I’m not going to say testimonials are worthless.
(I use ’em myself.)
But, my opinion is many testimonials are probably the weakest form of proof there is in ads, emails, sales letters, etc.
Why is this?
Well, let’s put it this way:
I live in bigfoot country in the Pacific Northwest.
And, every single year, there are all kinds of bigfoot sightings — even from forest rangers, law enforcement and other people with credibility.
Yet, these “testimonials” are coldly ignored.
Mocked.
And, yes, even laughed at.
Same with UFO sightings.
Got lots of ’em.
Even from “authority” figures people tend to believe.
Yet, few are believed.
Why is this?
Because people reading testimonies fall into two camps:
1. People who already believe you, and just want more validation to pull the trigger to buy. (i.e. a hardcore bigfoot believer will believe the sightings because he WANTS to.)
2. People who are skeptical yelling “bullshit!” at each one.
There are exceptions to this, of course.
But, we live in the age of the skeptic.
Everyone has been screwed over by someone in the past few years especially — whether it’s their banker, their lawyer, their government, their real estate broker, their favorite political party, the list goes on…
That’s why I say assume nobody believes you.
Nobody believes your shnazzy testimonials.
And, nobody believes your advertising.
That’s the bad news, Chachi.
The good news:
There are simple ways to build belief. To persuade people you’re not out to fleece them. And, to make MORE sales as a result.
Probably the best way is demonstration.
Simply demonstrating your product or knowledge.
And guess what?
Email lets you play demonstration like a fiddle.
Each day (if you do it right) you can demonstrate you da man (or woman) in your market, the one to be trusted above all others and, yes, the one to buy from.
It’s what I teach in “Email Players”.
And, I can teach you, too.
That is, if you can follow instructions.
And, write a simple email.
More info at:
Ben Settle
