Even if your book or service is excellent, they won't sell well unless you give your potential customers a reason to buy. Testimonials work harder than other promotional words, because people want to get on the bandwagon when others recommend.

Book Back Cover Testimonials

Here, you will need three testimonials-- one from a celebrity or leader in your field, and from the man or woman on the street--thrilled readers. These testimonials are the most important thing to include on your back cover--better than benefits, better than your bio, because your prospective buyers trust your book more when others recommend it.

Collect many more testimonials each time you email or meet someone interested in your topic. Put these in your front pages of your book.

Web and email Sales Letters Testimonials

Once you collect 5 - 10 testimonials loaded with specific benefits, keep them in your Word folder "Book Testimonials" and "Web Testimonials." Organizing your files and folders make it so much faster to retrieve these gems that help your sales grow.

Sprinkle your testimonials throughout your web site and email sales letter. If you don't have a Web site, check out with a good book and marketing coach how to sell via email. Ecommerce succeeds without investing a lot of money--a number one way to market online.

Without a short or long sales letter, you have little chance of consistent monthly sales.

You Don't Have to Finish your Book to Get Testimonials

Think about the people you ask. Are they busy with their business and personal life? Know that they probably won't want to read the whole book.

Make it Easy for Them to "Buy."

In your first email or letter, include your chapter titles, your "tell and sell," a page or two from your best chapter. Say you know how busy they are and include a list of benefit words and phrase they can choose from to make it easier. From my list of benefits, Dan Poynter, self publishing guru, gave this testimonial for "How to Write your eBook or Other Short Book-Fast!"

"This is not a book on how to write. It is a book on how to get it written. It is full of the shortcuts, experiences and tips only an insider could know. Whether you are working on an eBook or a pBook, you will find Judy Cullins' wisdom invaluable."

-Dan Poynter, author of The Self Publishing Manual and Writing Non-Fiction

If you are writing fiction, include a few of your best scenes from a chapter or two in your testimonials. Dialogue really engages your readers.

Tip: Offer to email more of the book if your testimonial giver wants.

Write a List of 5-10 Benefits and 5-10 Features.

Whether you offer a service or a product...

Create your benefit list and email it to the people you ask the testimonials. When you make it easy for them to "buy" they will give you your testimonial on the spot.

List your benefit phrases with a command verb first.

-Get more credibility, trust, and lifelong income.
-Discover how to bring tartgeted Web visitors for exloding sales.
-See yourself smiling at all the new Web sales.
-Feel jump out of bed energy.
-Feel 10 years younger without a face lift

Always answer your customers, "Why should I buy your product or service?" with strong benefits that will help them solve their problem. Benefits sell. Include them in your testimonial.