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Asking for Testimonials (And How to Edit Them!) · Talk Copy to Me | Content + Copywriting Podcast

• 0:01
  Let's face it, getting testimonials is easier said than done.
• 0:06
  Or maybe that's not how I want to phrase it.
• 0:08
  It actually isn't that hard to get testimonials when you have a process in order to collect them and request them throughout when you work with your clients.
• 0:18
  But if you leave it up to chance or you wait till the end of a project, it is difficult to get testimonials from your clients, even if they were super excited about working with you.
• 0:30
  And, if we're gonna go a little further in this, let's talk about the fact that you're not really putting in the effort right now, potentially, to get testimonials for your business.
• 0:41
  You know the power of social proof, you want testimonials and reviews, but there isn't quite an urgency to prioritize collecting them right now for your business.
• 0:55
  But what if I told you that simply setting up some processes and systems to collect testimonials would make all of this so much easier for you?
• 1:04
  Well, that's what we're going to dive into today.
• 1:10
  Hey everyone.
• 1:11
  And welcome back.
• 1:12
  Last week, we talked all about the different types of testimonials and why they're all really essential for your business.
• 1:19
  But today we're going to tackle.
• 1:22
  What's probably bothering you or having an effect on you the
• 1:26
  most: how to ask for testimonials.
• 1:29
  most: But that's not it, because after we talk about the ask, I really want you to learn how to edit the testimonials that you have.
• 1:39
  most: So make sure to stay for the entire episode because this is going to be split into how to ask for testimonials in the first half and how to edit testimonials in the second half.
• 1:50
  most: Alright, let's dive in on asking for testimonials.
• 1:54
  most: One of the biggest wishes that I hear from most of my clients who come to me looking especially for website rebranding and copy is that they wish that they had updated testimonials to share and they wish that they could just make this process seamless so that they didn't feel like they had to like chase down clients or bother people in order to get some social proof for their business.
• 2:18
  most: So let's start with talking about timing.
• 2:21
  most: Because timing is everything.
• 2:25
  most: And I'm going to throw an asterisk here for a second, but it's not the only thing.
• 2:30
  most: So the number one piece of advice that I generally hear when I'm in Facebook groups or I'm reading threads and I see conversations where people are talking about social proof, or actually one of the things that I hear all the time when my students of the Testimonial Toolbox complete their few questions that I ask them when they're going through the course, is that They know they should be asking for testimonials when, like, what's that saying, when the iron's hot.
• 2:59
  most: Basically, which is usually after a successful project is completed.
• 3:04
  most: In that time, clients tend to be really excited and they're more inclined to share their experience.
• 3:10
  most: So, as an example, if you're a website designer, you may be sending your testimonial requests right when a website goes live.
• 3:20
  most: And that's great.
• 3:21
  most: I'm not going to tell you that asking for a testimonial at the end of a project is wrong.
• 3:26
  most: In most cases, it can be an ideal time to collect testimonials from your clients.
• 3:31
  most: But, while the end of the project is a good time, it's not the only time that you can ask for testimonials.
• 3:39
  most: And this is a hill that I will die on.
• 3:42
  most: I guess I'm using all of the, like, random sayings in this podcast episode today.
• 3:46
  most: But this is something I feel super strongly about.
• 3:48
  most: Thank you for listening.
• 3:49
  most: You should be requesting testimonials or asking questions of your clients and customers, especially if it's a project based relationship, throughout the process.
• 4:01
  most: So, during that client journey, you should be planting seeds for the end, right?
• 4:07
  most: Kind of remind your clients, do you remember when you said this?
• 4:10
  most: Like, how would, how do you feel about it now?
• 4:12
  most: Or do you think we accomplished that?
• 4:14
  most: So there are actually times that you can ask for a testimonial or you can build out what could be a future testimonial in the lead to client relationship during your client onboarding process throughout any check ins.
• 4:30
  most: So me, for example.
• 4:32
  most: One of the check in points in my, , processes with my, , website clients, for an example, is when I turn over a brand messaging guide.
• 4:40
  most: So before we've done the copy, let's say, if we're reviewing the brand messaging guide, they're going to be making a lot of, , comments, such as, Oh, this really sounds so spot on, or I've never really thought to.
