Where To Put Testimonials (Reader Question)
Yesterday on Twitter, a reader asked about the structure and flow of copy. The specific example he asked about was where to put testimonials without interrupting the flow the copy.
This is a good question, and it’s not something that’s talked about anywhere that I’ve seen.
I’ve never really thought about it all that much, but it’s definitely something you should think about. In this article I’ll give my thoughts and ideas about this subject. Bear in mind that these are probably not fully baked thoughts.
Where To Start: Learning By Osmosis
Why haven’t I thought about where to put testimonials? I’ve certainly done it.
The reason that most copywriters don’t think about this sort of thing is a) the majority of them don’t know what they’re doing (sadly,) and b) the ones that do know what they’re doing learn most things intuitively and through osmosis.
The general flow and structure of a good piece of copywriting comes from studying the best ads and then slipping the same sort of structure into your own.
If you look at good ads, testimonials occur where they should. That’s not very helpful, but it’s true.
On a more technical note, testimonials will come in one of two places:
- After a natural break… say you’re going from building interest to listing benefits.
- Inserted throughout as a form of “building the argument.”
These two things are massively dependent on the product you’re promoting and the format of your ads. If you’re doing a “fake news” piece, you’re going to do the latter and if you’re building a landing page, you’re going to throw the testimonials in at the break.
Key Rule: Your Testimonials Are Part Of Your Copy
With either of those things – or any of the other different uses you’ll no doubt find – here’s a key rule for your testimonials.
They are a part of the structure of your copy.
Let’s use the really simple copywriting formula, AIDA. Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.
You can use a testimonial at any point in that structure. For instance:
- “Maximum Muscle Protein Turned Me Into A PHYSICAL BEAST – Gym Goer” as your headline.
- “Here’s Tom’s story in his own words. “I went from a broke bum to a millionaire overnight using the MAXIMUM MONEY SYSTEM” “– as a means of building the story and interest
- “Using SuperClean Toilet Bleach made my house smell wonderful and my toilet look like a shiny new car – Denise” in your benefits section.
- “I thought about buying this book on curing acne for six months before ordering! Boy I wish I hadn’t waited because I could have spent the summer looking gorgeous” as a call-to-action testimonial.
All of those examples are testimonials, sure, but they drive the reader down the page towards decision time.
A lot of people make the mistake of thinking testimonials for the sake of having them are good. Sure, they provide social proof and they are good, but what do you think would be better out of the following two examples?
Now you’ve heard about why you should be interested in our easy make money online system, why don’t you read just a few of the features that this exclusive course provides. Before we do, here’s what some of our customers had to say:
“This product is really cool!” – Greg
“I made a ton of money using this product!” – Nathan
“I managed to quit my job as a stay at home mum thanks to this easy system!” – Nicola
Features Of Our System
—
That’s the way a typical landing page will use testimonials. Now look at this:
Now you’ve heard about why you should be interested in our easy Make Money Online System, we’ll talk about some of the awesome features you’ll get in this exclusive, members only course. Obviously we love it – and we’ll get to why soon – but why don’t you see what some of our members have to say themselves:
“This Make Money Online System will show you how to build a website and drive traffic to it for less than the price of a cup of coffee” – Tom
“I’m a stay-at-home Mum and so I was a bit scared about getting this course because of the time-commitment. I now make $500 a month part time, and while you do have to put the work in, you can easily do this around other life commitments” – Sarah
“I always dreamed of making money while traveling. With Make Money Online’s system, I can do that. I’m currently writing this from a $2 a night hostel in Bali. I recommend it to anyone! (The course, not the hostel!) – Tyrone
Now you’ve heard from some happy customers, let’s move on.
Features Of Our System
—
Do you see what the above does? It uses the testimonials as a framing device. Essentially, that sales page says, “Before we give you the benefits listed as features, we’re going to give you benefits listed as features in the form of testimonials – so when we tell you about our products afterwards, you’re already going to believe us.
Essentially, where to put testimonials depends on the testimonials. If you have testimonials that list a benefit, throw them in the break before or after the benefits section. If you have an intriguing story, work it into your interest section. When you get a testimonial that says, “I bought this the second it came out and boy-golly I’m glad I did because I heard they’re putting the price up!” that’s obviously something to put by your call to action.
In short… the testimonials will dictate where they go.
Final Thoughts
The testimonials dictate where they go and you slot them into the right place in terms of the structure of your copy. Check out good landing pages and swipe files for old ads, and you’ll see that while it’s a bit of an individual thing, that’s generally the rule that’s followed.
Now, a key thing here is the quality of your testimonials. If all you have is a bunch of, “Wow great job!” testimonials, then this advice isn’t going to be all that helpful… you’d think. You can always frame testimonials to a certain extent though; “Delivered on time” is a boring testimonial but it’s a benefit none the less. “Wow great job” is next to useless but if you have a handful of those, then you can say, “We pride ourselves on customer support. Here’s what the last five customers we had said about us…”
Ultimately though, you want higher quality testimonials when you can get them.
The best way to get those testimonials is to ask specific questions in them. Say you have a protein powder product. Instead of emailing some customers and saying, “How did you find the product?” you could do things like:
- “We’ll send you a free tub of protein if you tell us a story about how it made your training better”
- “We see you’ve been a monthly customer for six months now. What are your gains like?”
- “What’s your favourite flavour out of our selection and why do you like the taste?”
All of those questions elicit are more open and useful response which you can use in specific contexts more easily.
Alright, I think that sums up how and where to use testimonials in copy!
P.S. If you’re selling online, you might want to look into Thrive Ovation. I use it on some of my sites and it makes collecting testimonials and formatting them a painless process.