Testimonials are the luxury currency of the freelancer, the more you have the more a client will be willing to take you on. Some freelancing sites encourage clients to leave testimonials, such as People per hour and freelancer.com.
Each one serves as its own little reference leaving your client in doubt that you will be reliable, professional and most of all good at what you do, however when starting out just how do you secure testimonials without asking family or friends to fake a sentence or two?
Here are a few tips on how to get testimonials.
Start Small
The beauty of testimonials is no matter how small the job you can still receive a glowing reference. Unlike in the 9-5 employed world, you don’t have to work three years with no sick days to be awarded with a few words of complementary gold dust. Taking on a couple of tiny jobs will ensure you build up your glowing portfolio quickly whilst receiving the testimonials that will set you apart from the rest.
Go Beyond the Book
When working for a firm unless it’s the time of year that you’re hoping for a promotion, many of us will do exactly what is expected and nothing more. As the big hand reaches 12 like sheep out of a cinema we’ll already have our coats on half off our seats ready to launch into our free time. Freelancing is different. This is your own reputation on the line, and the harder you work, the more you’ll profit. Assess each job individually, go beyond the book, either deliver work early or offer free advice or give a little extra for free. This will not only make every client feel as though they are receiving special treatment it will also ensure a glowing reference too.
Ask and you will Receive
Before a project comes to an end it’s a good idea to ask for feedback on your services. As you submit the final work, a little line of, “I’d just like to make sure you were happy with my work and as I value feedback was there anything I could have done better?” This will not only help you with future jobs it will also give you an idea of the type of feedback they will leave. Making sure your service is absolutely faultless will give you five stars across the board.
Then once an invoice is paid you can get in touch again, ask them how their new design is working for them and subtly request a few words of a testimonial that you can use. This can be done via email where you can copy and paste onto your own website, through LinkedIn, or through a freelancer website building your rankings and making your profile stand out above all others.
Martina Mercer
Connect with Martina MercerMartina Mercer is an award winning copywriter and digital marketer. She specialises in psychology delivering marketing that identifies consumer profiles and connects customers with brands. As an expert in proximity marketing, Martina is one of the only experienced beacon marketers in the UK highlighting her commitment to developing her skills in an ever changing consumer focused world.
