Do you trust testimonials?

I don't but the market is changing. The real testimonials would come from Facebook and G+ in the future. So if you are someone that would do these fake testimonials, it's time to build your fake network now. Buyers might hire a researcher to dig deeper on the reputation of the network that says that a certain product is good. But if you know people that knows people who provide a feedback to a product it will be hard to believe it's fake unless they are lured by money in doing so.

i dont trust them at all, today with fiverr you can easily get them.

I never trusted any testimonial. 99% are fake. unless it's a blog comment testimonial

If a testimonial comes from someone who I don't know "Which is about 99% of the time might I add" then I don't.

The only ones I believe is are from close friends who I know and trust.

Googling it is probs the worse thing you can do... Too many "Promo" reviews out there.

The Warrior Forum better (But not perfect). I tend to go to the review section and read up what people are saying but you still have to be careful as there still one or two who have evil agendas i.e. out to make a quick buck etc.

James Scholes

Its part of their propaganda, there are testimonials that are true and legit. But most of them are fake since they will only just want to promote their products or site to the people who are the prospect as their next clients. It was what a friend told me, I should never trust everything I read, see and hear since they are not to be trusted unless verified as valid and true. And I would say, that is the most difficult part, how to verify the validity of a testimonials.
People might just use some false names to use as testimonials for their own personal benefits.

Yeh I'm going to go with NO, on the testimonials. But then again, if I see them regardless or not if I trust them (which is usually 0% of the time) i will be much more likely to buy than when they aren't there at all.

Trust me when I say, that's a market trend most people won't avoid. You just want to believe, when you see all these good comments (or videos).

So it is probably still a very plausible marketing idea.

i don't trust testimonials some are fake.

Testimonials that have a lot of detail, listing the positive and the negative of the product are more believable and helpful then a glowing positive review.

When I first got here I trusted my fellow warriors, and overall I think the Warrior forum is more trustworthy than most. But I still see a lot of hype and drama, especially around WSOs. I've learned to take everything with a grain of salt.

On Fiverr, I've had a few clunkers so now only use high rated gigs.

Testimonials are used in every niche in order to gain credibility for their product or service. And that is all well and good if they are real and genuine, but there also goes along with that the shady practice of faking testimonials, ie: fiverr which is getting more known about now and you can see the same fiverr actors on multiple different sites and products

Asking if you trust testimonials is like asking if you trust people.

It's a very open issue. You can be deceived by a host of things
of which testimonials are just one. You can also be deceived by other
Warriors.

You have to read testimonials with a critical eye. For example,
I see many testimonials that say "I know this product will make
me a lot of money" Instead I prefer to read, "this product made
me a lot of money."

Before I buy a product I read the reviews on Amazon.com for
example. I make sure to read the extreme ones--the 5 stars
and the 1 stars. Many times the 1 star is from someone who is
dissatisfied with some aspect of the customer service than
the products itself that I am interested in. So I make sure
I read carefully what the person is saying.

Like every other aspect of life, testimonials can be abused but
I'd rather have bad ones than none at all. They help me in
my decision process.

-Ray Edwards

If they are using something specifically as a testimonial, not sure why you'd trust it. They are cherry-picking the feedback they get.

I tend to disregard most testimonials. On the Warrior Forum I pay particular attention to the posters that have given the best content and feedback in the past or to those that give actual results from using the product.

I will often give a testimonial if I got a lot out of a product.

Usually, if I am looking for information in a certain niche I search Google for forums dealing with that subject and look for discussions about it.

DTaylor

Asking an Internet Marketer whether they trust a testimonial will always give you a complete different response than asking someone who uses the internet for pleasure purposes.

But yeah, stay away from the bullcrap Fiverr gigs, it's not worth it.

Personally, I do not believe them. Though I have seen some marketers use screen-shots from Facebook and Twitter whenever people rave about their product -- I find these to be more believable.

I think the average consumer, however, does believe testimonials. (Heck, people believe just about anything these days). Whether or not you want to take advantage of these people is a moral choice that you will have to make. :p

I almost never trust testimonials.

Trust testimonials? No...and yes.

No - I tend to discount testimonials from the Internet marketers because I suspect there is a you-scratch-my-back-and-I'll-scratch-your-back thing going on...or they got a free review copy and aren't necessarily willing to point out any flaws...or the flaws they do point out get edited out. And, yes, I do believe that certain IMers won't risk their reputation by giving out a puff-piece testimonial. But, it's hard to tell.

