4 More Ways to Get Maximum Impact From Testimonials
Issue #1991
- WEALTHY: Why you should ask Michael Jordan to recommend your basketball (Michael Masterson)
- HEALTHY: Which of 4 popular diets is healthiest? (Jon Herring)
- WISE: Ella Wheeler Wilcox on praise
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- Feedback Friday: Leave those Girl Scout cookies at home
- Michael Masterson on failure as a necessary aspect of success
- It’s Good to Know… about ETR’s top 10 topics
- Add "egress" to your vocabulary
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Take a look at how Jim brought in over $175,000 in a single day!
- Patrick Coffey
"A pat on the back is only a few vertebrae removed from a kick in the pants, but is miles ahead in results."
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
4 More Ways to Get Maximum Impact From Testimonials
By Michael Masterson
One of the best ways to promote your product is through customer testimonials. On Tuesday, I explained that you can make your testimonials as strong as possible by ensuring that they have both powerful, unique language and a captivating presentation.
But that’s not all there is to using testimonials in your sales packages.
Why Big Brands Want Big Stars
As you may know, there is a distinction between testimonials, which come from satisfied customers, and endorsements, which come from recognized authorities or other influential people such as celebrities. Both are effective, but the impact of having a recognized authority endorse your product or service can be enormous. One small but significant study showed a 300 percent difference between the response rates of two otherwise identical direct-marketing pieces when one was accompanied by an endorsement.
The study was completed in 2005 by Klein Buendel, a consultant specializing in health education issues. Researchers found that 12 percent of high school teachers visited an online anti-smoking website after receiving information about a Web-based anti-smoking program accompanied by a letter from an influential opinion maker. Of teachers who received the promotional material without the endorsement, only four percent checked out the site. When the promotion was accompanied by testimonials from fellow educators, teachers were 14 percent more likely to make the anti-smoking program part of their lesson plan.
The reason endorsements work, says Robert Cialdini, author of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion , is that "when faced with a choice people often look around to see what others have done to guide their decision."
There’s More Than One Way to Incorporate Testimonials Into Your Package
One effective way to use testimonials (this is a technique I often used when I was copywriting full-time) is to weave testimonials into stories that illustrate, indirectly, the benefits of the product you are selling
If the testimonials you have don’t lend themselves to use as stories, you can put them on a separate sheet. This "gate" (alternate point of entry to your sales message for your reader) can be a different size or color than your main letter. Setting off a large group of testimonials like this can have a tremendous impact. Your prospect will be impressed by the number of testimonials you have collected.
But as I pointed out in the AWAI copywriting program, "These techniques don’t exist in a vacuum. You should use combinations of story testimonials, standalone gates, and testimonials in sidebars in your promotions when appropriate."
When to Use More, When to Use Less
One question that comes up frequently is "How many testimonials are enough?"
I have two thoughts on this:
- As a general rule, it is better to use a few really good testimonials than a big bunch that are just so-so.
- But if you have a product that seems too good to be true - or if you’re making some very strong promises - you should stock your promotion with as many testimonials as possible. This volume of evidence should overcome any initial skepticism a prospect may have.
Keep It Real
Bob Bly, a great copywriter and teacher of copywriters, has written about testimonials in ETR before. He’s pointed out that generalized testimonials that "sound like testimonials" (i.e., "Your product is great!") are not as effective as specific praise for particular benefits. Avoid puffery, Bly advises. Hyperbole is easy to write, but resist the temptation to use it - and avoid including testimonials that sound like exaggerated plugs for your product, even if they are genuine.
Bly warns against "polishing" plain prose to make it sound better. "Rough, even ungrammatical" quotes are good, because they will be seen as authentic, he says.
Authenticity is the key.
When Kathy Gulrich was a fledgling advertising executive working on a farm chemicals account, she was sent out to record interviews with farmers to be used as testimonials. What she heard blew her away: "It wasn’t so much what the farmers said, but how they said it. They spoke with conviction - clearly from a place of knowledge and experience. Every interview flowed with the rhythms of regional dialect, personal anecdotes, and touches of humor. Man, these guys were so real!" said Gulrich in Build Your Business with Testimonials.
