Do you think you’re wonderful?  Is your product or service wonderful? If so, are you willing and able to tell others what you are already sure of?

As I mentioned in Part I of this article, most of us have been taught to be humble and to not “brag” about ourselves or our accomplishments, so it’s hard to write those kinds of things about ourselves. But if that’s the case, how else can we let our clients and prospects know how wonderful we and/or our products or services are?

This is where a great deal of advertising copy falls down, especially when it is written by someone who is inexperienced in this type of writing.  One effective way to accomplish this goal is to borrow other people’s words and to let THEM tell your readers how wonderful you are.

Persuasion experts call this using “borrowed credibility,” which is sometimes referred to as “social proof.”  You’ve seen it before; think of the late night infomercial in which average looking people rave about how they lost weight or cleaned their carpet or made tons of money in real estate by using the product, service, or training program that is being advertised.

This is extremely effective, as viewers think, “if it worked for them, it might work for me, too.” And when you go to a website and see that hundreds or thousands of people have clicked the “like” button and shared it on their favorite social media site, it gives that website instant credibility.

So how could you apply this to your business?  To begin, look through your email inbox and in your “snail mail” files.  Have you ever received a thank you card or email from a client or customer?  You don’t have to copy the entire letter, but find a sentence or two that is most compelling, then copy and paste it into a special file called “social proof” or “testimonials.”  You probably have more of these comments than you realize.

If you have received (and kept) thank you cards and letters, go through them and do the same thing.  Find 1-3 sentences that really stand out and make you look good, then type them into your file.

If you can’t find any, not to worry: simply write to 3-5 of your best clients, tell them you’re developing a new brochure or website, then ask if they would mind saying a few nice words about you.  You’d be surprised at how many people are never asked to do so, but (provided you have given great service in the past) would be happy to help you out in this way.

You can then use these comments in your emails, on your website or blog, in direct mail pieces, and in other situations in which you are hoping to promote your business.  And the good news is that people respond in predictable ways; when they see that others, especially those who they have heard of and/or trust as professionals in their own field, have used and are happy with your products and services, they will be much more likely to try you out for themselves.

Stay tuned for the next installment in this series, where I will discuss more creative, ethical, powerful, persuasive, and PROFITABLE ideas to help you and your business stand out from the crowd.