We recently wrote about building a personal website as a freelancer, and one of the most important components to include is testimonials.
Testimonials add an additional layer of trust and authenticity to your website. They help communicate your value, give a different perspective on your skills and capabilities, and make people want to work with you.
How many testimonials should I include on my website?
The more the merrier when it comes to testimonials! I wouldn’t recommend including less than 3. You want to diversify who’s giving you these testimonials. People in different roles and in various levels in their careers are valuable to show how people across the board enjoy working with you and find you a good investment.
Is there a way I can get testimonials without reaching out via email?
Definitely! I’d recommend when you’re starting out working to begin to compile a document that has all of the nice things that people have said about you. Whether this is in emails, reviews, project completion, having a compiled list is great for your website (and if you’re ever having a bad day).
If you haven’t compiled a list, think back on if there are any emails or other places (a company I used to work at uses Small Improvements to give positive feedback and a weekly gratitude email chain) where testimonial like content could be.
Once you’ve found this information, adjust it if necessary to be in the third person. I’d also recommend reaching out to the person who gave you this feedback to confirm that it is okay to use on your website before making it live.
What do I say when asking for testimonials on my website?
Once you’ve selected who would be good people to give you testimonials, now comes the most challenging part - asking. This can feel very vulnerable and make it easy to not want to reach out. That’s normal and completely understandable. This opens you up to exposure and possible rejection for something as personal as your work.
Remind yourself that people want to help, and you would do the same thing for other people. Taking the step to send it out is the hardest part.
How do I incorporate testimonials on my site?
Depending how many testimonials you have collected will help determine how they will lay out on your website. The other variable is the different layout options on your website. I’d recommend including at least one testimonial on your home page. If it’s possible to include a carousel of testimonials, that would be the most ideal of incorporating testimonials on the homepage.
If you have more than 3-4 testimonials, also including a separate page on your site specifically for testimonials would be advantageous. Linking these to any relevant case studies is another way to show both your impact and results with your client feedback.