• 4:52
  most: Say this so succinctly, let's say it's So during that process, I'm going to want to be taking notes on the things that my clients are saying.
• 5:02
  most: Maybe some of those things that they say could actually be used as complete testimonials.
• 5:08
  most: And maybe they can't.
• 5:11
  most: But I can, again, take that note, indicate it to myself, so that I can ask a leading specific question, either later on in the process, or at the end of the project, about that precise moment.
• 5:26
  most: So, When you're asking these questions throughout the interactions, or again, when you're planting seeds, if it's not a direct question, you're setting yourself up for success.
• 5:36
  most: It's helping you understand your clients better.
• 5:40
  most: And, not only does the like planting seeds and asking questions throughout the entire process help to get that end result, which is the testimonial, the social proof, but it also allows you as the creative, as the service provider, , as the business, The ability to shift if necessary if the user experience isn't where it needs to be.
• 6:03
  most: So if you're asking a question of your client about, like, how do they feel at this point in the process and they are feeling a little off, you know, maybe they're just not as excited about,, the website design, or maybe they're feeling like they're waiting a long time for, let's say, engagement photos.
• 6:21
  most: If you happen to be a wedding photographer and it's, you know, they're just feeling antsy or they're just feeling a little uncomfortable asking questions of people.
• 6:30
  most: of them allows you to kind of fix problems before they even happen so that you can provide a better client experience.
• 6:38
  most: And then again, it does go back to that end result of getting better social proof because you stepped in before there was an issue to realign their expectations or to improve their experience during the process.
• 6:51
  most: Let's think of an example.
• 6:53
  most: , instead of waiting to the end of the project, , you can ask your clients things like, how is this project exceeding your expectations so far?
• 7:00
  most: Or , is there any suggestions that you have for me on improving this?
• 7:05
  most: So if you're asking them if you've exceeded their expectations, it gives you a chance to hear that yes, yes, you have.
• 7:11
  most: , and if you don't want to be so direct, you could kind of talk about like something that you have planted a seed for during onboarding.
• 7:18
  most: Again, let's go use the wedding photographer.
• 7:20
  most: So if after you deliver those engagement photos and you're asking your clients, like, what do you think?
• 7:25
  most: Did you like the posing?
• 7:27
  most: Did you feel comfortable during this experience?
• 7:30
  most: Did the pictures come out how you planned?
• 7:33
  most: or how you hoped that they'd come out.
• 7:34
  most: That gives you opportunity to either get that complete testimonial then, or again, realign those expectations and prep yourself for the next phase, the actual wedding, let's say, , so that you can make sure you're meeting their expectations during that next part of the project.
• 7:49
  most: So.
• 7:51
  most: We've covered timing.
• 7:52
  most: Let's talk about personalization for instance, because this is also where I think things go really wrong in testimonial requests.
• 8:00
  most: Generic requests are not going to cut it.
• 8:03
  most: Even if your clients loved working with you, if you're sending them like a generic form and you're just saying like, Hey, can you fill this out?
• 8:13
  most: The chances of you getting a Positive and specific, let's key that word specific here, response is going to be much slimmer.
• 8:23
  most: Why?
• 8:24
  most: We're all busy individuals and it's difficult to remember to give a review even if you want to so, not suggesting that your clients don't like you.
• 8:34
  most: But , it can be difficult to remember things.
• 8:37
  most: , especially if it's generic.
• 8:38
  most: Yet, if you're personalizing your request, if you're adding some sentences into your request to say, like, remember when we talked about this?
• 8:47
  most: Like I mentioned, that timing aspect.
• 8:49
  most: , or if you're stating why you loved working with them, and what some of the wins that you saw about your working relationship as part of your request of them, that request stands out so much more.
• 9:02
  most: You know, I talked about specificity.
• 9:04
  most: Now and before, and the details really matter when it comes to social proof.
• 9:10
  most: So if you're mentioning the project and the challenges that you've potentially overcome, the results that you've achieved together, or those little moments of like joy that they showcased when you were working together or when you were delivering parts of the project to them.
• 9:26
  most: You're able to demonstrate that you paid attention to their experience and that throughout the time of paying attention to their experience, you really valued the relationship that you've built with them as their service provider or as the business that they worked with, the, you know, client to business relationship.