Yes - When someone, like say a Sean D'Souza, makes it easy to talk with any of the testimonial givers...yes I trust them.

Since the advent on Fiverr gigs I lost total trust in testimonials, especially video testimonials. And textual testimonials are very easy to fake, you can write them yourself :-)

No, I don't believe them UNLESS the person actually mentions specific results that seem believable. If someone says they lost x pounds using a product and has before and after and over what period of time, I MIGHT believe that sort of testimonial. The more vague, the less believable.

I actually purchased a Fiverr video testimonial and then my conscience smacked me around and I chose to not use it. I listened to what the person said and I knew she hadn't even looked at the product, though she had said she would. She had just found some phrases on my website and regurgitated them.

On my site (see sig) I want to provide honest and real video testimonials.

Good point - I think it's been removed! Looks like I need to re-read the WF policies.

Ok well I updated my sig, but it's still not showing? No way is it in contravention of any WF rules.

NO!

If you are talking about info products, absolutely NO!

In reviewing hundreds (maybe thousands) of so called info product testimonials about 99 9/10 are not about "results" they are about the number of product pages, or number of videos or how the author 'over-delivered'. What I fail to see in just about ALL of these so called testimonials is any factual application of the info product and results of that application.

I will often subscribe to a thread so I receive an email once a week to see if anyone actually posts "real" applied results and yes, in a few 1/10 of 1% of the cases I have seen that people have posted results but in most instances they do not provide anything other than their words to back it up - if you are going to say it really worked a certain way, show some images or do a video that shows those results without revealing too much so someone else cannot steal your specific niche. Show me the money, please!

My commment is specific to products being sold on forums:

A lot of sellers solicit testimonials with the old "leave me feedback, and I'll give you this nice bonus". ** Enter the Law of Reciprocity**

The bulk of the testimonials are junk: "got my product right away" or "this looks great, can't wait to try it! I know it will make me money"

no i dont trust them! but i dont totally rule them out

The safe call is not to trust any, but in reality it's not a black and white issue.

The more believeable the sales copy, the more I'd be likely to believe the testimonial. I'd also be inclined to believe a testimonial from someone I know and trust as long as it wasn't out of character. The "out of character" part is important because some scammers will attribute testimonials to people who they think will help their sales when that person didn't give a testimonial at all, or even declined to give one.

Whenever possible I link a testimonial to the person's website who gave it, then anyone can ask them if they really gave it. I'll also use their picture if I get permission. There are things you can do that give testimonials more credibility, but perhaps the best thing you can do is to write a credible sales pitch.

Having said all that, even if I do believe a testimonial is legitimate, I usually give it a very limited amount of sway because one man's treasure is another man's trash.

Many people would not trust testimonials, but even more people use those exact same testimonials as a reason to make a purchase.

I would suggest getting more testimonials on your sales page. It has helped me a lot

It's sad to me that many people here are so jaded that they think all testimonials are bogus.

Really.. with that mentality.. is it any surprise why many of those people are the same exact people who are dead broke and DON'T make money?

If you go into this and think that 99% of testimonials for products are FAKE...

Why on earth do you buy ANY?

If you think testimonials are fake.. then that means you have no FAITH or trust in the product itself or the product owner's credibility..

And if that's how you feel going into it.. Why would you do a single thing he says?

Why would you spend hours doing backlinking? Why would you spend hours writing blog posts?
Why would you do anything?

Why do any of it? Sure.. he gives you some cool 'ideas'.. but its probably all a bunch of crap.. No way does it actually work.. He probably just faked his screenshots, lied his aff off about the whole thing, and paid people to leave testimonials... right?

Do you See the problem?

I am making this a big deal.. because it is a big deal.. because alot of you guys are hitting on one of the biggest reasons why people FAIL.. and I don't think you realize it.

People fail because of their belief.

If I said jump off the ladder.. and I'll catch you.. and you didn't believe a word I was saying.. Would you jump? hell no.

If I said all you had to do was write 10 blog posts, use this plugin, register this domain, sign up for this affiliate offer, and use these backlinks if you wanted to make an extra $3,000 this month.. and you thought I was full of ****... would you do it?

Nope.

