The following guest post is brought to us by the Internet Marketing Center.

Did you know that your customers’ successes, triumphs, and positive results can make more money and sales?

It’s true! Even if your website is full of great salescopy and photos that illustrate all the fabulous features and benefits of your product or service, your potential customers still need to know:

“What do people who have actually purchased and used your product or service think about it?”

It’s simple: your readers know that YOU believe in your product, or you wouldn’t be selling it! But what do people just like them have say about your product?

Answering that question is one of the most fundamental things your website needs to do.

By using testimonials on your website— reviews and comments from your satisfied customers, in text, audio, or video format — you not only answer the question, you also transform your sales pitch into a credible, unbiased recommendation for your product.

Overcome buyer skepticism with a glowing testimonial

Testimonials are probably one of the easiest things you can add to your website — but a good one can generate more selling power than some of the best salescopy out there!

So why are testimonials so effective?

• Testimonials build trust: Whether your customers are raving about what your product has done for them or about the great service you gave, they are telling your visitors that they had a positive experience.

• Testimonials aren’t “salesy”: Because testimonials aren’t written in your “voice,” they stand out in your copy as candid and unbiased accounts of how well your product works.

• Testimonials overcome skepticism: A good testimonial has the power to convince even your “tough sell” visitors that your product or service really made a difference in your customer’s life — and can help them, too.

For example, let’s say you’re selling a special lotion designed for dry skin. A visitor finds your website and reads all about the amazing moisturizing ingredients in your product and how wonderful it smells.

Those are two good selling points — things that people would want to know before they decided to buy.

But lots of products can make those promises — and many of them don’t work! So why should they purchase your product ahead of all the rest?

Then, as they look over the page, a testimonial catches their eye from one of your customers, explaining that your lotion quickly healed a lifelong skin condition — something no other product had ever managed to do!

That’s the power of an effective testimonial: it can convince your reader that your product DOES work — and that you can be trusted to deliver on your promises.

Choose the right testimonial to turn your visitors into customers

When you’re choosing testimonials, there are a few ingredients to look for.

Here’s an example of a glowing, but ultimately ineffective testimonial:

“I love this product! I can’t get enough! I’m so glad I bought your stuff and I’ll be back to get more, for sure!”

What could be wrong with that? It sounds like you have a happy customer on your hands!

But what does that testimonial really tell your visitors? Does it prove that the product works, or explain what it did for your customer? While the feedback is definitely positive, the testimonial does not provide enough detail to have any real impact.

Here’s an example of an effective, benefits-driven testimonial:

“I used the methods you told me for three days my phone’s been ringing! I sold over $3500 in goods and services in three days! It’s the first time in 5 months that anyone had really purchased anything…”

Now that’s a great testimonial! But what makes it so powerful?

• A good testimonial is filled with benefits: A comment like, “This product is great!” is nice for you to hear, but it doesn’t tell visitors what your product can do for them.

• You want the benefits of what you offer to be front and center in every testimonial: “This product doubled our profits in a month!” or “This product made the pain in my back disappear completely!”

• A good testimonial substantiates your claims: If you say your product can do something, your testimonials should back up your promises — complete with facts and figures. How much money did your customers save by using your product? How much time did they save? How did it solve their problems or improve their lives?

• A good testimonial is from someone your audience can relate to: You want your visitors to see that your product helped someone just like them, seeking the solution to the same problem your visitors have.

• A good testimonial is credible: Accompany each testimonial with the person’s first name, last name, and hometown to show that your endorsements come from real people. Always try to include a photo as well, or video for even greater effect!

• A good testimonial endorses the key benefits of your product: Your testimonials should emphasize the key benefits of your product. It’s fun to hear that your super-duper floor cleaner smells nice or that the bottle doesn’t drip, but have you established that it really cleans their floors well?

• A good testimonial is comparative: Did your customers try another product that didn’t work before they found yours? You want your visitors to know what your product can do that other products can’t. Choose testimonials that set your product apart from your competition!

The secrets to getting great testimonials — even if you haven’t sold a thing yet!

If your customers have given you positive feedback on your product already, then you may already have some great testimonials.

However, if your customer response is a little scarce — or if you’re just starting out — getting testimonials from your buyers might take a little more effort.

So how do you collect the testimonials you need — and keep them coming as you grow your business?

One easy way to collect testimonials is to include a link on your site with a form that allows your customers to give you their vote of confidence:

“Tell us how this product changed your life!” or “Click here to let us know what you think!”

A more effective method is to create an autoresponder that contacts your buyers after they’ve purchased your product to ask how they’re enjoying the product, as well as giving them a chance to offer feedback on their experience with your business.

And, of course, any time you receive a great letter or email from a customer, ask them if you can use their comments on your website to recommend your product to others. If they were happy enough to let you know, they’re bound to want to spread the word.

If you haven’t yet begun selling your product and have no feedback yet, offer your product or service for free to a select group of customers in exchange for their thoughts on the product or some details on their experience with your site.

The impact that testimonial will have on your bottom line will be well worth the initial expense!

As soon as your online business is up and running, make a point of giving every one of your customers a chance to share their experiences with your product or service. Ask for feedback — good and bad — in your autoresponders, your newsletters, and other spots on your website.

Strategies for using your testimonials effectively

Once you’ve got some testimonials to share with your visitors, you need to make sure that you’re putting them to the best possible use on your site.

• Include your best testimonials right in the middle of your homepage salescopy to keep your readers focused on your credibility.

• Set up a page dedicated to your glowing testimonials, as well as including snippets of their comments throughout your site. Put a link to your testimonial page next to each of those snippets!

• Include testimonials on each and every page of your website. No matter where your visitors click, you want them to find a positive customer review.

• Never use a customer testimonial without permission.

• Don’t edit your testimonials to exclude a comment or add information you want to hear! If you can’t post a comment “as is” and feel comfortable with it, it shouldn’t go up. If your testimonials are in your voice, and all sound the same, no one is going to trust they are legitimate.

• Never, ever invent testimonials! This is fraud, plain and simple, and lying never results in a positive impact on your business.

If you’re not already using testimonials on your website, you are missing out on one of the most powerful, easy-to-use, and cheap marketing tools available to you.

The fact is that most of us would rather act on a referral from a friend (or even a stranger) than make a purchase based on a sales pitch alone.

We want to know that the product actually works before we take the leap to buy, and we’re bound to put more trust in someone who has already used the product successfully than in the person trying to convince us to buy it!

And just like that recommendation from a friend, testimonials offer unbiased evidence that your product does exactly what you say it will do.

Time and time again, we’ve seen our clients experience a HUGE boost in sales when they’ve put positive comments from their customers front and center on their websites. Few things can put a skeptical visitor’s mind at ease faster than a glowing review from a satisfied user!

No matter what stage you’re at in building your business, you want to make sure you’re establishing credibility with your potential clients. Once you’ve won their trust, you’ve won a loyal customer for life!

Using glowing, fact-filled testimonials on your website is one of the most high-impact — yet simple — ways to let your readers know that you are worthy of their trust.

The Internet Marketing Center is a team of experts who enable people to start an online business, from idea through sales, and actually make money online. IMC provides an array of comprehensive courses, software tools, and customized personal training packages that follow their proven step-by-step methodology. For more free articles on starting an online business, visit their website, www.internetmarketing.com.