How to collect testimonials

You have one or two customers, or none, and nothing on your site shows that anyone else has used what you sell. To collect testimonials that convince, ask every customer 3 short questions right after their first result, and put free use in the hands of 100 new people who fit every day so more of them reach that result. If you wait for praise to arrive, or ask once with "would you write us a testimonial?", you get silence or "great to work with", and a buyer checking you out finds only what you say about yourself.

Do these three things

About 4 hours a day, every day, for 4 weeks. Judge it after 2,800 messages; the aim is 5 approved testimonials, each with a name or a role and a result.

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1. 1Today: collect every kind message customers have already sent you, ask each one if you can quote it, and send every customer and active user a 3-question testimonial request.
2. 2Every day: send 100 personal messages offering people who fit your buyer free use in return for honest feedback, and ask each one for a testimonial as soon as they get a first result.
3. 3Every Sunday: count asks, yeses and approved testimonials, put the newest one on your homepage and in your messages, and change one thing.

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1. Collect the praise you already have and ask to quote it

Start today with the kind words customers have already sent you: emails, DMs, Slack messages, LinkedIn comments and support chats. Paste each one into a sheet, then ask the person who wrote it if you can quote it. This is the fastest testimonial you will get, because the words already exist.

Search these places for words like "thanks", "love", "saved", "finally", "works" and "recommend":

1. Your email inbox and sent folder.
2. DMs on LinkedIn, X, Instagram and WhatsApp.
3. Slack or Discord channels you share with customers, and your support chat.
4. Comments under your posts, your Product Hunt launch and any community threads where people mentioned you.
5. Notes from customer interviews and calls.

Put each one in a sheet with five columns: the exact words, who said it (name, role, type of company), where, the date you asked, and their answer.

Ask each person to quote it, in the same place they wrote it. A message posted in public still needs a yes before it goes on your site. The yes shows they agree, lets them choose how they are named, and proves the words are real. Keep their reply. It is your proof of permission.

Hi [first name],Back in [month] you wrote this to me: "[their exact words]"It made my day. Could I put it on our website, with your name and role ([name], [role] at [type of company])? If you'd rather not be named, I can use your role and the type of company only.If you'd like to add a line about what has changed for you since, even better. But a yes is plenty.Thank you,
[Your name]

• Tool: your inbox search and a Google Sheet.
• Time: 1 hour.
• You will have: every kind message in one sheet, and each person asked if you can quote them.
• It worked if: every message is in the sheet with a date asked, and at least half the people say yes within a week.
• Common mistake: posting a screenshot of a nice DM without asking. It looks real, but the person may not want their name on your site, and you have no proof they agreed.

2. Write a 3-question testimonial request and one form to collect answers

Write one testimonial request with 3 short questions, and set up one free form where people answer in writing or on video. Three questions get a real story; "would you write us a testimonial?" gets a blank page and no reply.

The 3 questions. Each one pulls out one part of the story a buyer wants to hear:

1. What was it like before? The problem, in their words. This is what your next buyer recognises.
2. What changed? The result, with a number if they have one: hours saved, orders, signups, a deadline met.
3. Who would you tell about it? This gives you the line "If you run a [kind of business], try it", and it often names a referral.

Set up one form in Senja's free plan. Every account starts with a collection form; change its questions to the 3 above and copy its link. People can type an answer or record a video in their browser. The free plan keeps 15 testimonials, which is more than you need for the first months; above 15, the Starter plan is $29 a month. A plain email reply works too: paste each answer into the form yourself.

Subject: 3 quick questions about [product or project]Hi [first name],[One true line about their result: what they did, or what changed.]Could you answer 3 quick questions? A line each is plenty, and it takes about 3 minutes:
What was it like before you used [product / worked with us]?
What changed? A number helps if you have one.
Who would you tell about it?
Reply here, or use this form if you'd rather record a 30-second video: [form link]I'll turn your answers into a short quote and send it back for your OK before it goes anywhere. You choose whether your name, your role or neither is shown.Thank you,
[Your name]

The rules, before you ask anyone. These apply to every step:

