If you’re on my email list you probably know that I am obsessed with the movie “Mean Girls.” One day, I had an idea: What if I took the concept of a Burn Book and flipped it on its head? What if each of us had our very own BRAG book instead?
A digital brag book full of awesome things that your clients, students, members, colleagues, and mentors said about you. The beauty of having this digital brag book in your toolbox are…
1) If you’re ever having a bad day you can flip through this brag book and get a little pick-me-up and reminder of all the amazing things you’ve done.
2) These are testimonials, case studies, and stories you can use in all of your marketing materials.
Grool, right? We already know testimonials should be a non-negotiable part of your client process. We already know what makes a great testimonial. Now, I’m going to walk you through how to ask them in a way that creates demand for you!
If you don’t already have testimonials as part of your client process, here are some mathlete-approved stats to convince you to start collecting them for your Brag Book.
→ 72% of consumers say that positive testimonials and reviews increase their trust in a business, and that’s according to big commerce.
–> 70% of people trust reviews and recommendations from strangers.
→ Using customer testimonials regularly can generate approximately 62% more revenue
→ Customer testimonials placed alongside more expensive items increased conversion rates by 380%.
→ Testimonials on sales pages increase conversions by 34%.
So, what is a Brag Book?
It’s simple a Google Doc (or several) with a running list of testimonials. By keeping them all organized in a Google Doc Brag Book, you can create demand from your previous clients in a cinch.
Where to use testimonials:
- On both your home page and services page
- Sales page
- Promo emails (especially in the P.S. section!)
- Instagram story or social media post
- Facebook Live around the testimonial as a case study
- Blog post
How do you know a testimonial is good enough to create that demand?
A good testimonial shows proof. You want to show people the transformations that you’ve helped people achieve. The easiest, most powerful way to do this is by featuring your past clients.
A well-crafted testimonial can help address any objections, hesitations, concerns or doubts a potential client may have. When somebody is considering buying your service or product, they are instinctively looking for reasons not to buy. The right testimonial can help cancel out those objections.
It can also give an inside look at what it’s like to work with you. You can share the steps you took to help your client get from point A to point B and potential clients can place themselves in the story and imagine you’re getting the results for them.
The right testimonial can help you attract the right clients, so be get strategic when it comes to who you feature. Only feature the kind of clients that you want to work with.
How to create testimonials for your Brag Book
Getting client testimonials has to become a part of your natural process, like sending an invoice or a contract. I personally use Dubsado and the testimonial request is built into my workflow for 30 days after the project ends. This email automatically goes out to my client with the link to complete my client feedback form.
Next, you’ve got to ask the right questions. As we’ve already talked about in detail, the key to a great testimonial that genuinely adds something to your website is specific details that tie back to what results you get, your process, overcoming objections and all that good stuff. If you just email your client and ask for a testimonial without giving them any direction, I can almost guarantee that it’s going to be super fluffy and it’s going to lack detail that helps drive conversions. The goal is to get them to open up about how you helped solve their problem and what kind of results you can get.
Here are some of my favorite questions to help build testimonials:
What was the moment or trigger that made you realize that you needed to hire a copywriter?
What was the problem you were looking for me to solve?
Why was I the right fit for you?
What convinced you I was the right copywriter for you?
What hesitations did you have about saying yes to my proposal?
If you were going ro describe my services to a colleague, how would you describe them?
Anything else you’d like to add?
What specific results have you had?
How to collect testimonials
If you don’t use Dubsado, you can use Typeform, which is free or a simple Google doc. You can either ask them to fill their testimonial online, in writing, on a Loom video or by audio. Some people feel comes more naturally to them to speak their answers, so offering this as an option might help you get some more responses.
That’s it! Now it’s time for you to build your Brag Book and use your testimonials to create demand for your service, product our program.
Your Action Steps
I challenge you to make a list of three to five past clients, colleagues, mentors, that you can approach and ask for testimonials. Make the ask! Most people will be more than happy to share their feedback.
Tag me on Instagram or send me a DM as you start building your brag book. If you want to hear more about Brag Books, listen to the episode on Make Over Your Marketing or grab the How To PDF as a bonus in my Top Shelf Client Experience Templates.
