As a copywriter for coaches and authors, I work with numerous clients who want to raise their profile and stature with their target audience. One key to achieving this is to collect endorsements from key market influencers.
Let’s face it, every business or self-development coach wants rock star endorsements for their online programs, and every author wants them for their books. But how do you get great testimonials from respected market experts and influencers when they are so darn busy? 
Finding the answer to this question is elusive and daunting for a lot of the coaches and authors with whom I work. But it doesn’t have to be.
In fact, I have a simple answer to this question that may surprise you. It revolves around a technique I’ve used for years to help get coaches and authors get the exact endorsements they’re looking for.
Before I reveal it, there’s one thing I should clarify. I specialize in message development and writing marketing content for books and online programs.
This post doesn’t cover how to obtain book reviews from newspapers and industry publications. Rather, my focus is on how to get great endorsements from industry experts and key market influencers.
My Big Simple Secret
I wish I had a complex, fancy way of describing my secret process for getting great endorsements. However, the truth is …it really is a simple as this:
Write the great endorsements you want yourself …and get industry leaders, experts, and influencers to agree to put their names on them.
That’s it. That’s my big secret. And it really is this simple.
This is done all the time in the world of independent book publishing and online program creation. There is nothing unethical or underhanded about it. This is an important point, and once you get past it, this question may pop into your mind:
Why would a key market influencer agree to put their name on an endorsement quote I’ve written myself?
Why Industry Experts Want to Help You
In a word, publicity. When an endorsement quote from an industry influencer appears in marketing materials for your book or online program, it gives them publicity that further makes them look like …well, an industry influencer.
Plus, if you write a sharp, crisp endorsement quote that makes a market influencer sound intelligent, you save them time and you make them look good.
Now, I want to be clear with this point. Industry influencers are not “sellouts” who are going to slap their endorsement on any and every book and online program just to get publicity.
You still need to build relationships with influencers, and they still need to believe in the value of your book or online product before they’ll agree to endorse it.
How You Make It Happen
This week I created a Core Message Platform™ for an author who is preparing to market his new book. As part of his Platform, I wrote 10 compelling endorsement quotes for his book that he is going to get influential people to put their names on.
His intention is to then place the endorsements on his front and back book covers, and pepper them on his website sales page. You can do the same thing for your book or program.
As you put your marketing program together, create a list of key influencers you know. Then, build a second list of contacts you have who can introduce you to key market influencers they know.
After you’ve built these two lists, you can gather the endorsements you want by following this simple four-step process.
STEP 1
Create a section in your Core Message Platform™ that will be home for all of your endorsements. Next, populate this section by writing 5, 10, 15 endorsements for your own book or program.
Keep them tight and concise, and make sure they emphasize key benefits you want to communicate to your target audience. Take your time, don’t be too modest, and then write yourself a dynamic set of compelling endorsements!
Make sure they are the exact endorsements you’d love to have for your book or online program. Again, don’t be too modest. Celebrate your hard work!
STEP 2
Now that you’ve written some great endorsements for yourself, it’s time to reach out to the list of “influencers” you created and ask if they are willing to provide an endorsement for your online program or book.
Some of them will give you a thumbs up and say, yes, and others will be too busy to respond. This is normal. Remember, when someone doesn’t respond to your request, it’s most likely because they simply have a lot on their plate – not because they are “rejecting” you.
So, when someone doesn’t respond, don’t be shy about going back to them with a future request.
STEP 3
When influencers agree to provide you with an endorsement, celebrate a little! Then, shoot them a synopsis of your book, or a detailed description of your online program – along with a list of the endorsements you’ve written for yourself. In addition, send them a note that says something like:
Thank you for agreeing to provide me with an endorsement for my book/program. I really appreciate it. I know you’re busy, so to make it easy for you, I have included a list of prewritten endorsements.
Feel free to 1) select one written as is; or 2) select one and edit it to your liking; or 3) write your own original endorsement.
If your experience with this process is anything like mine, nine out of 10 influencers will choose option #1 (select one written as is). This the easiest thing for them to do, and it saves them a lot of time.
Again, this technique for gathering influencer endorsements is a normal part of book and online program publishing. There is nothing underhanded or sneaky about it.
STEP 4
Next, make sure your influencers provide you with consent via e-mail to use the endorsements on which they agree to put their names. Be sure to keep a file of this e-mail in your records.
That’s it!
Again, if you’ve been curious about how authors and coaches obtain crisp, concise, and compelling endorsements from big name influencers …this is how they do it in many cases. And you can too!
BONUS TIP:
When you write your own endorsement quotes, keep them crisp and tight. One or two lines is perfect. Three lines is also good. Remember, people will read endorsements if they are tight and sharp.
However, endorsements that are four or more lines look like they’d take too long to read, so most people will skip and ignore them. So keep your endorsements tight and punchy.
EXAMPLES
“No doubt about it. This book is going to make a major impact in a lot of people’s lives. It’s a must read!”
“Wow, I’ve read a ton on this topic, but this is THE book that communicates this information in a simple set of steps I can take action on and implement. A big-time thumbs up!”
*****
Will this post make it easier for you to gather testimonial endorsements that further position you as an expert in your field? Please leave a comment and let me know!
If you got a knowledge boost from this post I encourage you to share it with your crowd!
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