Several weeks ago I wrote a post titled, 5 Steps to Collecting Killer Testimonials. Step 4 of the process centered on the idea that in some cases it is perfectly acceptable to write your own testimonials. 
Today I want to detail how you go about doing this. First, a quick review of my main point. When you ask people to give you testimonials and they say, “Yes,” the first question they usually follow up with is, “What do you want me to write?”
In this moment, if you know you are making this request of someone who is extremely busy you never want to give them a homework assignment. Because it may mean you never get your testimonial.
Instead, say this: “To save you time, how about if I write the testimonial and run it past you for your approval? When I do you are free of course to make any changes or edits you’d like to make.”
Every time I have proposed this idea the answer I have received is, “Yes, that sounds good.” This is great because you get the exact testimonial you want, your customers/clients get some free publicity—and you save them time because they don’t actually have to write the testimonial.
Focus on your unique selling proposition and be brief
So, how do you write a testimonial about yourself? Here are five simple steps.
STEP 1
Make sure what you write applies to what you actually did for your client. For example, if I write killer back cover book copy for a client, the testimonial I write should focus on my back cover sales writing service—not how well I write a sales landing page.
STEP 2
Build your testimonial around a unique aspect of your product or service that you really want to highlight in your marketing content. Ideally, this will be in alignment with a compliment your client gave you about your work over the phone or through e-mail.
STEP 3
Keep your testimonial tight and concise. One to three lines is ideal. People will read short, crisp testimonials. But they may not read long ones that are four, five, six or seven lines long because they look like a chore to review.
STEP 4
Never take advantage of the situation and overhype yourself too much. It could create an awkward situation for the customer who has agreed to put their name on something you wrote about yourself.
STEP 5
Always run your self-written testimonial past your client and make it extremely clear they are free to edit it anyway they see fit before they give you final approval.
Here is an example of a testimonial I wrote for myself that a client of mine agreed to put her name on a few years ago.
“I always turn to Casey Demchak when I need high-quality lead generation direct mail, brochures and print ads that get results. He is consistent, reliable and very easy to work with.”
Notice it’s short and sweet, and it places emphasis on the fact that I get results and I’m easy to work with—which are two things about my work I always like to highlight.
That’s it. If you follow these five simple steps for creating your own testimonials, it should be a pretty smooth process for you.
If you got a knowledge boost from this post I encourage you to share it with your crowd!
Want to learn more? Feel free to give me a call at (303) 697-4793.