DON'T USE TESTIMONIALS on Your Sales Page...

Hey folks,

It's Desmond Ong, reporting some great tips here again. (I do have a blog, but seems no one is reading it, might as well post here)

Alright, let the cheesy tip of the day begin.

DON'T USE TESTIMONIALS ON YOUR SALES PAGE...if you can get case studies.

I have a info business in the dating niche with a business partner of mine from England. Basically, he is the face of the business and I do all the marketing stuff.

Recently, we did another mini-re-launch for a product that we called "The Bar Pickup". It's basically a tiny DVD course that we are selling for $197.

My business partner, Darren, was telling to use the "stale" testimonials from our previous "dating students" because we were short on time as the launch day was nearing us. I wasn't convinced and I told him something that literally boosted our conversion.

I told him to get a few of his geeky friends who were looking for girlfriends and then go to a nearby bar and video recorded the some scenes. (I'm not going to go deep into this)

The point is, my business partner came out with 3 excellent cases studies about how three geeks literally "changed" their lives after meeting him. So, our sales page is all about the 3 men and the benefits of using our system.

And guess what? We had a whopping conversion of 7.8% for our main list and our sub-list gave us a conversion of 12.9%. (Stats might not be accurate -- we did some mistakes along the way)

We didn't even hire a copywriter to write us a sales copy. :)

What I Learned: Case studies ARE WAAYYYYYY more effective than reviews or testimonials.

Cheers
-Desmond

P.S. This might not work in other niches though. But it might just work in some popular niches that you can see instant results like make money online.

P.S.S. I would also like some feedback this. Thanks. ;D

I totally agree with you. Case studies are the best "social proof" that you can find.

People are always wondering if they will have the same success as you have as the product owner. Showing them that other people succeed with the system can boost your conversion.

As we saw in your case.

Keep up the good work, I see you are testing a lot of things lately :)

Mike G

Yeah Mike.

I've been testing lots of stuff.

Been finding ways to boost my conversion without spending thousands of dollars on copies and designs. :D

You can always write them yourself if you know how to ;)

I create my own sales pages and they convert very well. If you have time you can take a few lessons and save money for years to come.

Cheers,

Mike G

Hey Mike,

Yeah I am a believer that marketers need to know how to write sales copies.

Unfortunately, I'm still in college and I don't have time to put effort into copywriting at the moment. I basically "leverage" and "outsource" a big part of my business. ;D

Thats some good stuff yet again Desmond. I am working on a product right now and was thinking about doing the case study thing myself. I was going to give a discount to individuals and then give them a time frame to start making it work. Now I know that it works so that may be the route I take.

Hey Daniel,

Don't give away discounts. Just give them your product for free.

Desmond, you really have done extensive testing and got
good results from it.

Case studies definitely is a stronger 'social proof'!

Why not use testimonials and case studies? Any social proof you can offer in the sales letter will help lift the overall response rate.

I agree that case studies can be much more compelling than testimonials.

Keep up the great work!

Cheers,
Todd

Right on the mark. 100% agree (as does everyone else).

That also lends itself into the point that if you do solicit testimonials (or someone offers to write/video one for you)... ask for SPECIFICS.

The general "wow, this thing is great" and "you should be ashamed of yourself for selling it so cheap" junk doesn't mean anything.

But measurable specifics can be killer.

"Our ____ website typically sees 5000 visitors every week unless we're running a promotion. This normally brings in X sales. We decided to give your Widget a spin. I had my tech guy install it... took him 20 minutes, I'm told and we had it setup. I then let it just run it's course and today, it's been one week since the install. Our sales are a whopping 3X" blah blah.

Have them tell a story but with figures and stats thrown in.

But yes, great point about using case studies.

In fact... I just wrapped up the creation of a quick audio product (just as a bonus to my internal list, no big launch) discussing quick info creation tactics. BUT... the whole program was actually done as a live case study. Meaning, I was in fact creating ANOTHER info product and documenting the steps and progress of that in this one. So instead of just theory, it comes across as a walk-through and a case study of how I developed an info product quickly. I see A LOT of value in doing case studies.

Right on the mark!!

the best is both, but I still love testimonials on a salespage wathever you decision is!

K.K.

Yes! Generally Case Studies has greater impact than testimonials.

There are Pro & Cons.

Junid

Good point about case studies.

Social proff is very important on your web site.

When you first launch chances are you don't have any unless you make it up (which i do NOT advise!).

Then add some proof of earnings (e.g. from paypal or clickbank accounts) - use Snaggit to capture the screen shots.

Next if anyone says anything good about your product / site ask permission to use it on your site as a testimonial - you must get permission and keep the email confirmation.

After you have been going for a while and customers have had time to successfully implement your product then you can make a case study out of a sutiable testimonial - ask first of course.

Following these steps will build social proof but don't expect to run before you can walk!

I guess I see case studies as just more lengthy and specific testimonials.

I have gotten these in the past by asking existing customers to take a survey (I use SurveyMonkey) that asks specific questions. I incent them with a freebie of some type. In the last survey question you want to get them to give you permission to use their responses in your marketing materials and to reformat their responses into a testimonial/case study.

SurveyMonkey works great as a depository for this feedback as well if you are ever wanting to enhance your product or are audited for your testimonials by a regulator or a network.

Hey,


Just wondering could someone show me a page where they have implemented this?

Case studies seem really interested!

Whether it is case study or testimonial, we still have to state that the results are not atypical, rite?

With the recent FTC rules, I wonder if we can only put testimonials that have more specific details?

If yes, does this means lengthy case studies are more appropriate?

stephen

Another tip that has worked well is to save all the many, many sales letters you have no doubt received as coaching points.

You then take the best bits from them, reword and/or improve them in your own way and using your own words and use that.

It has worked pretty well for me and has meant that I can turn around sales pages fairly quickly but quite cheaply too.

Michelle

Yeah! Case studies take home the bacon all the time.. I'm surprised more people do not use them... Like the biggest selling point is "demonstration" many times. Like, that's why some of the "pre-sell" videos I have that go over software do so well...

Like you use the software, show them how it did and 5 various cases where it worked, and 3 people who made it work in the same way... That stuff makes sales man! Really...

A video I have is doing 1 in 14 all the way down to 1 in 6 conversion depending on where they are coming from. That's CRAZY conversion for their product as an affiliate. (works there too, not just as owner of the product)

- Chris

Agreed. However, I think testimonials done the right way has as much impact as a case study. For instance, a testimony by a recognized & credible person in that niche would instantly boost the perceived value of the product (imagine if Jeff Walker gives his testimony on your 'how to conduct a product launch' e-book). And if the testimony contains specifics rather than generalities ("Great product...learned a lot from it..."), then it becomes just like a case study.

The advantage of testimonies is that they are personal and real hence people can identify with them. So the bottom line is that both case studies and testimonials are good for social proof.


Just my 2 cents worth

Clarence

I would have to agree whether online or onstage, ase studies pack more of a punch, there are more details that might answer some fence sitters questions. they can connect with others who are dealing with some problem that your product is going to solve for them.
I love case studies! (tho an authentic testimonial isn't bad either)

Personally, I prefer unsolicited testimonials. In doing some outreach for my latest product, I was sending it out to potential JV partners and asking for feedback. I wound up with something unexpected, not feedback on what to do to make the product better, but actual testimonials, and ones from some well-known people in the industry. Needless to say, I was thrilled.