Create ideas using: Testimonial
How do I make testimonials feel real instead of scripted?
Use actual customer words, complete with imperfections and specifics. Don't polish them into marketing speak. The hesitations, the unexpected phrases, the specific details they remember--that's what makes testimonials credible. If it sounds like your copywriter wrote it, it's not a testimonial, it's an ad pretending to be one.
What makes a testimonial actually convincing?
Specificity and trade-offs. Generic praise means nothing--'best product ever' could describe anything. Specific benefits tied to specific situations, plus honest acknowledgment of limitations, creates credibility. 'This solved X problem, though Y is still an issue' is infinitely more believable than unqualified superlatives.
Example: How it could look
A project management tool doesn't use 'Increased productivity by 50%' testimonials. They use: 'Finally stopped losing client emails in threads. Still can't get my team to use the tagging system but at least nothing falls through cracks anymore.' Specific, honest, believable. That's a real person, not a script.
Or like this:
Why is Testimonial a great technique?
Testimonials provide social proof and reduce risk by showing real people achieved real results with your product.
Builds trust through peer validation
Provides specific use-case examples
Addresses objections through lived experience
Creates identification with similar customers
People trust other customers more than they trust you. When testimonials are authentic--rough edges included--they become your most powerful marketing tool. Just don't ruin them by making them sound like ads.
! When not to use the Testimonial Technique
When you're using fake or heavily edited testimonials. Manufactured social proof is fraud, and people can tell.
Technique first described by www.deckofbrilliance.com