The authenticity of these testimonials, Gulrich said, struck a chord with other farmers - and the series of ads based on them outperformed all previous advertising for the company.
Keep these issues in mind the next time you write (or review) a promotion for your product or service, and you’re sure to see an increase in your sales.
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Low-Carb, High-Carb, Low-Fat… Which Is Best?
By Jon Herring
What’s the best way to lose weight and prevent heart disease and diabetes? At Early to Rise, we believe in the health benefits of a high-protein, healthy-fat, and low-carbohydrate diet. Sure, our stand against "low-fat" diets has been controversial and has resulted in many reader e-mails. But the evidence continues to mount that ETR’s diet of choice is, indeed, the healthiest.
A recent Stanford study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association compared the Atkins diet (very low in carbohydrates), the Zone diet (low in carbohydrates), the Ornish diet (very low in fat and high in carbohydrates), and the U.S. government guidelines (low in fat, high in carbohydrates). The 311 subjects of the one-year study were overweight or obese premenopausal women. The researchers discovered that the Atkins diet was the most effective for weight loss and reduction of body fat percentage. But they also discovered that those who stayed on the high-protein, healthy-fat, and low-carbohydrate Atkins diet also improved their cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar, and blood pressure levels more than those on the other diets.
This comes as a slap in the face to those who tout the benefits of a low-fat diet, but it comes as no surprise to me. It is what the medical literature has shown for some time.
Keep in mind, however, that there are two common misconceptions about the Atkins diet. First, it is not a "no" carbohydrates diet. The idea is to consume whole foods and low-glycemic carbohydrates in place of refined carbs, starches, and foods with added sugars. Second, you must remember that not all meat is created equal. As much as possible, you want to choose meat from animals that are raised on their natural diet (like grass-fed - not corn-fed - cattle) and without antibiotics and hormones.
Follow this diet, and not only will you gradually get closer to your ideal weight… you will enjoy better health too.
Feedback Friday: Fundraising at Work
Jason Holland, ETR’s editorial/research assistant, recently tackled the issue of fundraising at work in ETR. Loads of readers had an opinion on this subject. Here’s what a few had to say:
"First, I love the ETR e-mail every morning. I read it with my first cup of coffee.
"I have kids who sell everything from Girl Scout cookies to Taco Time coupons. I buy a large amount and pass them out to clients and employees. You would not believe the response I always get when a salesmen gets a few boxes of cookies with no strings attached. Then, if they want to help my kids raise funds, they can buy more."
John Meekins
Port Orchard, WA
"I hated asking for the sale when I was a kid, but my folks did me a favor by making me do it. It was a life lesson I never understood until later. It irritates me if a parent asks for a child, and my answer is always no. But if a child comes to my door, the answer is always yes. When will people realize they need to allow their children to learn and grow?"
Tom Stebbins
Spokane, WA
"I say to the parent that is asking me, ‘I will buy from your kids but not from you. If they will come and ask me, I will buy from them.’"
Robert L. Echola
McPherson, KS
"My entire business career started at age 12 when we had to raise $40 for Boy Scout Camp and instead raised $400. Our mothers and grandmothers made Jersey loop potholders and we sold them. The women enjoyed making them (even volunteered)… and we Scouts sold them. 4 for a buck. They sold themselves. 1,000 % over goal!
"So I say the kids should create the ideas, line up people to make or buy the ‘idea’ from, and do the selling themselves. Parents should not sell. It is too valuable a lesson and experience for the kids. For many kids, it’s their first real sales. The only exception to parents selling that I support is if they are on a personal meaningful commission as part of what the kids design."