You wouldn't. Instead you'd probably go on forums, start threads like these, so you could feel better about NOT taking action.. instead of just DOING what the course said.. and finding out for YOURSELF, first hand if it actually works or not


I do believe testimonials.. I believe ALOT of them..

but I like to use a thing called common sense and judgement to help me seperate the real from the fake.
It's not hard.. and I think I got a pretty good BS reader you got one too

If the testimonial is on a clickbank page that uses a scantly clad woman.. and a bunch of midgets and all kinds of hype to sell the product.. then it might be fake.

If the guy in the testimonial leaves off a lot of important details and it just sounds fishy to you.. it probably is..

But if the guy has got sincerity in his voice, comes across with conviction, and everything checks ouut to be true.. why not give him the benefit of the doubt.. that maybe he's telling the truth?

It all depends . I am sure they are many reviews around here that are paid. I do think for the most part they are genuine.

Never. They have been hand-picked for a reason - therefore, they are worthless for my purposes.

I tend to be skeptical about tetimonials on websites or otherwise. Maybe it's because I'm into Marketing/Internet Marketing and know what is going on within the industry most of the time!

Whether we like it or not, one thing that very few of us will disagree is that testimonials can and do help sell products and services!

Thanks to everyone.

I discount all testimonials. Don't even read them. Too many are incentivized or just plain fake.

The only testimonials that I trust, are facebook likes and such, which I hope will be the only kind of existing testimonial in the future. I honestly hope that Facebook likes' relevance will grow. Still, there are a lot of "fake likes" as well, unfortunately a whole industry based on this is being born

I think Fiverr testimonials are legit because I have tried to order a Social bookmarking service and when the order marked as complete, that is the time that I can add my testimonal. Only buyers that have completed an order can put their testimonials or ratings.

There's a very useful article about how to use genuine testimonials that people don't dismiss as being potentially fake, here (not by me):

Is There Too Much Sugar In Your Testimonials?

But, if anyone uses this information to create 'more convincing' fake testimonials, may karma come and bite them on the backside!

I am very skeptical about testimonies and most of them are paid for and the results are not authentic.

I trust Fiverr feedbacks (or Ebay feedbacks) more. Because I know for 100% that that feed back is from a real buyer. specially if the seller have hundreds of them.
Here I don't think they are 100% real. Actually, I think about 50% are real and 50% fake.

I generally look for endorsements from people I know.

We're living in a world of peer recommendation - I ask my social circles first, and if I get an answer from someone I trust, I don't even bother doing any more research.

Here at the Warrior Forum, only the testimonials that are either three days after launch or on the third page - none sooner.

It depends.

If someone only has positive reviews, sun shining out of his/her a*se for the product my first thought is to stay away.

If they show both sides, the positives and negatives then I'm more likely to read and trust what they say that little bit more.

I think obviously at the end of the day you have to trust the person who ha created the business or offer, there are many genuine testimonials out there, i know that because we have done a few for people when we was starting out, and video testimonials too, but equally there are fake testimonials out there too.
Anyone worth any salt would be getting genuine testimonials from social media like facebook and google+

I used to trust testimonials but then I grew up and figured out how things work. Not only can testimonials be faked, they can be bought for back scratches, back door incentives and procured by straight up hidden JVs. Whats more many can be "hypnotized" by fancy launches and affiliates etc and give testimonials just to be part of the gang.

Unfortunately reputation really hasn't helped me much. I bought about three products based on testimonials of people whose name I know (but did not know them personally off the internet). It was obvious afterwards that they gave their recommendation as part of a JV or affiliate relationship. One even told me that the product he recommended openly was really garbage.

Every product I bought based on testimonials was garbage. The only good ones I ever bought were all based on looking at a solid offer that made sense and was upfront at how it made sense WITHOUT relying on Testimonials. Mind you a few testimonials were on those too but the offer made sense and spelt out things plainly. Whenever the pitch is all or primarily based on the testimonials I pass.

I try to go on referrals.

Testimonials are easily fixed but they are still a good indicator.
Especially if they have more than 10 up.

Do I trust testimonials? ... HECK NO

the strange thing is, it seems you can not have a successful product without providing testimonials BUT most people do not seem to believe and trust what they read for testimonials.

so that leads me to ask ... why is it BETTER to have testimonials for my own product creations?

Not even on WarriorForum, unfortunately. Since if you tell the truth "Reshashed, modified PLR, author has no compassion to those he's selling to, etc" - your post get's deleted.

In otherwords, if you tell it like it is - directly in hopes of saving gullible folks who fall for the hype, your post will be removed.

If you want REAL, HONEST, GENUINE reviews on things, refer to B.lackhat forums where people are 100% spot-on everytime.