• 9:44
  most: Instead of a generic like, hey, you know, I'm, I'm, I really liked working with you.
• 9:48
  most: Would you be willing to write a testimonial for my business?
• 9:51
  most: You could say something like, I am so glad that we were able to help you achieve your goal of updating your website design, , to this new, you know, funky look that you have worked so hard to hone in on your brand personality and showcase that as part of your business.
• 10:08
  most: You know, your success is really our success, and I'd love to share that experience you had with my potential leads and other clients.
• 10:18
  most: You know, would you be willing to talk about, and then list a couple things that you think that they could really speak on because that, you know, That experience happened while you work together.
• 10:28
  most: It's really about specificity and personalization, which brings me to my next point.
• 10:34
  most: We want to make asking And, well, actually, we want to make the asking part easy, but we also want to make the, like, completing the testimonial as easy as possible.
• 10:44
  most: I did mention a second ago, don't just drop a generic form in their inbox and expect them to complete it.
• 10:51
  most: Forms do help.
• 10:52
  most: So, This is one of those it depends and knowing your business, your clients, and your processes as well as you can.
• 11:00
  most: Do they want to fill out a form?
• 11:02
  most: If so, if you think that you're asking very leading questions, make that form short and easy to complete.
• 11:08
  most: , you want to make it as easy as possible.
• 11:09
  most: So maybe even starting by asking how they prefer.
• 11:14
  most: to share their feedback.
• 11:15
  most: You know, for some clients, it could be that you're getting on a call as you are winding down your work together anyway, so you could prep them and say, hey, while we're on the call, would it be okay to ask you a few questions about our working relationship that I may use as a testimonial later?
• 11:31
  most: Always ask for permission first.
• 11:34
  most: Another idea could be saying like, I know you're busy, but you know, we've communicated via Voxer during our time together.
• 11:41
  most: Would you be willing if I just asked a couple questions on Voxer and you sent me a couple voice notes back that I could use then as audio testimonials or transcribe and use as written testimonials?
• 11:54
  most: , you could show them examples.
• 11:56
  most: So maybe you have a few really good testimonials that you really loved.
• 11:59
  most: You could ask them like, Hey, could you, , write about your experience?
• 12:03
  most: I'd love for you to talk about X, Y, Z.
• 12:05
  most: Here are two examples of different lengths that previous clients have written for me.
• 12:10
  most: In case you want to kind of review, I know it can be really hard to start from a blank page.
• 12:15
  most: Speaking of blank pages, you could do the fill in the blanks type of testimonials, where you're writing a sentence and they input their own thoughts based on their own experience in the like blank space section., you could use the tools you're already using to make this part easier.
• 12:32
  most: For example, the CRM that I use in my business is Dubsado, so I could use my Dubsado forms as a way to collect, , testimonials if I'm doing it in form, for them to fill out.
• 12:43
  most: Similarly, I use Airtable in my business and I have my specific testimonial collection as It built into Airtable so I can manage it a little bit better, just the way that my brain works.
• 12:53
  most: So you can definitely use the tools that you already have to collect testimonials easier, but I think that having your clients, like giving them the permission to like lead the process and tell you how they prefer to share testimonials and then You altering your own processes to make that happen.
• 13:13
  most: So again, I just said I have a form built in Airtable that I use as part of my process.
• 13:18
  most: But if my client said they'd rather get on a video call with me, I would just ask them the questions that I felt were relevant to that particular project that were already on the form.
• 13:28
  most: I wouldn't send them the form and ask them to complete it.
• 13:30
  most: I would just be asking them those same type of questions.
• 13:35
  most: And then . In regard to asking for questions, the final thing I really need to encourage you to do, and there's more, just so you know, this is a podcast episode.
• 13:45
  most: I am trying my best to kind of be as succinct as possible and talk about how to ask, but if you do have specific questions or you're looking for more examples and more descriptive ways in education about asking, it's in the testimonial toolbox.
• 14:01
  most: You know, you can purchase testimonial toolbox right now and work through it on your own, or you can join us when we do the live round in a couple weeks.
• 14:09
  most: I'd love to have you there.
