Your own products and your blog/site will benefit from testimonials. Testimonials are the best way to market your product/service and blog

In your sales letter you should print testimonials that answer one question/benefit that your product addresses.

Benefit of testimonials

1. Satisfy your audience

They give your audience a more relaxed attitude about what you are offering.

2. Provide assurance

That you can deliver your product / service

3. Assure quality

Testimonials provide assurance to potential customers and clients of the quality of the product or service

4. Give advantage

Credible testimonials give you a competitive advantage over your competitors.

Types of testimonials

There are many types but here I will limit myself to the source of testimonials

1. Testimonials from Past customers

This is the more meaningful and effective type of testimonial. A past customer can sell your product better than you!

2. Expert testimonials

These types of testimonials can be very powerful. If a traffic expert, for example, says that he found golden nuggets in your product.

3. Celebrities’ testimonials.

I think this type is out of reach for most of us. They can be powerful and if you notice they are everywhere!

How to achieve testimonials

1. Remember outstanding products or services deserve testimonials.  You should ensure that your product or service offers outstanding qualities
2. Ask your customers.  Do not bribe them, just ask them. If they are satisfied they will be willing to provide them
3. Interview your customers.  You can ask all the questions you wish in an interview
4. Ask them if they would be willing to put in writing the interview responses.  You could offer to write for them the major points from the interview but they MUST approve and you only can write what they have said!
5. Ask them if they don’t mind the interview being via a webcam or video recording.  These are the best testimonials
6. Choose the best and the ones that answer potential customers’ questions.

Summary:

Ensure that Testimonials Are Meaningful:

If your customer said you can only publish her first name and she simply said, “This is the best XXX I’ve ever tried,” you probably shouldn’t post it on your website.
Testimonials need to come from real people with real names and that talk about real things. Make sure your testimonials have concrete detail about what your customer liked about your product and what results it produced for them.

Where possible, include:

• Full names (first and last)
• Location (city and state/province)
• Photos – Before and after photos, if applicable, can be very effective
• Other proof of results – For example, if your product helped a child’s grade improve at school. You can show photos or scanned images of reports showing the improvement.

Don’t be shy about asking. Respect their decision is they say no but you’ll never know until you ask.