My unbeatable formula to turn testimonials into conversions

You probably have testimonials on your website, but most visitors overlook them.

Here’s my guide on how to correctly formulate and utilise testimonials in order to grab attention and drive conversions.

Don’t just ask for testimonials; request a structure

When you ask for a testimonial from a client without any direction, you’ll likely receive a long paragraph of charming waffle. And you’ll be too polite to ask for a rewrite.

Pre-empt this by giving them a structure. Try this:

Hey [name],

We’ve really enjoyed working with you, and I hope the feeling is mutual 🙂
Would you be so kind as to write us a short testimonial? They go a long way in helping us grow the business. Around 50-100 words would be perfect. Here is a format that you can follow:

How you struggled before finding us
Describe your favourite feature/s of our solution
How your business has improved since working with us

If I can return the favour in any way, do let me know.

All the best,
[Your name]

The beauty of this format is it takes the reader on a journey. The reader will probably be suffering from a similar problem and would dream of taking the same journey to the desired result and think, “I want that too”.

When and where to place testimonials

The short answer… Everywhere!

They should appear on every main page of your website, also your newsletters, brochures, presentations, social media, ads, etc… essentially, within all of your marketing efforts.

🔥 The ultimate testimonial formula: Get specific testimonials about each feature

On your platform page, where you talk about your product’s features, include a short testimonial about that specific feature.

If they are reading about a feature, then they care about it. If they then read a specific testimonial on how good that feature is, they’ll be sold.

Take a look at how we did it for one of our clients, Hireful:

Common mistakes I see with testimonials

❌Multiple testimonials in a carousel
Attention spans are too short for scrolling through carousels.

❌Only showing testimonials in one place
Testimonials are top-tier lead gen and nurturing content. Sprinkle them throughout your website.

❌Too long
Even if a client writes you a long testimonial, they should be fine with you trimming it down. Long testimonials are great for case study pages, but you should create a trimmed-down 20-40 word version for your homepage or landing pages.