Testimonials as headlines (Headline writing course part 7)

Posted by Sean D'Souza on 06 May 2010

In part seven of his nine-part headline writing course, Sean D'Souza shows how using headlines in testimonials can make all the difference when it comes to making them stand out from all the rest.

And he doesn't just put testimonials into headlines. He gives them a twist that might transform the performance of your sales pages. Find the secret in part seven of Sean's nine-part headline writing course

(This is part seven of an 9-part series on writing perfect headlines by the author of "The Secret Life of Testimonials". Further 'lessons' will be published over the next two weeks.)

Find out more about the book and order "The Secret Life of Testimonials" now.

So big deal. You have testimonials from your customers. And another business just like yours has testimonials from their customers.

What makes the other company’s testimonials work better than yours? It’s called the forgotten art of the headline.

Headlines? In testimonials?

Yes indeedy! When a client gives a testimonial, they are saying something, something, something, kaboom, something, something.

Noticed the kaboom in the middle of that testimonial?

If you ask the right questions (either over email or the phone), at some point in the testimonial the client will say something that’s absolutely kaboom. A phrase, a sentence so powerful that you sit up and take notice.

Then of course, you hope all your prospects will do the same

Same what? Same as you, of course. You are hoping your prospects will read the testimonial, get to the kaboom, and take notice. Well, you know it and I know it. We will read through our own material with a microscope. At best, our prospects will just glance through the testimonials.

So darn it, put the kaboom where your prospect can see it!

Yes, take the headline out of Paragraph 3, Line 4 (or wherever the kaboom statement sits) and put it right at the top of your testimonial. And while you’re at it, can you increase the size, colour and boldness of the headline font, por favor?

But, but...I don’t have place to put a headline

Yes, I know. You can’t put a headline on every single testimonial. If you’re running your testimonial in your main text or off a side bar, there’s usually not enough space.

So allocate a space or page for testimonials

Create a special page where your prospect can go and read the testimonials. Put your headlines on that page. If you can, put the photos of your customers. And where the customers come from. And make sure there is a balance of sorts in the gender.

You’ll find the following factors in a testimonial:

1) Headline: Taken from the body copy itself.
2) The headline is bold, a different color and a different font.
3) What do you do when you have a one line testimonial? The answer is on the page. Yes, scroll, scroll.
4) Notice the gender. One man, one woman, one man, one woman. Hmmm....Now why do you think that’s important?
5) See the photos? Why do they matter?
6) See where the clients live? Why does that matter?

We’ve digressed, haven’t we?

We set out to learn about headlines in testimonials. And we learned so much more. One more techie thing and we’re out of here.

I used to use graphics for my headlines. Not anymore. I now use CSS. If you don’t know how to use CSS, ask your friendly neighborhood web designer, or look up CSS tutorials. CSS loads quickly and makes your headline look smashing! Now, now, you know what to do next. Go and put some headlines on your testimonials. This article could be called The Forgotten Art of Headlines, not because testimonial headline writing is a forgotten art, but if you don’t get down to putting in headlines for your testimonials, it will soon be... forgotten. :)

Exercise: Get up. Raise your hands. Do 10 squats. (Ok, just kidding!) The real exercise you’ve got to do is open your copy of the Brain Audit to page 65. There are five questions on that page. Call up a client, and ask them those questions. Be sure to record in audio (as in record via Skype or via the phone). And then get the information transcribed. And about fifteen minutes later, you’ve got a massssssive testimonial. And coincidentally, you’ve got your headline too. And this testimonial (properly constructed with the questions taken from Page 65) will not only help you get great testimonials, great headlines, but also wonderful customers as well.

This takes us to an oft-asked question. Now that we’ve tweaked the size of our headlines. Now that we’ve gotten great headline testimonials, should we also use our headlines to beckon Google? Yes, you should. But how should the beckoning be done? Let’s find out, shall we?

This is part seven of an 9-part series on writing perfect headlines by the author of "The Secret Life of Testimonials". Find out more about Sean's book "The Secret Life of Testimonials" and order your copy now.

Read:
Part 1: How to write near-perfect headlines in minutes
Part 2: How too many thoughts ruin headlines
Part 3: How to create intensely powerful headlines
Part 4: Why being specific is critical for headlines
Part 5: How to avoid pot luck headlines
Part 6: How to construct headlines
Part 8: How to make your email signature a headline - and where to use it
Part 9: Round-up of Sean D'Souza's headline writing course