Reviewing client feedback is a key part of the copywriting process. How the hell are we supposed to sell to future clients if we don’t understand what they want? Past clients are the secret; they have valuable feedback about why they bought with you that can be used in your web copy to attract future clients.

Types of Social Proof

Every page of your website should have at least two examples of social proof on the page. Social proof is someone other than you saying that you’re awesome. Examples of social proof include: 

• Press mentions

• Speaking gigs

• Accolades or awards

• Certifications

• Product reviews

• Client testimonials

Testimonial Best Practices & Examples

For service-based businesses, testimonials are typically the most popular form of social proof. The difference between a good testimonial and a bad one is value. A great testimonial will touch on the value of your product/service, possibly including the client’s pain points that prompted them to buy. You’re doing it wrong if all of your testimonials just speak to your ego without sharing the value of working with you. Here’s an example: “Taylor was so amazing to work with. I’m recommending her to everyone I know!”

An example of a testimonial that touches on value is: “Taylor really heard my voice, my intention, and my love for my business.”

An example of a testimonial that touches on value and pain points is: “Writing a blog post like these ones usually takes me multiple days and hours and hours of work. Having the help to do this — and do it in an accurate, quality way — was huge for me.”

Editing Testimonials

Most of the time, it’s necessary to edit the testimonial a client shares before putting it on your website. You might edit a testimonial to: 

• Make it shorter. The shorter a testimonial is, the more likely someone is to read it. Editing a testimonial can only be done by omission. Skipping a few sentences in the middle of a paragraph or a few words in the middle of a sentence — as long as it doesn’t change the meaning of the sentence — are appropriate ways to help keep your testimonial short and sweet. These omissions are typically marked with ellipses so the reader knows something else was there. Adding to a testimonial is never appropriate.

• Insert your or the company’s name where a pronoun is used. To indicate this, use the square brackets. For example: “[Bigmouth Copy] really heard my voice, my intention, and my love for my business.” 

• Correct a deadname or pronoun.

• Fix a misspelling or typo.

Placing Testimonials On Your Website

Placing a testimonial in the right spot on your website is an important part of the process. The best practice is for the content of the testimonials to match the content of the website page. That means a quote that speaks about your personality should go on the About page, and one that speaks to the value of your service should go on the Services page.  The content of the testimonial should match the content of the website page. Your most well-rounded testimonials, or ones that speak to your “special sauce,” can go on your Home and Contact pages.