I personally do not trust them. Which is why I make a point to let my buyers know whenever they post a review, if they are going to at all, that they can leave a horrible review if they want to. Just as long as its 100% honest. But they never do. Because if your product is good quality, and you are 100% honest with your buyers (BEFORE they buy) then it does nothing but help you..

I can't stand fake reviews/testimonials.. whatever you want to call them. If you are up front about everything then yeah, I'm sure you will lose some sales here and there.

But even though it will cost you some sales in the short term it definitely helps you in the long run.

And as a plus, it deters (some) of the people who would just waste your time with disputes and hurt your refund rating.

Win-Win situation if you ask me

Yeah, I don't think that you can trust any testimonial. I find it that there is always an underlying motive to every testimonial - whether it is fake or because the testimonial was swayed by the promises of money.

I think it is better to try out the product yourself instead of relying on testimonials. Unfortunately, we don't have enough money for that right?

I guess the next best thing is to only trust testimonials that come from people you actually know and trust.

As the day goes by, testimonials are becoming really easy to get and that for sure is reducing the value being placed on them. But like RATRACEWATCH said, they still have some value. Personally I still trust them to some extent. I mean if I find a page where there are 10 great testimonials about a product, at that time I'm not really thinking about how the testimonial was gotten, but how helpful the product might be. And it's definitely a different case when there's no testimonial at all.

My advice is not to write off a product with great testimonials but to invest a little further. I mean what if the testimonials are real, there's really no way you can know except try to research the product further. If you have a mentor you can ask him or her. I do that sometimes. As others have said, you can also ask in active forums, such as Warrior forum. Just as long as the product is not being sold here because then some might become biased.

The most real testimonials you will get:

google.com -> "product name here" forum

IMO, testimonials are so 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's. Old sales tactic for the undecided. Unverifiable testimonials are useless. Social media, forums and review sites are replacing traditional testimonials.

It depends. But nowadays, you can't really pinpoint which testimonials are true. Some are faking it or some we think its true. Anyways, there are lots of ways in finding testimonials that are real. You can search it anyway. We have a lot of search engine today.

nah. not anymore. When I first started IM, I used to read and believe them. As I got more into IM, most of them are really just junk trying to persuade you into buying.

Some, if I discern they are really a true person and are not just doing bogus...

I dont trust them at all. 98% of them is just funky marketing.

Most of the testimonials are fake. It's just a way for the seller to get more buyers, that's the truth.

I never go by the video testimonials...what does it for me is obvious proof that the system/ software works and to this end there are lots of people whose opinions I trust. I cant say I've been disappointed by any product I've purchased this year and I have spent a lot of money, but not one of my purchases was swayed by a video testimonial.

Yeah. I usually do some extra research. It's hard to trust testimonials nowadays.

No...I wont trust them at all.

Nowadays they are using testimonials to keep the website filled and they are not informative at all.

I rarely read testimonials; if i do then only the negative ones, because often they are more enlightening than the positive ones.

I'd rather prefer there's some sort of testimonial. At least, one can always tell the genuine ones from the fiverr superficial ones

After reading too many threads on the forum like warrior forum and many other internet marketing forum , i realised that these people are either paying for the testimonial or ask their closed friends for testemonials.

I always make research on the quality of product before completing any order .

Never, most of them are write by them

You are very correct xzlana. This is really negative and erasing the power of vid testimonials. It's hard to know which is authentic.

Hi,

From the point of view of service providers. I think testimonials are important to generate a trust on a particular services.

Testimonials these days are being economical with the truth, hence its a good idea to see reviews from independent folks who have nothing to do with the product and are able to vouch for it

Well, I have never seen a very negative one - have you?

For example, This product really sux! Please do not buy one.

At least you tube allows comments that are negative about the mini movies.

Most of the time the owner of the product chooses to put up the reviews they want to put up. This means the negative ones get weeded out. I don't trust testimonials at all. I would rather find an actual review on another site that tells me what the product will do to benefit me instead of what it supposedly did for someone else.

Benjamin Ehinger

I don't trust testimonials. My boyfriend and I just had this talk the other day because one of my clients offered to pay me big bucks to write several testimonials for his site. Unethical? I'm not completely sure. I guess it depends on the way you look at testimonials and how true you expect them to be.

Generally people buy if they trust and like the person. If the videos add to that trust, you will sell more, if they take it away, people will avoid you like the plague.