• US law (FTC). Since 21 October 2024, the FTC's rule on reviews and testimonials bans fake or false testimonials, including ones written by AI for people who do not exist or never used what you sell. It also bans rewards that depend on a testimonial being good. A testimonial on your own website counts. In December 2025 the FTC sent its first warning letters under the rule; each breach can cost up to $53,088.
• People who know you. A testimonial from a family member or someone who works for you must say so, in the first line: "I'm the founder's brother." The FTC's endorsement guides say friends and anyone who got something free should say so too.
• Your words, their meaning. You may shorten a testimonial and fix typos. You may not change what it means, cut the honest part, or add a number they did not give. The FTC says a business should not supply the text of a testimonial unless it has good reason to know it is true.
• Unusual results. If a quote says "we doubled our sales" and most customers do not, the FTC expects you to say what people usually get, next to it.
• UK. The advertising rules (CAP code, guidance updated 21 September 2026) say every testimonial must be real, used with permission, and backed by proof you keep: the email or form answer, and the person's contact details.

So ask everyone the same 3 questions, keep every reply, and show only what people really said.

• Tool: Senja (free plan), and your email.
• Time: 45 minutes.
• You will have: one request in your own words, and one form link that takes text or video.
• It worked if: a test answer you send from your phone shows up in Senja, with the 3 questions in order.
• Common mistake: a request with 8 questions, or none. Three questions take 3 minutes; more and people put it off, and none gives "great to work with, highly recommend", which convinces nobody.

3. Ask every customer for a testimonial right after their first result

Ask for a testimonial at the moment a customer first gets what they came for, not at the end of the project or at renewal. Today, send the request from step 2 to every paying customer and every active user. From then on, send it to each new one within a day of their first result.

Find the first result for your kind of business, and put it in your calendar or your tool's notes for every customer:

If you run a SaaS: ask the day a user first gets the job done in your product, such as the first report sent or the first bug fixed, which is the moment activation is about. Check your signups every day for it. Do not wait for the end of the free trial.

If you sell B2B: ask when the first order arrives, the first delivery is signed off, or the first meeting the client wanted happens. Add a line to every proposal: "When we reach the first result, we'll ask for a short quote. You approve it and choose whether you are named."

If you run a D2C store: ask 7 days after the order arrives, the same timing as a review request. Ask the buyer for a product review on your store first, as in getting your first product reviews, and ask the warmest reviewers for a longer quote or a 20-second phone video.

If you run an agency: ask the day you send the first monthly report with a good number in it, or at the end of the first project. Put the 3 questions at the bottom of that email, so the testimonial is part of the report, not a favour.

Send one reminder, 5 days later, only to people who have not answered, with one new line: "Even one line for question 2 would help." Then stop. A follow-up after that feels like pressure.

When they say "just write it for me": that is common, and fine if the words are theirs. Ask for a 10-minute call or a voice note with the 3 questions. Paste the transcript into ChatGPT or Claude and ask for a 2-sentence quote that uses only their words. Read it against the transcript, then send it to them to change or approve. AI shortens their words. It never writes words they did not say.

If you sell B2B or run an agency: also ask each client for a LinkedIn recommendation. Open their profile, click More, then Request a recommendation. It only works with first-degree connections, and you can have one open request with each person. A recommendation sits on your LinkedIn profile, where buyers who look you up will see it. Senja can import it: Import, then Import from web, then LinkedIn, then Import recommendations.

• Tool: email or the app you talk in, the Senja form, and ChatGPT or Claude to shorten answers.
• Time: about 5 minutes a person to ask, and 10 minutes for a call.
• You will have: a request sent to every customer and active user, and the first-result moment written down for each new one.
• It worked if: at least 1 in 2 people you ask answer within 2 weeks of the reminder.
• Common mistake: asking months after the work, when the details have faded, or only when a contract is up for renewal. The other is asking only your biggest customer. Ask everyone who got a result.

4. Send 100 personal messages a day offering free use for honest feedback

With one or two customers, you run out of people to ask in a day. So every day, send 100 personal messages to people who fit your buyer, offering free use in return for honest feedback, and ask each one for a testimonial at their first result. This is how a new business gets its first 5 testimonials in weeks.

What to offer, by reader. Offer something that gets a person to a first result fast, and ask only for honest feedback. Never make the free offer depend on a good testimonial.

