How to use testimonials effectively (so they actually sell for you)

You have great testimonials. But do you know how to use testimonials effectively?

When was the last time they actually helped you make a sale?

If they’re sitting on a sales page that gets 10 visitors a month, or buried on a testimonials page nobody clicks, they’re not doing their job.

Testimonials can be one of your strongest assets for building trust and improving your conversion rate. You don’t need dozens of them to make an impact. In fact, 92% of people read reviews or testimonials before making a purchase, and 40% form an opinion after reading just one to three reviews. A few strong testimonials can make a real difference.

Most coaches and course creators I work with have plenty of social proof. The problem isn’t always the quality (though we’ll talk about that too). More often, it’s that their testimonials aren’t being seen, aren’t structured to convert, or aren’t being used beyond their website.

The issue is they need to be structured well and actually seen by potential clients.

In this post, I’ll show you what makes testimonials effective, where to put them so they actually get seen, and why keeping them on your sales page alone means you’re missing most of the opportunities they could create for you.

What testimonials need to say

You can ask clients for a testimonial directly, but unless they have experience with online marketing, you might end up with testimonials that don’t work so well. Instead, I recommend you ask clients to fill out a questionnaire. By asking the right questions, you can use their answers to create a great testimonial. Make sure to let them review the testimonial you created/edited before using it!

Here’s a testimonial that doesn’t work as well:

Anouska is great! Highly recommend.

It’s nice, but it doesn’t tell us:

• What problem I solved
• How the client felt before
• What changed after

Compare that to this version:

I was getting overwhelmed with all the tasks for my online course. Working with Anouska has massively eased my stress levels! I’m now able to focus on what I love, coaching and teaching, which has transformed my business and my life. She’s set up platforms and systems that work by themselves, saving invaluable time and energy. Thanks to Anouska, I’ve now had several smooth and successful course launches!
– Rebecca Tolin

Much more effective, right?

The best testimonials go into a pain point, need, or worry a client had before working with you, and speak about how well you helped solve that pain point, filled that need, or how that worry wasn’t an issue.

Here’s why that testimonial works so well:

The pain point before working with me:

• I got overwhelmed with all my tasks for my online course.

How I solved that pain point:

• Working with Anouska has eased my stress levels!
• She’s set up platforms and systems that work by themselves, saving invaluable time and energy.

And the results my work brought her:

• I’m now able to focus on what I love, coaching and teaching, which has transformed my business and my life.
• Thanks to Anouska, I’ve now had several smooth and successful course launches!

When potential clients read this, they see themselves in the “before” and want the “after.”

Where to put testimonials on your website

For most people, a separate testimonials page gets very little traffic. It’s better to sprinkle testimonials throughout your website and add most (if not all) of them on your sales pages. You can add a few to your homepage, About page, and all other pages. If you’re selling products, you definitely want reviews on those product pages as well. You can even add some to your opt-in landing pages if you get testimonials or reviews for your opt-in freebies.

It’s totally OK to reuse testimonials on different parts of your website, so use them all again on your sales pages (if they’re appropriate for that specific sales page, of course).

Working on a sales page? Get my free Sales Page Blueprint to learn what to include on your sales page and how to structure it so your ideal clients can’t help but click that buy button!

How to design testimonials for your website

If you’re using a page builder such as Divi, Elementor, or Beaver Builder, you can use one of their built-in testimonials modules. Another option is to use a testimonials plugin. Either way can be great for DIYing, but they don’t allow for a lot of customization in the way your testimonials look. I personally prefer to create the layout for testimonials using my page builder’s Rows and Columns, and using simple text and photo modules. In most page builders, you can save a row (or column), so you can easily create and re-use a template for your testimonials that way.

Do not use sliders or carousels for your testimonials

Heatmaps show most people don’t click through the carousel, so they’d never see some of the testimonials. I recommend showing all testimonials directly on the page, even if there are a lot.

If you can, add some video testimonials to your sales pages

Video testimonials are even more effective in converting potential clients into actual clients. Videos build even more trust because we can see and hear the person actually say whatever they’re saying. There’s also more connection because emotions are much more easily conveyed through video. When a client is visibly thankful, relieved, or happy because of your work, potential clients will experience those same feelings just from watching the video.

That said, not everyone wants to take the time to watch or listen to a testimonial video, so keep them short and make sure to include both text and video testimonials on your sales page.

Why testimonials shouldn’t live only on your website

One of the biggest missed opportunities I see is testimonials that only appear on sales pages.

A sales page doesn’t get traffic if you’re not driving traffic to it regularly. Which is what emails and social posts do.

If your testimonials only live on your website, they’re doing very little of the work they could be doing. Strong testimonials work best when people see them repeatedly, in different contexts. Not only at the exact moment they’re ready to buy.

This is why testimonials aren’t just a website element. They are marketing content.

The same before-and-after result structure that works so well on a sales page also works incredibly well in:

• emails
• social posts
• launch content
• and ongoing promotion

When testimonials show up consistently in your marketing, they reduce the pressure on you to convince people, build trust over time, and make selling feel easier and more natural.

How to use testimonials in your marketing (beyond your website)

Here’s how to put testimonials to work in your everyday marketing:

In emails: Share a client’s before-and-after in your weekly email. No need to pitch, just share the transformation and link to your sales page at the end.

In social posts: Turn a testimonial into a quote graphic, or share a screenshot of a client message with a caption about what made their result possible.

In launch content: Feature a different client story each day of your launch. Let their words do the selling for you.

In your content strategy: If a client says, “I finally feel confident pricing my services,” that’s a content topic: Write about pricing confidence and use their testimonial as proof it’s possible.

The best part? You’re not making anything up or starting from scratch. You’re sharing what you already have.

If you’re thinking “this makes sense, but my testimonials are scattered and finding the right testimonial takes way too long,” I hear you. That’s why I created the Social Proof System Setup: I organise all your testimonials in one place so you can actually use them.

If promoting your offer feels hard, it’s usually because you’re not using the social proof you already have.

Ready to actually use your testimonials?

If you have testimonials sitting in emails, Google Docs, DMs, or scattered across different platforms, you already have the proof you need. You just need them organised in one place so you can actually find and use them.

That’s exactly what I do in my Social Proof System Setup.

I’ll organise everything you have and create:

• A central system where all your testimonials live
• Simple forms so new testimonials are captured automatically
• An easy way to find the right testimonial in 30 seconds (not 15 minutes)

Everything organised. Ready to use. No more searching.