care, barber, auto mechanic, house painter, etc.) because a friend said they were good? Have you ever gone to a restaurant, bought a book, or seen a movie because you read a great review about it in the local newspaper? These are all third-party endorsements.

If that tiny bit of marketing strategy works on you, rest assured it will work on your potential clients. The best part is that it doesn’t cost you anything to implement. Simply ask clients if you can use the complimentary things they say about you and your work in your promotional materials. It might be a two-paragraph testimonial that a client carefully writes for you, or a snippet from a quick thank you email he or she sent after the project was finished.

Using those paragraphs and snippets in your communications can increase your writing profits by elevating your credibility. Just be sure you get written permission from your client before you use them.

Where should you use testimonials? Everywhere you can think of! Here’s a starter list:

  • On the back of your business card
  • On your website
  • In your email signature
  • On your resume
  • In any and every kind of advertising you do
  • As part of your social networking efforts

You can even use a testimonial to craft a client success story to post on your blog.

Once you start asking for and using client testimonials, you might discover that you are getting far more writing projects than you ever did without them.

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