You can get some outstanding testimonials for your book, with very little effort. This is the strategy that works relentlessly … If you say something wonderful about your book, you are saying it because you have an ulterior motive. You want to sell your book or your product. It may be true, it may not be true, but it will certainly be embellished, the prospect thinks, because you are the one who says so.
Now if you show me a disinterested third person and make them say the same thing, they are much more likely to believe it. Hey, that’s a real person, like me, and they’re saying this book is wonderful, so it must be true (or at least it must be closer to the truth than when the author said the same thing.)
And if you can get the same testimonial from someone the prospect knows or trusts, then you get the halo effect. This third person is a wonderful person and says that his book is wonderful, therefore his book must be wonderful.
It can be even better. If you can get the same endorsement from a celebrity the prospect trusts, you’ll have even more weight behind your product and the prospect is more likely to want your book.
Okay, let’s start talking about your book endorsements. It is true that when you start out you are not likely to have anything at all (this is not always the case, however). Let’s say you already have a book and, by sheer chance, you have some good testimonials about that book. Unless they are very specific to a book, you can use those testimonials for your new book, especially if you are singing your personal praise as a person who can really dig into a topic and find the surprising benefits that readers want.
Otherwise, reach out to half a dozen friends and tell them that you are writing a book and that you would like them to give you testimonials about your own ability and that you are truly a fantastic person who offers nothing but the best in writing quality. and that he is committed to giving the reader everything they could want … and more.
Don’t risk it, write the testimonials yourself. Let your friends read them, of course, and make whatever changes they deem appropriate, and then sign the testimonials and return them to you. By the way, if you ask a person twice for a testimonial and don’t get it back, you may have a bigger problem with this person than you thought.
Well, let’s take a step forward. You’ve written your book and you don’t have any testimonials, so send courtesy copies to friends, acquaintances, me, big names in the industry, little names in the industry, and be very direct. Tell them that you are sending them a free copy of your new book and that all you ask is that they send you a testimonial that you can use in your marketing. Those people who are particularly marketing savvy will do their best to send you a testimonial (especially if you’ve already provided one) because it means more notoriety for them and their own efforts.
Along the way, you will start getting unsolicited testimonials from people who buy your book and then email it, or call you in the mail, or call you to tell you what a fantastic book you have. With each of them be sure to record or annotate the testimonials, jot them down on paper, send them a copy asking if they would sign a short two sentence agreement that you can use their feedback for your marketing efforts and then put that testimonial on your testimonial page. . Remember, you’re going to fill the first three, five, 20 pages with all of these testimonials so that when a person picks up their book from the bookstore shelf, the first thing they see is all of these endorsements! So don’t let the absence of testimonials stop you from writing and marketing your e-book. You will have at least one as soon as you can email me. And if you follow the short instructions here, you can make them a great marketing tool.
When using those testimonials, be sure to use both the first and last name. A John Johnson testimonial is much more powerful than a John J. testimonial. And while it does not (and should not) include your hometown, you can certainly use your state, province, county, or country. Your goal is to make this person real, so that the reader has no reason to suspect their real existence.
