Every product offering has testimonials. It is apparently a requirement as outlined in every Internet Marketing handbook right below, “build your list” and right above “price it with a seven”. I think they are crap.
How many of these salespages have you read where they splash paragraph after paragraph of people talking about how great the product is? I don’t know these people. And you know what? You probably don’t either. They are probably fictional characters from the imagination of the outsource person who is writing the sales copy.
So let’s assume that the marketer is not blowing smoke and has actually gotten his peers to review the product. Is this a recommendation that can be believed? What is their motivation behind saying it is the greatest product they have ever used? And more importantly, why do they always say how great it is, without ever mentioning whether they made money using it?
I have yet to run into a testimonial that says, “this product made me $200 the day after I tried the technique”. Or maybe I have but dismissed it because it didn’t seem credible.
I’d love to see the testimonial that said, “I enjoyed the product, looks good, hope it makes me money, because I damn sure haven’t had time to really use it to actually know if it will, but I still recommend it.” At least it would be honest.
I prefer recommendations over testimonials. Chris Bradberry said to have a look at Instant Article Wizard. He’s working this gig, same as me. If it works for him then maybe it works for me. But I certainly won’t be paying any attention to the testimonials that are on the salespage. They are just filler. Kind of like this post.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I think it would be more believable if the testimonials came from owners of the following websites…
Knitting for the Criminally Insane
Tips on How to Legally Marry a Slug
Sorry, Who Did You Say You Were Again?
Or am I just being daft?
April
I have been in contact with many IM “gurus” these past few weeks. What happens with new product launches is that these experts are sent the new product a few weeks (or days) before the launch.
Why?
Well, for one thing, they want the testimonial. If you read them closely, almost *none* of them talk about the results they got… they talk about how great the PRODUCT is.
For instance, from the latest Michael Cheney “11 Days to List Building Profits” launch:
“Michael shows you how to build a list of readers, quickly, ethically, and without resorting to trickery. I watched the videos and picked up all sorts of ideas. Just one of Michael’s tips let me pick up a few hundred new subscribers in under a week.
Get the course and watch the videos, Michael Cheney will show you how to build loyal following quickly and easily. And once you start that relationship with your readers, you’ll understand why every marketer on the planet, calls their list… their most important business asset.” — Michael Campbell, InternetMarketingSecrets.com
Now, this is NOT a testimonial. It’s a recommendation. See the difference?
Another:
“Hi Michael I’m amazed how simple you’ve made it for ANYONE to go from total newbie to earning a full time income and having a powerful asset which can guarantee money for quite some time. The ’11 Day To List Profits’ Course is truely a step-by-step masterpiece and I’ll be recommending it to everyone I know. I just wish I had this when I first started out as it took me 9 months to learn less than half of what you cover.” — Rob Benwell , BloggingtotheBank.com
Not a testimonial… a recommendation.
One more:
“Michael, Holy Mackerel! You have really gone overboard here. This has got to be one of the most comprehensive “How To” courses I have ever seen. I spent hours combing through your videos and I have to say I am thoroughly impressed, as you have left no stone unturned! You obviously paid attention to detail so you can deliver this high quality package to your customers. This is one resource I plan on telling everyone I know about. Congratulations on a job exceedingly well done!” — Michael Ambrosio , MrOverDeliver.com
See the difference?
Now, these were the FIRST THREE “testimonials” from that sales letter site. At NO point do any of them talk about the results THEY got from the product; they talk about what they THINK the product COULD do. Possibly.
So, I basically ignore them.
By the way, I did buy the above product because I need the information. However, if they are not up-to-snuff, I *will* return them for a full refund.
(My thinking is… if I am buying something almost sight-unseen, I am taking the Guarantee and using it if the product doesn’t actually *do* what they say it will do.)
But, testimonials in IM products — unless they are older products (like SEO Elite, etc.) — are almost useless because the product is untested!
Oh! I forgot the second reason why they receive the package:
They are all asked to do be an affiliate or a JV partner.
If that’s the case… are they really giving an unbiased testimonial or recommendation?
I don’t think so.
Yea, I hear ya. Those recommendations are crap too. At least, for example, I know Chris Bradberry has been using said product and has had a bit of success with it. Just because Campbell says to buy it doesn’t mean jack to me. He’s just another email.
As Splork said, I have had an enormous amount of luck with Instant Article Wizard. I now get up an hour early every day and average writing about 4 articles in the hour before I have to get ready for work. Those of you who are working on Bum Marketing have to realize how powerful that is. I write 3 articles for BUM, and the other one to promote my newest site.
I love the product and have found it to be exactly what I needed.
I also agree with everything you all said about Testimonials.
Trance, what is your opinion of the list building videos? Just curious.
Chris Bradberry
Well, they don’t work on my Mac, so I need to use them in Virtual PC.
I need to see them; it’s 40 vids, so this will take some time.
I hope I can watch them and actually DO the stuff in them.
Finally!!! I seem to have found people who see things without the proverbial “rose colored glasses”. You can’t see it, but I’m jumping up and down. You all even know the difference between testimonials and recommendations.
By the way, a friend of mine bought the program and uses it to write one article every day. He says his only complaint is that his son also likes the program. (The son was caught by his dad using the program to write his essays for school. The boy is now locked out of the computer.)
Think I’ll pull up a corner and hang around.
Linda
Thanks for reading Linda. We all try to keep it real and talk about the utter crap that is being spewed across the web in the name of Internet Marketing. Hopefully between all of us we can keep the hype at manageable levels and figure out exactly what we can do to make money and not get ripped off by lame offers.