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Yes, "Testimonials" Are Exaggerated---Funny Story

by Dave Rodman Banned
18 replies
There have been a few threads here that talk about income claims or
whether certain product creators exaggerate their claims. As if there
were any doubts, the answer is YES, YES, YES.

I've always KNOWN that this happens, but I got to see it first hand as
an unknowing accessory to a product launch. I'll keep the names secret
to protect the innocent (errr...you know what I mean).

A few years back, Big Guru was doing a product launch and released a
series of videos. I loved Big Guru and their prior product so on one of
the videos, I left a comment that said "Hey Big Guru, I bought your
PREVIOUS PRODUCT last year and my REVENUE is up to
$15K per month. Can't wait for your NEW PRODUCT"

The next day, an email goes out to everyone and at the close
says "Hey, if you need proof this stuff works, Dave Rodman
used only the pre-launch videos and his site is already making
$15K per month!!!"

I went back and checked my comments. And yes, I said their
LAST PRODUCT was the reason for my success. And it wasn't
"making $15K per month", it was "$15K in revenue"....big difference.
ha.

Everytime I see a claim that "Joe Schmoe" is now making $40K per
week, I think of that. And it helps me keep my emotions in check.
#exaggeratedfunny #story #testimonials
  • Profile picture of the author Rikki_Fawkes
    Like the post that just claimed $12K or so per day on Facebook...
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    • Profile picture of the author JonWebContent
      Originally Posted by Rikki_Fawkes View Post

      Like the post that just claimed $12K or so per day on Facebook...
      Link? Or has this been deleted? I always miss the good stuff!
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      • Profile picture of the author Dave Rodman
        Banned
        Originally Posted by JonWebContent View Post

        Link? Or has this been deleted? I always miss the good stuff!
        I'd like to see that as well cause I would love to make $12K on facebook.
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        • Profile picture of the author Rikki_Fawkes
          He wrote it as a reply in this thread:

          http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ra-income.html

          His reply was deleted, but there are several other replies with his quote that you can read.
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          • Profile picture of the author Dave Rodman
            Banned
            Ha. He could've picked a more believable number and still sounded impressive.
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            • Profile picture of the author Rikki_Fawkes
              Originally Posted by Dave Rodman View Post

              Ha. He could've picked a more believable number and still sounded impressive.
              Exactly. But if he wasn't willing to share his secret (or tell the OP how to achieve such success in some other fashion) then it still looks phony (and obviously was). Especially when the OP was asking for help, not success stories.
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              • Profile picture of the author JonWebContent
                Originally Posted by Rikki_Fawkes View Post

                Exactly. But if he wasn't willing to share his secret (or tell the OP how to achieve such success in some other fashion) then it still looks phony (and obviously was). Especially when the OP was asking for help, not success stories.
                Yeah, pretty lame.

                "Hey OP, I know you're broke and all. But guess what, I'm going to rub it in your face that I make gazillions of dollars. Just bought a private jet last night. Anyway, sucks to be you!"

                99% of the "i make x-amount of dollars" eBooks/posts/etc are phony. Would bet the house on that.
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              • Profile picture of the author Kevin AKA Hubcap
                Here's my testimonial story.

                I was looking to hire a writer to polish a script for a children's video.

                As she was telling me what she was going to do she casually threw in she'd write a few testimonials for me.

                I've always suspected that some testimonials we're false but she gave me concrete proof and I'm sure it happens in every industry that uses them.
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                • Profile picture of the author JonWebContent
                  Originally Posted by Kevin AKA Hubcap View Post

                  Here's my testimonial story.

                  I was looking to hire a writer to polish a script for a children's video.

                  As she was telling me what she was going to do she casually threw in she'd write a few testimonials for me.

                  I've always suspected that some testimonials we're false but she gave me concrete proof and I'm sure it happens in every industry that uses them.
                  It does. I actually refuse to write them for a client. If they request them, I say I won't do it and if they don't like that, it's not my problem.