• 14:11
  most: So I don't want you to think that these three, well, I guess four suggestions, which would be timing, personalization, making it easy, and the one that I'm about to say, following up.
• 14:22
  most: I don't want you to think that's the only That's it.
• 14:25
  most: Like, oh, the common sense.
• 14:27
  most: Let me just ask some questions.
• 14:28
  most: There is a lot more that kind of goes into this, but I am limited on time and trying to give you the most, most that I can about asking and editing in one episode.
• 14:38
  most: So I think these are really the key things I want to drive home, but there is a little bit more about asking that's built into the course.
• 14:45
  most: And there's more that we'll do specifically with asking, because that's going to be one of our main goals during the live round of Testimonial Toolbox in September.
• 14:53
  most: But let's finish with the asking part because I want you to stay for the editing part.
• 14:58
  most: The final thing is that you need to follow up and you need to be strategic about your follow up.
• 15:03
  most: So, everyone is very afraid to follow up with their testimonial requests.
• 15:10
  most: I hear it from the students in my course.
• 15:13
  most: They don't want to be a bother.
• 15:15
  most: But if you have provided an excellent, um, Like client experience, you're not a bother.
• 15:21
  most: I will say, I do not recommend following up a testimonial request for a project that has gone wrong.
• 15:27
  most: If you send a testimonial request just because you're putting yourself out there and you want to, fingers crossed, get a testimonial from a relationship that didn't quite work as well as you had expected it to, and they don't respond, we want to leave those people be.
• 15:42
  most: We don't want to badger them.
• 15:44
  most: , if you don't think that they're going to send a testimonial to begin Leave it at that.
• 15:49
  most: But for the rest of the people that you work with, I hope all of the people that you work with, you do need to follow up it's because we're, we're busy.
• 15:57
  most: Consumers, everyday people are very, very busy and providing social proof may be something we truly want to do, but it's generally never at the top of our to do list, you know, As a mom, I am constantly juggling things for my children.
• 16:12
  most: We're about to start back to school.
• 16:13
  most: I have a child entering college, one entering kindergarten.
• 16:16
  most: There's a lot that's on my mind at all given times.
• 16:20
  most: That doesn't have to do with my business or the businesses that I've hired myself.
• 16:25
  most: So, and I have ADHD, so I forget everything.
• 16:28
  most: So, I know when I've had people ask for testimonials from me, I love it when they follow up.
• 16:35
  most: In fact, if someone puts a request for like some type of social proof after we've worked together, I will always tell them, if you don't hear back from me in three days, or let's say, if you don't hear back from me by next week, I'm begging you to follow up because I want to give you this tool.
• 16:52
  most: Social Proof.
• 16:52
  most: I just can't do it right now in this moment, so please follow up with me.
• 16:56
  most: And I do that just because I know my own brain and how I work.
• 16:59
  most: But you want to follow up with your clients, and I've found even though I was very uncomfortable doing it at first, the way that works best for me is by letting my clients know that I will be following up from that with them from the very beginning.
• 17:15
  most: So, Right up front when I'm, I'm letting them know that I always really like to like collect information on how the projects went so that I can improve my services and so that I can potentially collect a testimonial, I'll say, Hey, I always check in, check in with this request in about a week.
• 17:32
  most: So I'd love for you to be able to complete it.
• 17:35
  most: But just in case it's, you know, going on your to do list, I'll give you a reminder seven days from now.
• 17:40
  most: So just planting that seed and letting them know that you will follow through kind of takes the pressure off of them just to understand that if they don't get it done right away, you're going to check in with them.
• 17:51
  most: And, Then check in, right?
• 17:53
  most: Especially if you tell them you're going to.
• 17:55
  most: You have to follow through and do the check in at that point.
• 17:58
  most: Decide now, like, what will your check in process be?
• 18:01
  most: Will you check in in one week?
• 18:03
  most: After that, if you don't hear from them, will you check in again in a month?
• 18:06
  most: Like, how will you do the check in process and then stick to that so it always stays the same.
• 18:12
  most: And number one, when it comes to asking, do not forget to express your gratitude for their time and consideration, whether or not they complete your testimonial requests.
• 18:22
  most: So when you ask, you know, especially if you're doing that after project check in, make sure you say like, I really appreciate your time.
