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Synopsis
Testimonials from a wide variety of people are a great way to bring credibility, exposure (eyeballs), and higher sales for your book. Here are eleven sources to find free testimonials that you can use to help promote your book on your website, and in all of your marketing materials.
What You Will Learn
1. You will learn where to get free and powerful testimonials for your book.
2. You will learn about the power of a testimonial to bring credibility, exposure, and higher sales for your book.
3. You will learn that getting a variety of testimonials from many different types of people will greatly enhance your credibility, and your book sales.
Introduction
Testimonials are a great way to bring credibility, wider exposure, and higher sales for your book. Nothing helps to give your book greater and faster attention than a positive quote from a prominent figure or celebrity who is knowledgeable in the field of your book’s subject matter.
But regular people can also be a great source of honest, credible, and powerful testimonials. Using a variety of testimonials from many different types of people, celebrities and non-celebrities, in different professions and industries, will greatly enhance your credibility, and your book sales.
Here are eleven sources to find free testimonials that you can use to help promote your book on your website, and in all of your marketing materials:
Source # 1. Teachers, professors, educators: Think about some of your favorite educators that you had in school, especially the ones that taught a subject similar to your book’s subject. Make sure that you also consider the educators with impressive titles, like “Dean”, and “Chairman”, etc. Many in this group will also have been published, so make sure that their most famous, or most successful, or most recent book title is attached to their name.
Source # 2. Authors, bloggers: If you have already written your non-fiction book, you will already know who these people are. Email them at their publisher or at their blog and very nicely ask for a testimonial.
Source # 3. Industry insiders: Big shots within your industry can be difficult to get testimonials from, but you should try anyway. These will be much easier to get if you are socially active within your industry. But anyone else within your industry that has good accomplishments, or many years on the job, or authored a book, will be just as good for your needs.
Source # 4. Professional organization leaders: This group is worth pursuing. Small local celebrities such as those on local TV news, or successful business owners, newspaper reporters, and anyone with a fancy title. Larger celebrities that appear regularly on national TV shows can be very difficult to get – and sometimes want to get paid for their testimonial. Never pay for a testimonial.
Source # 5. Local celebrities: This group is worth pursuing. Small local celebrities such as those on local TV news, or successful business owners, newspaper reporters, and anyone with a fancy title. Larger celebrities that appear regularly on national TV shows can be very difficult to get.
Source # 6. Suppliers, manufacturers: Talk to some of the suppliers or manufacturers that you and your company deal with. The best testimonials will be from anyone at these companies with a professional title. But don’t forget, those without a fancy title can also be good, especially if they have direct knowledge of you and your work.
Source # 7. Charitable organizations: Any charity or religious organization that you belong to, especially if you are actively involved with the group, is a good source of testimonials. Again, try to get someone with a title or impressive credentials.
Source # 8. Government officials: On a national level, these can also be very difficult to get for the average non-fiction author. Again, try local first. Many of these local officials will be happy to help you.
Source # 9. Social media: Quotes from social media can be very good, especially if you want to get a large quantity of testimonials. But make an effort to get quotes from those that have a big following, and have also written a book.
Source # 10. Current clients: These can be some of your most powerful testimonials, and should be very easy to get. Start with your oldest clients and the ones you have the most contact with. Get testimonials from some of your big clients, and smaller clients. Remember, the key here is to get a variety of testimonials from different demographics.
11. Friends, family: Yes, even these can be good, especially from those that don’t have the same last name as yours. But it’s imperative that they write an honest testimonial about you and your book, using their own words.
Conclusion
Make sure that you get a wide variety of quotes from people in different professions and different industries, as well as some from regular readers that might not necessarily be found on the above list. Testimonials from those with big fancy titles and recognizable names are certainly impressive and can help you get more attention and sell more books.
But getting honest testimonials from those without those fancy titles can also help you sell more books, as well as help you build a bigger following of devoted fans. Testimonials from regular people are much more believable and relied upon when a shopper is searching for a book to buy.
So remember, a wide variety of voices and opinions is key in order to build and maintain your credibility (and your self-respect), which will help you sell more books over the long term.
Questions For Us To Think About And Discuss
1. Do you have a favorite source for finding testimonials? Is it within your industry?
2. What testimonials, and from whom, have you received that brought you the most credibility and book sales?