Jerry McNellis
Pittsburgh, PA
"In my office, which happens to be a newsroom, colleagues selling chocolate bars for their children’s fundraising events often leave a box of bars on a desk in a high-traffic area, with a sign letting people know how much they cost and where the money is going. An envelope is taped to the box. This honor system has worked well. It’s convenient for the fundraiser, who doesn’t have to go around begging for takers, and colleagues who want to buy can do so at their convenience. And for those who don’t want to contribute, there’s no reason to feel guilty, since the seller doesn’t know who gave and who didn’t. It works for me."
Linda Mondoux
Ottawa, Ontario
"I agree with your guidelines. An even more annoying fundraising ploy is an adult sending letters asking for funds to raise money to participate in a marathon, to raise money for a good cause, etc. Upon investigating further, you find 30-40% of the money or more goes to funding the person’s trip to Hawaii, the Caribbean, Alaska, etc."
JW
Leawood, KS
"I do not support chocolate drives (my children’s school has one every year), however I am more than happy to make a donation to the same school without the chocolate. If a child was to have the opportunity to go overseas with a band or with the basketball team, yes I would support that … due to the extra learning involved… expanding the horizons, meeting new people that perhaps speak a foreign language… etc.
"I refuse to ever bring anything to my work environment to ‘fundraise.’ However I also do not generally support most fundraising as most are "food based." (Do I call chocolate or donuts food?)"
F.D.
Brisbane, Australia
"Fundraising has gotten out of control. Every school, club, sport, and other activity has a fundraiser. My kids came home with one the very first week of school!
"This is how I solved the problem for our family. We called the PTA president and asked how much they expected each child to raise over the course of the school year. She didn’t want to give me a number, but I pressed her. Finally, she said about $25. "Is that it?" I asked, and then promptly wrote a check for $50. (I have 2 children.) Then I did the same thing for scouts, soccer, and dance. The expected dollar amounts were all surprisingly low. I just wrote out a few checks and avoided annoying my co-workers and dragging cookies and hoagies and giant rolls of wrapping paper to work!"
Lauren Williams
Gibsonia, PA
"Relax - I consider helping kids with fundraisers as part of my rent for living on this planet."
Judy Wilson
Elkmont, AL
Treasures From the ETR Archives: Michael Masterson on Failure as a Necessary Aspect of Success
[Ed. Note: Our mission at ETR is to help you reach all your goal - and to celebrate our upcoming Issue #2000, we are presenting you with some of Michael Masterson’s most powerful, life-changing messages to date. To read each full article, click the link embedded in the text.]
* * * * *
"There’s nothing that sharpens a smart person’s decision-making ability faster than failure."
* * * * *
"Yes, I’ve had plenty of failures. But I don’t spend much time thinking about them… and when I do, it is with a feeling of equanimity or amusement. I don’t feel badly about them. They seem like interesting experiences that happened to the person I was years ago. And it seems to me that’s a good thing. Being ashamed of failure must surely be very destructive.
"I’m proud of my successes, but I’m not ashamed of my failures - for one good reason: I consider myself to be a success. Why? Because, despite my many failures, I have to my credit many more successes. How was I able to rack up such a positive success/failure track record? By pushing forward on the next new project after the last one had failed.
It’s Good to Know: ETR’s Top 10 Topics
What is ETR all about? If you’re scanning through the nearly 2,000 issues in our Archives, you’re most likely to come across one of these 10 core subjects:
- Business building and personal career development
- Health, fitness, and well-being
- Wealth building
- Management and leadership skills
- Sales and marketing
- Quality of life tips
- Productivity
- Personal motivation
- Copywriting
- Entrepreneurship
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Word to the Wise: Egress
"Egress" (EE-gres) - from the Latin for "to go out" - is a highfalutin way of saying "exit."
Example (as used by William Safire in The New York Times Magazine): "P.T. Barnum is legendarily remembered for suckering his circus customers with a sly exit sign, ‘This way to the egress,’ which enticed paying visitors to leave a crowded tent in the hope of seeing a live egress, presumably a caged female eager."
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Michael Masterson
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2007