6 Easy Steps to Create Authentic Testimonials (So You Can Book More Photography Clients in 2021)
Some people have a hard time grasping the big picture of marketing and how it all works in sequence. They might think that Marketing is simply about advertising, but they are mistaken. It’s not just about driving traffic to your site or social media accounts. The idea behind solid marketing is this: you want to establish credibility as an expert in your industry by giving high value content through social media content and blog posts. But, you also need testimonials from happy clients who will speak positively of their experience working with you over others because at the end of the day, word-of-mouth always carries more weight than other forms of promotion like paid ads.
Think about this: You’re considering hiring 2 photographers. Both have a great reputation, beautiful photos, and similar prices. One of the photographers doesn’t have any testimonials on her website. And one of them has 5 testimonials throughout the website from different clients saying things like…
“Jennifer was worth every penny, I can’t wait to hire her again.”
“I was honestly hesitant to hire Jennifer because of the price, but I can tell you that working with her was worth every penny she charged and more!”
“I was worried about how I’d look in the photos because I have some baby weight leftover, but I cried when I saw the photos because I love EVERY SINGLE image with me in it!”
Which photographer are you going to hire?
The Power of Testimonials
Testimonials or client reviews are one of the most powerful tools in a marketer’s arsenal. They can be used to increase conversion rates, convince prospects to buy from you, and encourage past clients to refer others. In this episode, we will discuss 5 strategies for using testimonials as part of your marketing strategy and how they can help you build trust, book more clients and make more money as a photographer!
Here are some testimonials from my past clients:
Now I consider Tavia to be a dear friend of mine and recommend her to everyone! She cares very deeply about protecting women’s birthing atmosphere and choices. This passion shows through in her photography! -Danielle
I can’t wait to have another baby and hire Tavia again! -Jennifer
I was nervous about having someone take such intimate photos, but Tavia made me feel completely comfortable. Now, I have these precious moments to share with my girls as they get older. -Kamber
Being that vulnerable in front of someone you don’t know well, is scary. The moment you meet Tavia, you feel instantly like you have been friends forever.
Tavia is meticulous and pays attention to small details. She absolutely captures a feeling and not just an image. -Jamie
Before we even conceived, I started saving to hire Tavia. I had to have her, and it was the BEST decision. I’m in love with every photo she took. Tavia is absolutely worth the investment.
How to Get Testimonials
While testimonials are a powerful tool in your business, they can be a challenge to acquire.
To get testimonials:
- Simply ask for them directly to the client
- Incentivize your clients with something like a free or discounted session or package of sessions in exchange for their testimonial
- You can even send out emails periodically asking your past clients if they would be interested in writing a review about you as well. With birth and newborn clients, sometimes they are a little bit overwhelmed in the first 2 months of life and it just feels like even if they had a great experience with you, it feels chaotic and just another thing in their to-do list. So waiting a few months and asking them again doesn’t hurt.
- If someone spontaneously leaves you a review on Facebook or posts about you on their feed, that’s a great opportunity to reach out and ask for a testimonial because they’ve already shared about your work!
It’s worth the effort to collect testimonials because it builds trust with your clients & potential customers which leads to more clients and increase revenue in your business overall! The key is to do all the work upfront so it’s easy for your client when the time comes.
Sculpt a Killer Testimonial
Of course, you have to decide who to ask. Ideally pick someone who worked with the service you want to specialize in and market for! I know it can be tough when you’re asking for testimonials, but don’t go into it expecting all rainbows and butterflies because they might have some feedback for you that you don’t really want to hear. But the truth is, some of my best business growth came from testimonials and reviews that were hard to hear (but I knew were right) and I used that information to shape my business and grow and serve in a better capacity!
Next, decide on what type of testimonial content you want from them: video, written statement, or both? In general, people like hearing stories more than reading facts; therefore, I like using BOTH methods whenever possible because doing so increases conversion rates among your potential clients.
You can do video testimonials 1 of 2 ways:
- Give the client a list of questions to answer on video
- Interview them on zoom and record the interview.
Some testimonial questions you could ask are:
- What led you to work with me?
- How did we work together and what were the benefits of working together?
- Is there anything else that stands out about our relationship or my services?
- Was your experience worth the investment?
If you decide to go the written testimonial route, simply create a form on your website or with Google Forms or TypeForm and ask your clients to fill it out.
You can ask people to fill out a questionnaire when they want. This way, they have more time to answer it. One problem with letting people fill out the form at their convenience is, they might never do it.
When you’re editing the testimonial (whether that is video or written) remove filler words or sentences that don’t address a problem your potential client has.
Saying things like “Allison was so nice,” or “Allison’s photos are beautiful,” is all good and fine, but that’s not as strong as, “My husband was so worried about having another person in the room during the birth, but as soon as we met with Allison my husband felt so much more comfortable with the idea and we hired her on the spot. Now my husband is so thankful she was there and he didn’t have to worry about taking the photos.”