If you run a SaaS: 2 months free, set up with them on a 15-minute call, as in getting beta users.

If you sell B2B: a free sample or a small paid-at-cost first order, as in getting people to try your product.

If you run a D2C store: a free product to test, shipped to up to 15 people a week, as in step 4 of getting your first product reviews.

If you run an agency: one free audit or a small, short first project, as in getting your first client and getting clients without case studies.

Who fits. Write one line on who your buyer is: the kind of business, its size, and the moment the problem hurts. A testimonial from someone who is not your buyer helps nobody.

Where to find 100 people a day. Add 100 names to your sheet every day:

1. People you know who fit, and the people they name when you ask "who do you know who has [problem]?". This is warm outreach, and it fills the first few days.
2. People who showed interest: signups who never started, your waitlist, and people who commented on your posts.
3. People who post about the problem on LinkedIn, X and in groups, found as in finding communities where your buyers talk.
4. A list of businesses that fit, built as in making a free lead list.

How to spread 100 a day within the limits:

• LinkedIn: about 100 connection requests a week, so send about 15 a day, and send the rest to people you are already connected with, as in LinkedIn outreach.
• Email: if you email more than about 50 people a day who do not know you, set up a second domain and warm it up first, and watch your spam complaints. In the US, each email needs your postal address and a way to say no.
• Reddit and groups: do not message strangers. Answer questions there, and post an offer only where the group's self-promotion rules allow it, as in promoting on Reddit.
• Follow up up to 3 times, 3 days apart. Follow-ups count toward your 100.

How 100 a day is possible. Paste 10 names at a time into ChatGPT or Claude, each with one true line about the person: the post they wrote, how you know them. Ask for one message each from the template. Read each one, fix anything untrue, and send it yourself. A first line about the person is what gets replies. That is about a minute to find each name and a minute to check and send each message.

Hi [first name],[One true line: their post, their comment, or how you know them.]We make [what it is] for [kind of business with the problem]. Could I give you [the free offer], free?In return, I'd ask for honest feedback after [2 weeks / the first result], good or bad. If it helps, I may ask for a short quote, and if you give one, it will say you got it free to test.Interested? Just reply "yes".[Your name]
[Postal address, for email]
Not for you? Reply "no" and I won't write again.

Say it was free. The FTC says anyone who got something free must say so wherever they praise it. Add "Got [product] free as an early tester" under each testimonial from these users, in the same font as the quote.

Set a weekly cap on free offers you can deliver well: what each one costs you in money or hours, times what you can afford. Put yeses above the cap on next week's list. When that is full too, change the rest of the day's messages to ask for a paid start or a call.

• Tool: LinkedIn, email, a Google Sheet, and ChatGPT or Claude to draft.
• Time: about 3 hours a day: about 1 hour 40 minutes to find 100 names, and about 1 hour 40 minutes to check and send 100 messages.
• You will have: 100 new names and 100 messages a day, and every yes in the sheet with the date of their first result.
• It worked if: at least 1 yes for every 100 messages, and at least 1 in 2 people who say yes reach a first result within 2 weeks.
• Common mistake: giving free use to anyone who asks, or to friends who are not your buyer, to get testimonials faster. Their quotes say "looks great", and a buyer with the problem learns nothing.

5. Turn each answer into a short quote and put it where people decide

When an answer comes in, cut it to 2 or 3 sentences that keep the before and the result, send it back for a written OK, and put it next to the place a buyer decides: your signup button, your price, your proposal. A testimonial in a "wall of love" page nobody visits does little.

Make the quote. Keep their words. Keep the before, the result and any number. Fix typos. Do not remove a fair point such as "it took a week to set up": a quote with one honest line reads as real. Add their name, role and type of company, and a photo if they agree. If they chose not to be named, use the role and the type of company only, and keep their contact details on file.

Get a written OK. Send the short version back: "Here's the quote I'd use, with your name and role. OK, or would you change anything?" Save the reply with the testimonial in Senja or your sheet. That email is your proof.