So this comes down to a case by case issue.

So what you are saying is 99% of all the testimonial videos you are seeing don't add any trust or credability or value, isn't that interesting?

Nope I have a service on fiverr selling fake testimonials

^ Real professional.

/sarcasm

They'll get it from one source or another!

I don't trust testimonials at all, but they do look good on a website, especially if you are trying to sell a product.

Could you imagine visiting a sales page with no testimonials.

It's almost like going to a doctors office, and there is no degree or certificate hanging from the wall. I would probably be a little nervous if I did.

So even if they were fake I could understand them being there. But I wouldn't trust them at all. I would need to Google the product, get advice from the warriorforum

or look at the IM Report Card.

well, i think it is hard to say. or we say, it all depends,
but since there are lots of fake things, i also advice you do not trust on it, or at least do not mainly depends on it. you can make it as a reference.

Yes, Most of them are fake and are only created to maket... and none of them give a genuine picture... but i think its a good way to promote... look and look

BBB, Michelin all the same... Big bullies!

I have never found the reason why I should trust testimonial with freelancer today you can easily get a review.

yes..we can trust on testimonials...!!!!!!!!

it depends..where it is useful or not.

Lol! Good question. I lean towards "Not Often"

If a testimonial is from someone i knew, yes i do. But i hardly believe and trust to somebody that i didn't know. Generally, i don't really trust testimonials. I read on it but made some actions like do some refer.

The general consensus would seem to be that testimonials are not to be trusted, which is in some ways is a sad state of affairs it seems nobody trusts anyone anymore.

I live in the Philippines which is rife with deceit and corruption like many Asian nations they seem to have different values in order to survive, it a case of buyer beware you can go into a shop and buy what looks and seems like an original only to discover later it is fake.

I look at the adverts on TV and they are full of people testifying how good a product is and it makes you wonder what the world is coming to. The only thing I can suggest is trust your own judgement

Sometimes in the perspective of marketer, testimonial probably the best tool to gain the credibility of for his/her name , as well as his/her product too , for some reason, if the page itself have bunch of "overnight" hype or so on, it's just nothing but a fake testimonial.

Sure, some testimonials are faked. It doesn’t necessarily mean the product is rubbish, though. Due diligence is always a prerequisite

Only have to look at what he is offering to know what to expect.

Selling fake testimonials on fiverr, not credability and sarcasm, but not capable of selling a high end product.

Kind of proves the point himself. Nice.

Okay, TV started using these first and sometimes they were paid actors. Having said that...the can still be used in marketing with great results. I feel it depends on why and how you are using them and the product. For example as a stage magician - I get the client to give me a video testimonial and it is real.

I also see no reason you could not use one you bought...it is all in what you do with it. What do you do if your product is good and no one has bought it yet? How would you let people know it was good? If you have a good product and offer a money back guarantee - why not use a video testimonial? If someone feels your product is crap they will refund and get their money back. I offer that guarantee with my shows because I know that product is awesome!

So I guess the jury is still out here...any thoughts?

I just believe in the testimonials from experts who have good reputation.

Of course they are. At least they are no less then a used car salesmen talk

Personally, i do not trust testimonials. I rather try and test it than depend other peoples testimony.

Yeah I have seen that too, man I'd feel ripped off if I bought something trusting in testimonials.

Most of the testimonials on many websites today are fake and just created by their own. I often purchase a product through recommendation of the people I know.

Remember that there are paid testimonials wherein website or product owners would pay freelancers to post "great" testimonials. Consult as many websites as possible by not sticking to their official site alone. You may want to do further research or ask permission from that company if you can randomly verify those testimonials.

It is another way of attracting attention and increasing the length of a visit to your site. The more time the visitor spends at your site the greater the chances of your visitor clicking on your ad or product when a he looks around. If the video testimonial has been prepared well some visitors may even buy the product on your site or from your affiliate link. Works well for beauty products.

The polls are closed and the ballots have been counted.

Everyone here agrees that they trust testimonials beyond any shadow of doubt.

IMHO, definitely not all testimonials are fake. They are some really genuine ones out there.....I know that I myself have given genuine testimonials for products that I sincerely love, and I am inclined to believe that there must be other people who do the same. But yes, admittedly, for newbies it might be hard to distinguish fake testimonials from real ones

I don't trust testimonials at all. I evaluate the product in question with my own logic rather than succumbing to the choreographed rhetoric of the testimonials.