Generate Customer Testimonials

"Great service, would recommend!" is not a testimonial — it's filler. Yet most businesses fill their landing pages with exactly that, then wonder why social proof isn't lifting conversion. The problem isn't that testimonials don't work. The problem is that a vague testimonial signals nothing — and prospects who read between the lines see a customer who couldn't be bothered to write a real review.

A high-converting testimonial does three things: it names the specific situation the customer was in before, the specific change after, and the doubts they had during the buying decision. Those three elements turn a quote into a story prospects can map themselves onto. This prompt designs the request, the follow-up questions, and the editing process to produce testimonials that actually move the needle — without putting words in the customer's mouth.

What It Does

Generates testimonial-request scripts and follow-up questions calibrated to surface specific, story-driven content rather than generic praise.
Designs the editing process that turns raw customer responses into polished testimonials while preserving authentic voice — and the boundary that keeps you from inventing what they didn't say.
Recommends where to place each testimonial type (landing page, sales deck, ad creative) based on the prospect's stage in the buying decision.

The Prompt

#CONTEXT:
I want to collect customer testimonials that actually convert prospects, not just decorate the website. My current testimonials — if I have any — are short, generic, and forgettable, and I suspect they are more decorative than persuasive. I want a system for requesting, refining, and placing testimonials that surfaces the specifics prospects need: the before-state, the doubts, the decision moment, and the after-state with numbers where possible.

#ROLE:
You are a conversion copywriter who has built testimonial libraries for SaaS, e-commerce, course creators, and service businesses. You understand that the difference between a testimonial that converts and one that decorates is specificity — and that the only way to get specificity is to ask for it directly. You know the questions that make customers tell stories instead of give compliments, and you know how to edit raw responses into polished social proof without losing the customer's voice.

#RESPONSE GUIDELINES:
1. Generate a testimonial request script — email or in-product — that is short enough to be answered and structured enough to surface specific story elements.
2. Provide 8–10 follow-up questions to use in interviews or written replies, each targeting a different element: pain point, alternative considered, decision moment, doubt, outcome, surprise, recommendation.
3. Design an editing process: what to keep verbatim, what to tighten, where to add subhead pull-quotes, and the rule for staying within what the customer actually said.
4. Recommend 3 placement strategies — landing page, sales deck, ad creative — and the type of testimonial that performs best in each.
5. Provide a template "testimonial card" format with the elements that should appear: photo, name, role, company, headline, body, key result.

#TESTIMONIAL CRITERIA:
1. Specificity is the entire game. "Increased our weekly leads from 12 to 47 in 90 days" beats "really helped our pipeline" by an order of magnitude.
2. Story structure beats endorsement. A testimonial with a before/after arc converts better than a string of compliments, even if the compliments are stronger.
3. Name the doubt. A testimonial that says "I was skeptical because [X]" is more persuasive than one without — prospects assume the same doubts and see them addressed.
4. Use the customer's words. The fastest way to ruin a testimonial is to "polish" it into marketing language that no human would actually say.
5. Match the testimonial to the prospect's stage. A bottom-of-funnel testimonial belongs on the pricing page; a top-of-funnel testimonial belongs in the ad.

#INFORMATION ABOUT ME:
- My business and offer: [BUSINESS_AND_OFFER]
- Customer profile: [CUSTOMER_PROFILE]
- Outcome customers typically achieve: [TYPICAL_OUTCOME]
- Common objections prospects raise before buying: [OBJECTIONS]
- Existing testimonials, if any: [CURRENT_TESTIMONIALS]
- Where I want to use the testimonials: [PLACEMENT — e.g., landing page, ads, sales deck]

#RESPONSE FORMAT:
Request Script (Email Version):
Subject: [subject]
Body: [Short, specific request]
Estimated reply rate: [% benchmark]

Follow-Up Question Library:
1. [Question] — Surfaces: [story element]
2. [Question] — Surfaces: [story element]
...

Editing Process:
- Keep verbatim: [What never to change]
- Tighten: [What to cut without changing meaning]
- Add: [Where to surface a subhead or pull-quote]
- The boundary: [What you may not infer or invent]

Testimonial Card Template:
- Headline (8–12 words): [Pull-quote that captures the result]
- Photo: [Required / strongly preferred]
- Name + role + company: [How to format]
- Body (75–150 words): [Before / doubt / decision / after structure]
- Key result: [One numeric or specific outcome, displayed prominently]

Placement Strategy:
- Landing page hero: [Type of testimonial that fits]
- Pricing page: [Type that fits]
- Sales deck: [Type that fits]
- Ad creative: [Type that fits]
- Onboarding emails: [Type that fits]

Pre-Launch Checklist:
- [Customer permission and approval process]
- [How to update or rotate testimonials over time]
- [How to handle a customer who later churns or asks to remove their testimonial]

How to Use

Run the request script with customers who have a clear, recent outcome. Asking too early or after the relationship cools both produce weaker responses.
Use written follow-up questions for fast, low-effort responses; use a 20-minute interview when the customer's story warrants a long-form testimonial or case study.
Edit responses for clarity and length, but never invent. If the customer didn't mention a specific number, do not add one — even if you know the number from your data.
Get explicit written permission before publishing. A testimonial used without permission is a legal and reputational liability that always becomes an issue at the worst time.

Example Input

## Information about me

- My business and offer: A 12-week LinkedIn ghostwriting service for B2B founders, $4,800 for the engagement
- Customer profile: B2B SaaS founders, $1–10M ARR, want to grow their LinkedIn audience to support sales pipeline
- Typical outcome: 3–10x follower growth, 5–15 inbound leads per month from LinkedIn within 90 days
- Common objections: "I tried writing my own posts and it didn't work" / "Will the voice still sound like me?" / "Is the price worth it for the volume of leads?"
- Existing testimonials: 3 short ones — "Great service!" / "Saved me hours" / "Love working with the team"
- Placement: Homepage hero, pricing page, LinkedIn ad creative

Tips

Ask "what almost stopped you from buying?" — every time. The doubt-named-and-overcome is the highest-converting element of a testimonial. Most customers will tell you if asked, and almost none will volunteer it unprompted.
Anchor every testimonial with one number. "Tripled our pipeline" is good. "Tripled our pipeline from 8 to 24 qualified leads per month within 60 days" is unforgettable. Numbers are the fastest credibility signal a testimonial has.
Photograph or video, not just quote. A face attached to a story converts 2–3x better than a name and role alone. If video is too high-friction, a clear LinkedIn-quality photo is the next-best move.
Rotate testimonials by funnel stage. The testimonial that proves the result belongs on the pricing page. The testimonial that names the objection belongs in the FAQ. The testimonial that captures the transformation belongs in the ad.
Re-run this prompt when you launch a new offer. Testimonials for an old offer rarely transfer to a new one without losing specificity — fresh offers need fresh stories, even from the same customers.

What It Does

The Prompt

How to Use

Example Input

Tips

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