• 18:29
  most: Thanks so much in advance.
• 18:30
  most: When you're checking in, thank them for their time.
• 18:33
  most: And then if they do complete your testimonial, really let them know how much that meant to you.
• 18:39
  most: All right, we talked about asking for testimonials so that I still have your time and attention.
• 18:44
  most: Let's move right into part two of this episode, which is editing the testimonials that you have.
• 18:49
  most: So if you start to have testimonials start streaming into your business, you're going to have to figure out how to organize them and how to use them.
• 18:59
  most: Please come back next week because we will be talking about that very thing.
• 19:04
  most: But when they're coming in, we also need to consider that we want to polish them so that the testimonial is as easily read by your future leads and your audience and your current clients, maybe even.
• 19:17
  most: So they understand it and they're interpreting the message as best as possible.
• 19:21
  most: But editing is really tricky when it comes to testimonials.
• 19:26
  most: And there's a lot of legal considerations that come alongside of this when it comes to changing other people's words.
• 19:32
  most: So I always just like to put the reminder that ethical editing is the key.
• 19:37
  most: You're not rewriting what people are sharing with you.
• 19:41
  most: You're just Potentially enhancing it for clarity and focus.
• 19:47
  most: So not only should you be asking for testimonials, but you should be informing your clients what you will do with the testimonial after they give it to you.
• 19:57
  most: I always say I really am, like, strict with the ethical part of, like, editing someone else's words.
• 20:04
  most: So I always tell my clients that I will edit it for grammar, and any type of clarity thing, and I will send it back to them for approval.
• 20:11
  most: Sometimes my clients tell me that's not necessary.
• 20:13
  most: In fact, most of my clients just say, like, hey, listen, I completely approve whatever you're going to do.
• 20:19
  most: It's unnecessary.
• 20:20
  most: Like, you don't need to send it back.
• 20:21
  most: But I prefer to just send it so people have an idea, , of what I'm doing.
• 20:26
  most: So when I'm editing, I know that I want to preserve the authenticity of the social proof that I'm getting.
• 20:34
  most: So here's the times that I think the editing will be necessary when it comes to testimonials.
• 20:39
  most: First, clarity and grammar.
• 20:42
  most: So if there's any grammatical errors or unclear sentences, that is when I make corrections to the testimonials I'm given.
• 20:49
  most: Quite often, a lot of people will have run on sentences or Incomplete sentences in a testimonial.
• 20:57
  most: I would say for me, this is something I see at least 75 percent of the time.
• 21:01
  most: I know exactly what they're saying, but I also know that if I took a run on sentence and separated it into two different sentences, it would make so much more sense.
• 21:12
  most: So sometimes I will do that.
• 21:14
  most: I'm not mushing around my clan's words.
• 21:16
  most: I'm simply like just making sure that the grammar and the clarity is there for the words that they shared with me.
• 21:24
  most: Another time you're going to want to edit your testimonials is for length.
• 21:28
  most: So if you get excessively long testimonials, like one, more power to you, but two, you'll want to consider shortening it while preserving the core message.
• 21:38
  most: And one of my favorite thing to do with long testimonials is to chop them up so that they become, instead of one testimonial that's very long and cannot be used everywhere, they become multiple testimonials on, on, on, on.
• 21:51
  most: Potentially different things from the same client, so I will chop up for length.
• 21:56
  most: The third time you'll want to edit is for relevance.
• 21:59
  most: , so if certain parts tend to be irrelevant, where maybe someone's bringing their own personal history into something, like they're explaining why they chose to hire you, and there's a little bit of backstory to it, before they get to the heart of the testimonial.
• 22:14
  most: Sometimes I will potentially remove things if they are irrelevant to the testimonial, and that's usually a good example.
• 22:20
  most: It's when personal details are shared.
• 22:23
  most: And then the final time that I will edit a testimonial is for confidentiality.
• 22:27
  most: So if, and the last example I gave, it can help if there's sensitive information for the client, Backstory.
• 22:35
  most: I may remove it.
• 22:36
  most: , if my client works in a particular field, I may remove some indicator.
• 22:41
  most: This isn't relevant to my business, but I have had many coaches as clients, so they may be getting testimonials from people that they've coached.
