Guides and how-tos

How to Ask For a Testimonial From a Client (+ Free Templates!)

Client testimonials are the best form of social proof. Most potential clients are often unsure before trying out a new product or service. And there’s nothing that speaks to them as directly as hearing great things about your brand from like-minded people – your existing clients.

But let’s face it, asking for testimonials is not as simple as it seems. Ideally you tailor the testimonial requests to suit your clients’ temperaments – without sounding pushy. Your requests, just like testimonials, must be genuine and communicated clearly.

So, to help you rise to this challenge, this article will discuss testimonial request methods, offer templates you can copy-paste, and familiarize you with Trust – the leading testimonial collection tool.

Why should you ask for a testimonial from a client?

For starters, not every client will go out of their way to submit a great testimonial without being asked for one. Sometimes they need a little nudge to take that first step into submitting a testimonial, especially one that’s trustworthy and has all the key elements.

A well-captured testimonial paves the way for more high-quality conversions because it instills a feeling of trust inside your potential clients.

So, the first step is to put a top-notch testimonial request process in place. That’s what our next section is all about.

Before we get started, make sure you’ve signed up on Trust to access the 14-day free trial to collect your client testimonials.

3 Steps to launch a testimonial campaign

1. Identify the testimonial type

Testimonials are more than just textual reviews. They are extremely versatile. For instance, you can use a video testimonial as an ad on YouTube, use star ratings to display on Google, upload reviews to your landing page, and so much more.

So, before collecting testimonials, you must define the type of testimonial you wish to collect from a particular client.

Here are a few for inspiration:

Star, PMF, and NPS ratings to display on sites such as Google, G2, Facebook, etc.
Video or text testimonials for a more in-depth, personal review
Text reviews for your brand’s social pages on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and others

Once you’ve made your decision, let’s move on to learning how to create an easy testimonial request form using Trust.

2. Create a testimonial submission form

In order to take part in giving a testimonial, your client must find the submission process easy and straightforward. Trust can ensure this, as long as you set up a clean request form.

Here’s how you can submit a testimonial request form using Trust:

On your Trust dashboard, navigate to Forms > Add New to create a brand new submission form.

Choose one of 3 forms: Standard, Interactive or Smart.

After doing this, enter the following details to ensure your submission form is up to the mark:

Put general details under the General tab
Under the Testimonial tab – request the type of testimonial you intend to collect
Add a welcome message to personalize your request under the Welcome tab
Include custom guidelines for your client to submit their video as this makes their submission process easier
Request their social media handles, and any other tags that seem applicable to your product/service

Before you submit the request form, here’s a quick checklist you can refer to verify the form has all the correct elements:

You have added questions and custom guidelines for your client that help capture an exceptional testimonial.
You have received their consent to use the testimonials on other platforms such as for social media, for marketing campaigns, or for displaying on your website.
You have given them a few review options to submit, for instance, either a star rating, a text testimonial, or a way to record a video testimonial.

If you’ve followed these steps and the checklist, your testimonial request form is ready to be sent to your esteemed clients.

Pro tip: Interactive and Smart forms have built-in AI testimonial generator that makes testimonial writing a breeze!

3. Choose and set up a testimonial collection channel

Having an incredible testimonial request form is of no use if you’re not sure how to ask and collect testimonials in the first place.

5 Testimonial request templates to steal

Here are four ways you can ask your clients for testimonials along with templates. You can choose one or a combination of these:

#1. Ask for a testimonial in an email

Most requesters downplay the need to create a well-structured testimonial email request. To receive great testimonials, you must use the right words to entice your clients into submitting their best opinions.

But before you draft your message, you can copy the created submission form as a URL to add it to your email. To do this, Trust provides a super simple method through which your clients can submit their testimonials at the click of a button without having to download the app.

To access, navigate to Forms > Activity tab > click on the “Copy form URL to clipboard” icon.

Now that you have the form’s link, let’s draft your email using one of the below templates:

Testimonial request email template #1

Dear [client name],

Thanks for being our customer. We’d like to hear how your experience is with [Product].

Do you mind taking just a few minutes to leave feedback? You can do it by visiting this [link].

Testimonial request email template #2

Hey [client name],

How’d we do? Please take a moment to let us know. We’ll use your review to improve our services and products for you and customers like you.

[Link]

#2. Ask for a testimonial for social media

Using Trust, you can import your existing ratings and reviews from your social media platforms onto your website. But before doing so, you must have your client’s permission.

A convenient way to get this and to further entice them into submitting a video testimonial, is to send a request email.

Testimonial request email template for social media

Subject line: Thanks for the shoutout! Can you give us a testimonial?

Hi [Client name],

I saw that you gave us a shoutout on [Instagram/Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn]. That made our day! We were absolutely delighted! Thanks for your kind words. This is really valuable to us, and helps us keep improving!

I actually want to ask for a small favor: we’re putting together a series of customer testimonials for our website and we’d love to have yours included.

Could we use your feedback on our website? Or would you be interested in providing a few more words on how you’ve been using our [product/service] and the value you’re seeing?

Thanks again.

#3. Ask for a testimonial via a messaging app

Considering the number of emails your client might receive daily, your testimonial request emails could get lost in their inbox. A better, less talked about alternative to emails is messaging apps.

Apps such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, Whatsapp, etc., help you stay in touch with teams and clients more regularly. So, why not use them to your benefit to request testimonials? An instant message to your client as soon as they make a purchase or complete a usage term makes them more likely to drop in a testimonial happily.

Testimonial request email template for a messaging app:

Hey [Client name],

Thank you so much for choosing us and being a loyal customer. We would highly appreciate it, if you could take a few minutes to drop us a testimonial to help us provide a great service for you! [request link]

#4. Ask for a testimonial on your website:

One of the perfect ways to use your website pages is to display a testimonial collection form. Be it through pop-up notifications, or a testimonial request page, asking for a testimonial on your website shows that you truly care about listening to what your clients say about your brand or service.

With Trust, you can ask for a testimonial on your website and design it effortlessly. Once you’ve created a testimonial submission form, navigate to Forms > Activity tab > click on the “Add to website” icon.

Once done, you get a pop-up message with a code snippet with options to add your testimonial request form. Select Copy to Clipboard and paste it into your website builder app, such as Wix.

Here’s a sample testimonial request snippet on a website page:

Check our our demo website to see it in action!

Pro tip: Be sure to follow up with your clients until you receive a testimonial. If the first collection channel fails to collect a testimonial, use a combination of the other request methods.