Schewanick Computer Services

Copyright 2005 Keith Gloster

Can you answer this question? What separates a good, well-crafted sales letter that sells products like crazy from one which doesn't?

Most inexperienced marketers would argue that it's the headline that separates a good sales letter from one which couldn't sell water to a dihydrated plant!

And while the headline does indeed play an important role (along with other conversion factors), a well-documented testimonial will certainly help in closing the deal!

Why are testimonials so important? One word, Credibility.

Testimonials are important because they provide documented proof that your customers are satisfied with your product or service. In addition, if a first-time visitor is skeptical when she arrives on your website, your testimonials just might be the thing that motivates her to whip out her credit
card to place an order on your website as opposed to your competitions'!

So to help you increase the possibility of closing more sales while "one-upping" your competition, here are 10 easy ways to make your online testimonials more believable.


1. PICTURES
Ask people if they would e-mail a picture with their testimonial. If they don't have one scanned you could have them send their picture by mail and you could scan it. This technique will give your testimonials more credibility.


2. ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES
Most online testimonials you see have text signatures. You could have people mail their written signature, scan it, and upload it with their testimonial. People will feel the testimonial is more official.


3. ONLINE AUDIO
You could record people's testimonials with a mini tape recorder over the phone, on your answering machine, or voice mail. Then you could convert the recording into a online audio file and upload it to your web site. You can find more information about converting audio recording's by typing
"real audio" at a search engine.


4. POSTCARDS
Have people mail you their testimonial on a postcard, scan it and upload it to your web site. This will give people proof that the testimonial isn't fake because it will have a post mark on it.


5. PROFILES
Ask people to include a profile of themselves with their testimonial. You could just have them answer some questions like age, occupation, hobbies, favorite quote, etc. This will make your testimonials more entertaining to read.


6. HAND WRITTEN LETTERS
This is similar to the "electronic signature" tip. Scan and upload the entire written testimonial or letter to your web site. This will give your estimonials a feel of realism.


7. RECORDINGS
You could record peoples testimonials over the phone with a mini tape recorder. Then, take the recording and record it to an answering machine or voice mail system. Under each one, include a phone number they can call to hear the actual testimonial.


8. E-MAIL MESSAGES
When you get e-mail testimonials, publish the entire e-mail message instead of just the contents. It will be more believable because it will include the date, time, subject, who it's from and who it's to.


9. CONTACT INFORMATION
When you get testimonials from people, ask them if you could include their contact information under the testimonial. This will allow potential customers to ask your current customers questions about your product or service before they buy. Usually, they will trust them more than you.


10. ONLINE VIDEO
If some of the people who give you testimonials have a camcorder, ask them to record their testimonial on video and send it to you. Then you could convert the video to an online video file and upload it to your site. You can find more information about converting audio recording's by typing "real video" at a search engine.


About the author:
Keith Gloster provides advice on effective traffic and lead generation tools and techniques. For the creative edge on permission email marketing, traffic and lead generation, and to claim some valuable bonuses, you can subscribe to his popular newsletter at: http://www.free-mlm-leads-generator.com