• 22:49
  most: , I can think of one client specifically who was an executive coach and worked with people in the C suite and those individuals did not necessarily want it being advertised that they were working with a coach.
• 23:00
  most: Not that there's obviously anything wrong with that, but that was part of their working dynamic.
• 23:05
  most: So instead of crediting their clients as the like speaker to the testimonial, they would adjust it maybe so it would be like, instead of like, John Hancock, ? And then whatever, he was the CEO of XYZ company.
• 23:18
  most: It would be like John H.
• 23:19
  most: CEO.
• 23:20
  most: Right?
• 23:21
  most: , That's a way to kind of protect some privacy of a really good testimonial.
• 23:26
  most: And usually this is where great client communication comes in.
• 23:30
  most: If you're talking with your clients and you're figuring out what they're comfortable sharing, what would be considered confidential to them?
• 23:37
  most: You're going to end up with a testimonial that you're both really excited about.
• 23:42
  most: So, I talked about when you would consider editing, but let's talk about how to actually do that.
• 23:48
  most: Again, it's essential to maintain authenticity and integrity of the original message.
• 23:53
  most: So, the first thing I do, and some of these things I kind of already mentioned, but I really want to reiterate them here.
• 23:59
  most: First thing I do is I seek permission.
• 24:01
  most: I'm always asking my client permission before making any significant changes.
• 24:07
  most: The only times I probably wouldn't make, ask permission is if I saw like the wrong verb choice, like, you know, the word affect and effect, if that was used incorrectly in a sentence, maybe I would just switch that and not even say anything, but besides that, I am permission all the way.
• 24:24
  most: How to Edit.
• 24:25
  most: Again, focus on the clarity.
• 24:26
  most: You really want to make sure the testimonial is easy to understand and that the information shared within it flows smoothly.
• 24:35
  most: You don't want it to jump from like, let's say a sandwich effect where they talk about one thing, they shift to talk about something completely different, and then they go back to the original concept that they shared in point one.
• 24:46
  most: That's confusing for the reader and it makes it a less effective testimonial.
• 24:50
  most: If you have longer testimonials, go ahead and highlight those key points.
• 24:55
  most: You'll usually see this being done on, on websites where like the main point is emphasized using like some type of design element, like a header.
• 25:04
  most: You know, you'll see the quote in one sentence or a few words in a header font and then the rest of the testimonial.
• 25:10
  most: underneath it in regular copy font.
• 25:13
  most: And the final suggestion on going to, going ahead and editing would be maintaining consistency.
• 25:19
  most: So you always want to make sure that the testimonials you're sharing are shared for an actual reason and a purpose, right?
• 25:26
  most: You would not want to share part of a testimonial if it didn't seem like it made sense about how it related back to your business, how it related back to your brand, your customer experience, the services you offered, and things like that.
• 25:39
  most: So, The goal, just to reiterate this editing aspect, the goal is to enhance the testimonials you're given, not to rewrite the testimonials.
• 25:50
  most: And we will be talking about how to reuse testimonials as part of things like case studies, because a lot of what I shared today was like breaking up testimonials.
• 26:00
  most: Let's say you get a long one and breaking it into little pieces.
• 26:04
  most: As if we were using it on social or we were using it on a website, but I want you to understand you can build upon a testimonial so you can take pieces of what clients shared and create content around it so that you as the service provider are providing a larger scope to your client's points, and you can share that as part of your marketing materials, but that'll be coming up in a future episode.
• 26:31
  most: So to kind of just reiterate and close this conversation today, it's asking for and editing the testimonials that you get in your business is really an essential part of building a good brand reputation and creating a visibility for your business using other people's thoughts and praise and recommendations as a way to sell your services or sell your products.
• 26:58
  most: But in our next episode, I will kind of break down much clearer on how to use these testimonials that you've asked for and that you've edited in the way that they can have the most maximum impact for those marketing assets you're creating.
• 27:12
  most: So come back again next week and we'll talk about what to do with these beautiful testimonials that you now have in your business.
• 27:19
  most: And don't forget to join us for Testimonial Toolbox Live.
• 27:22
  most: Again, all of the information you need on that will be in the show notes, will be in the podcast description, and I hope to see you join us in the live round of Testimonial Toolbox.