This contributor post was written by Tiffany Han.
Having a strong batch of testimonials from happy customers can be a very powerful tool for your business. While one option for gathering words of love is to specifically request them from your clients, I find that asking for a testimonial can put pressure on your clients and doesn’t always lead to overwhelming results.
Instead, here’s one of my tried-and-true techniques for gathering amazing testimonials:
Every time you get a lovely email from a satisfied customer or from someone who loves your work, hit reply and ask if you can quote them.
That’s it, easy peasy.
Need a nudge? Here’s an email script you can use. (Hint: if you’re a gmail user, paste this into a canned response so you’re ready to go next time some love makes its way into your inbox.)
Dear {Happy Customer},
Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m thrilled that you {enjoyed your purchase, love my designs, rocked the online class…} and always love hearing from my customers.
Would you mind if I quoted your email on my website? I’m always looking for testimonials from rad people (just like YOU.) and would love to include this:
{Quote them.}
Let me know if that would be a problem! I’ll also include a link to your blog to hopefully send some love your way.
Thank you again, and I hope you’re having a great day!
{Your name here.}
Get into the habit of sending out this script, and you’ll have an overflowing testimonials page before you know it! Because the work you’re doing is awesome, and it’s your job to remind the world of it.
You may know Tiffany Han, CPCC as a life and business coach, but really she helps highly-creative women wake up happy and have more fun. Every single day. She’s been called the Mary Poppins of creative businesses and a professional Yoda by her clients. If you’re feeling the growing pains of running your creative business and are ready to STOP spinning your wheels and actually get stuff done, her Good Morning Glitterbomb daily inspiration emails are sure to light your fire.
7 comments | Click here to reply
Great post! Sometimes on Etsy I get convos from people saying how much they loved their item but they don’t always leave feedback. I like the email response you posted:).
AnnetteThank you, Tiffany!
kristina@Kristina – I can see how frustrating that could be!
I think it’s perfectly acceptable to email your buyers (just once though) to request feedback – you might even want to consider sweetening the deal by offering a 15% discount.
TiffanyThis is a great advice, I will try it!
Thanks!
Ambra
AmbraThat’s great, IF you get an email. But what do you do when someone buys something on Etsy and don’t leave any feedback?
kristinaGreat example letter!! I’ll have to put some of these tips into action next time I gather up some testimonials for working with my blog 🙂
Kayli SchattnerTiffany!
You hit the nail on the head with this one. This is how I get 90% of my testimonials and the best part about it is that the statements are totally genuine because customers/ clients were not prompted to write them.
-Brittni
papernstitch