Tell It! (Or Better Yet ... Don't!)

How to get and use testimonials
Here are some tips on getting and using testimonials for all they’re worth:

1. Follow up regularly with donors, beneficiaries, volunteers and others, asking for feedback. Doing so via a personal call or e-mail is best for donors, while online surveys can work well for large numbers of program participants or volunteers. You can even use mini-polls via Facebook and Twitter. Follow up as soon after your interaction with your audiences as possible, while the experience is still fresh.
2. Ask for one or two sentences describing the value of the experience with your organization, whether it be donors, program participants or the families of those who graduated from your GED program. Tell people what to focus on (i.e., what point is most useful to you in motivating donations). To be really proactive, build that focus — when possible — on an objection your prospects are likely to have.
3. Provide an example to make it easier for your supporters to craft useful statements. You can even draft a testimonial to be approved or revised.
4. Request permission to use the testimonials in your fundraising campaigns and other marketing content.
5. Take the testimonial you get and shape it into a brief but powerful statement. Limit testimonial length to one or two brief sentences, with a photo whenever you can get it.
6. To ensure credibility, include the name and title of the person contributing the testimonial and the name of his or her business or organization, if relevant. In some cases, issues of confidentiality make attribution impossible. If this is the case, create a profile to serve as an attribution, e.g., “Donny R., 30 years old, and WHR dental patient for more than 10 years.”
7. Integrate testimonials in general and more targeted communications, both online and offline — not just your ask content.
8. Make sure to refresh your testimonials on an ongoing basis to reflect current programming and campaigns.

Start your testimonial collection campaign today. Yes, get out there and start soliciting testimonials from audiences right now. Remember to ask for testimonials whenever possible, and use them often and wisely!