                  90% of testimonials are false probably.
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                  • Profile picture of the author Rikki_Fawkes
                    Originally Posted by JonWebContent View Post

                    It does. I actually refuse to write them for a client. If they request them, I say I won't do it and if they don't like that, it's not my problem.

                    90% of testimonials are false probably.
                    The thing is, if your product is solid and customers actually benefit from it, they might write testimonials for you.

                    For instance, the two testimonials I have on my site now are 100% real. They're from two members who really did see success through my membership site.

                    All I did was request that they write a 300-400 word testimonial for me. Since they loved my site so much, they bent over backward to write one for me in less than 48 hours.

                    Plus, they were far more honest and from-the-heart than anything I could have created myself - or hired out.
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                    • Profile picture of the author Dave Rodman
                      Banned
                      Originally Posted by Rikki_Fawkes View Post

                      The thing is, if your product is solid and customers actually benefit from it, they might write testimonials for you.

                      For instance, the two testimonials I have on my site now are 100% real. They're from two members who really did see success through my membership site.

                      All I did was request that they write a 300-400 word testimonial for me. Since they loved my site so much, they bent over backward to write one for me in less than 48 hours.

                      Plus, they were far more honest and from-the-heart than anything I could have created myself - or hired out.
                      I think there are a few levels of testimonials. Solicited and Unsolicited testimonials are pretty "pure" in my view. They are normally pretty truthful about what they liked about your product.

                      Most IM testimonials are your standard "quid pro quo" testimonials. A lot are some sort of reward for submitting one e.g. entering for a prize. Or they are more to gain some goodwill. IM is a relationship business where affiliates are important. So to gain some goodwill, I don't doubt that marketers submit glowing testimonials to move a relationship forward. And they usually hide behind the whole "I know Joe Schmoe and he knows his stuff" vagueness. Maybe it helps them sleep at night?
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                    • Profile picture of the author JonWebContent
                      Originally Posted by Rikki_Fawkes View Post

                      The thing is, if your product is solid and customers actually benefit from it, they might write testimonials for you.

                      For instance, the two testimonials I have on my site now are 100% real. They're from two members who really did see success through my membership site.

                      All I did was request that they write a 300-400 word testimonial for me. Since they loved my site so much, they bent over backward to write one for me in less than 48 hours.

                      Plus, they were far more honest and from-the-heart than anything I could have created myself - or hired out.
                      The ones on your site are MUCH more believable because they include a photo AND they aren't canned 1-liners. They clearly are legit.

                      Those are some long reviews! I just gave a testimonial for a guy I outsourced work to the other day and it was about 30 words. Didn't even think to write a long one, but I would have because he did an awesome job.
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  • Profile picture of the author Clara H
    Amusing story, thank you. XD
    Certainly something to be aware of. If one is confident about the quality of their product, I think they shouldn't feel the need to exaggerate testimonials.
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  • Profile picture of the author LetsGoViral
    If it is too good to be true, then...
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    Time of thinking is over.
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  • Profile picture of the author suemax
    For sure most of the money comes from product launches, NOT from affiliate money. Beware that one - a product exhorting people to get into an affiliate programme. The sellers will show their bank accounts and clickbank accounts from their last PRODUCT LAUNCH, not their affiliate income.
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  • Profile picture of the author LetsGoViral
    I especially like the tactic where is a play on words. For example, the offer says that "this method will let you earn $60 per hour", when in reality it is only "theoretical money". The reasoning is this - "If you sell a service that takes you 5 minutes to prepare for $5 on Fiverr.com, then it means you can sell 12 such gigs in an hour, $60 AN HOUR!!!1"

    If only.
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    • Profile picture of the author Dave Rodman
      Banned
      Originally Posted by LetsGoViral View Post

      I especially like the tactic where is a play on words. For example, the offer says that "this method will let you earn $60 per hour", when in reality it is only "theoretical money". The reasoning is this - "If you sell a service that takes you 5 minutes to prepare for $5 on Fiverr.com, then it means you can sell 12 such gigs in an hour, $60 AN HOUR!!!1"

      If only.
      Ha. That's another great one. I call it the power of extrapolation.
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