Put it where people decide:

• Homepage: one quote just above or below your main button, as in homepage copy and landing pages.
• Pricing page: one quote next to the price, from someone who paid that price, as in designing a pricing page.
• Sales material: one quote in every proposal and on a slide in your sales deck.
• Messages: one line in your outreach: "[Name], who runs a [kind of business], said: '[the result line]'."
• Posts: one testimonial a week as a post, with the person's OK, as in post ideas for SaaS or LinkedIn post ideas for B2B. A 20-second video testimonial also makes a good short video.

If you run a D2C store: put the best quote with a photo on the product page, near the price, as in making a new store look trustworthy. Later, customer quotes make good ad creatives.

If you sell B2B or run an agency: the client with the clearest number is your next case study. Ask them once their quote is live.

Do not add review schema markup to testimonials on your own site. Google does not show star ratings for reviews a business controls about itself, as its review guidelines (updated 8 September 2026) say. Public reviews on other sites are a separate job: Google reviews, G2 and Clutch. Those also help when AI assistants pick a business to recommend.

• Tool: Senja (it shows testimonials on your site with a free widget; the free plan adds its own small logo), or copy the quote into your page by hand.
• Time: 15 minutes a testimonial.
• You will have: a short, approved quote with a name or role and a result, live in at least 3 places.
• It worked if: every live testimonial has an approval email on file, and your homepage, pricing page and outreach each carry at least one.
• Common mistake: a quote with no name, no role and no result, such as "Great product! - J." Buyers skip it. The other mistake is rewording it into marketing copy the customer would not recognise.

6. Count your testimonials every Sunday and change one thing

Every Sunday, fill in one row: messages sent, yeses, first results, testimonial requests, answers, approved testimonials and where they are live. Then change at most one thing for the next week, and judge the whole routine after 2,800 messages.

Week | Messages sent | Yeses | First results | Testimonial requests sent | Answers | Approved | Live where | Change this week

Results stay small, so count honestly, and run your monthly review with these numbers next to your signups, orders or deals. Decide with these rules:

• Fewer than 1 yes per 100 messages: check 20 names. Do they have the problem now? Then rewrite the first line of the offer.
• Fewer than 1 in 2 yeses reach a first result: set each one up on a call in the first 2 days, and send the onboarding help again. The problem is getting them started, not the ask.
• Fewer than 1 in 2 people asked answer: ask sooner, closer to the first result, and offer the one-line reply or a voice note.
• Answers come in, but nobody approves: send the short quote with a 5-day deadline, and offer "role only" instead of a name.
• You reach 5 approved testimonials: keep asking every customer at their first result, ask the one with the clearest number for a case study, and move the daily 100 messages from free offers to asking for a paid start, as in your first 100 SaaS users, your first B2B clients or your first Shopify sales.
• Testimonials are live, but visitors still do not sign up or buy: the proof is not the problem. Work through why no one is buying.

Change only one of these each week, so you can tell which change worked.

• Tool: Google Sheets and Senja.
• Time: 30 minutes each Sunday.
• You will have: one row a week and one written change.
• It worked if: you can say, without looking, how many approved testimonials you have, where each one is live, and how many came from free users.
• Common mistake: counting only testimonials. Without the yeses and first results, you cannot tell whether the offer, the product or the ask is the part that is not working.

Your testimonials checklist for the next 4 weeks

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Step 1 · Collect the praise you already have

• Search your inbox, DMs, chats and comments and paste every kind message into a sheet.
• Ask each person if you can quote their words, with their name and role.

Step 2 · Write a 3-question request and one form

• Write your testimonial request with the 3 questions.
• Set up the Senja form and send yourself a test answer.

Step 3 · Ask every customer at their first result

• Send the request to every customer and active user.
• Send one reminder 5 days later.
• Every dayAsk each new customer for a testimonial within a day of their first result.

Step 4 · Send 100 free-use offers a day

• Every dayAdd 100 people who fit your buyer to your sheet.
• Every daySend 100 personal messages offering free use for honest feedback.
• Every daySet up each yes within your weekly cap and log their first result.

Step 5 · Turn answers into quotes and put them live

• Every dayTurn each new answer into a short quote and send it back for a written OK.
• Every SundayPut the newest approved testimonial live in 3 places.

Step 6 · Count your testimonials every Sunday

• Every SundayFill in one row of the Sunday sheet and pick one change.
• After 2,800 messagesJudge the routine against the rules in step 6.

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