See how much more powerful it is when the client gets really specific?
Now that you have it edited, you’re going to highlight the most important points of a testimonial in bold text or with bullet points, so that it is easy for potential clients to skim and find what they’re looking for in the testimonial. This will increase conversion rates among potential clients because they’ll be able to see quickly find what they want to know.
Testimonial Templates
Testimonial templates can be really useful. See if you can fit what they say into one of these templates and then turn around and then ask for permission to use it. Sometimes people would give testimonials and after you’ve practiced putting testimonials together that are helpful to your potential clients, you can start to see how you can piece it together to make it a ‘problem’ and then a ‘solution.’
Notice the example I gave you about Allison: I started out saying, “My husband was so worried about having another person in the room.” Do you see how this is a common hesitation that people have about hiring a birth photographer? In that testimonial, I started out with something that somebody reading it might already have been thinking. And then I’m answering their problem with the testimonial. Do you see how powerful that is? It’s so much better than “Allison’s photos are beautiful!”
With these testimonial templates, you can take the answers that the gave you and start to put them in and then turn back to them and say, “Hey, this is what I got from our conversation, would you say this is accurate?” So you’ve made it into a simple, easy-to-read, problem-solution style testimonial, but the important thing is they’re signing off on it.
If this still feels overwhelming to do, here are some quick testimonial templates:
- “I hired (YOUR NAME) because ________ “
- “(YOUR NAME) was able to solve (PROBLEM) and I’m so glad we hired her.”
- “She made a difficult situation much easier for us. The (OUTCOME) is exactly what we wanted!”
- “The (ONE THING) that I loved about (YOUR NAME) was when they _______. That made the whole decision for me.”
- “My favorite part of working with (YOUR NAME) is that they are great at ______ and can do ______ so well!”
- The problem we were having before hiring (YOURSELF’s) expertise, was ___ . Now it’s ___. We’re very happy to have found you!
See if you can take what they said and put it into one of these templates. Then ask their permission to use it in your marketing!
Where to Use Testimonials
There are so many ways where you can use testimonials:
• on social media
• on your website
• in your client’s blog post
• e-mails to your potential or existing client
• client workflow emails
Whew! We’ve covered a lot here! So now the question becomes, will you gain clients if you implement these testimonial strategies?
The answer: YES
Of course there are a number of factors that may dictate how successful you will be including how many past clients you can reach out to for testimonials and how much time and resources you want to invest in this strategy.
BUT even getting 1 or 2 solid testimonials will have a big impact on your business and how you are perceived in your community so don’t neglect this marketing strategy! Start implementing these ideas to help get the word out about what an awesome photographer you are!
And who knows? You may be surprised by just how quickly it increases new clientele for your business.
Soooo much good info, right? So what should you do now?
If you haven’t yet, go back and listen to the previous episodes we did in the “Make More Money as a Photographer’ series, this has been so fun and I hope you’ve already started to generate more revenue as a result of these episodes!
I’d love to hear or see your biggest takeaways from these episodes so please DM me or tag me on Instagram @_thebeautyinbirth_
If you’re enjoying this podcast, please hit SUBSCRIBE wherever you’re listening and thank you so much for leaving the show a review on iTunes! I read each and every one and it helps this podcast reach more people so thank you!
My friend, if you have a passion – it’s not an accident. Not everyone loves photography, or event planning, or real estate… whatever your passion is, it’s there for a REASON. What are you going to do with that passion? Get out there and make it happen! Have a great week y’all!
MAKE MORE MONEY WITH PHOTOGRAPHY PODCAST SERIES
Episode 49: How to Create a High-Touch Experience for Your Clients to Get More Referrals
Episode 50: 6 Ways to Make Extra $2k-$3k in Your Photography Business in 30 Days
Episode 52: Why is Your Marketing Not Working? Listen Up If You Have No Idea What’s Wrong!
Episode 53: Simple Ways to Improve Your Money Mindset
Episode 54: How to Get Started with Paid Ads in 2021
The Beauty in Birth Certification Course for Birth Photographers
If you know that you are supposed to be a birth photographer, but you get tripped up with all the ‘what ifs’ that come along with photographing such a big day, The Beauty in Birth Certification Course for Birth Photographers is currently open for enrollment!
Inside the certification, you are going to learn:
- How to set up your business to become the go-to professional birth photographer
- To master your birth photography camera skills
- How to fearlessly conquer any lighting situation
- Confidently know when to arrive at the birth each and every time
- Learn how to craft stunning birth images
- Learn how to post-process images to give your clients the best results
PLUS, $2000-worth of bonuses including The Beauty in Birth’s Birth Photography Model Call Process so that you can book up to 5 photography clients in 30 days.
To know more about the course, go to certifiedbirthphotographer.com
Questions, Comments, and Reviews
Do you have a question? Submit it here: www.taviaredburn.com/ask and I might answer it on the podcast!
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