Testimonials are one of the most powerful ways to get people to click your “buy now” or “donate now” button – classic social proof. Finding two or three powerful testimonials takes very little effort. In fact, you’ll be surprised at how happy people will be to provide them.
However, you want testimonials about results that donors or customers got from doing business with you. Testimonials about your professionalism and earnestness are OK – if you’re trying to get a job at Quiznos, which you’re not trying to do.
Here’s an example of a great testimonial for Chris Garrett, who does blog consulting:
“Chris helped us connect some of those dots by identifying mission critical details that needed improvement, and making suggestions on how to fix them. As a result, we have seen a surge in indexing by major search engines since implementation. Chris’s expertise and professionalism is beyond reproach.” –Tobias Wright
This testimonial has a “Lion’s Paw” structure:
- Thorn in paw – (site’s search engines rankings are poor)
- Thorn is gently removed – (Chris helped fix the problems)
- Paw is healed – (site surges in search engine rankings)
Suggesting this structure to your fans actually makes it easier for them to write the testimonial. Also, you’ll demonstrate respect for their time with a request that’s very specific. Finally, you’ll get a killer testimonial that will encourage folks to give you their money – yay! 
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