It is not a secret that a 1)  well written testimonial, located 2) at the right position can make a difference.

Anti-example: “Your software is simply the best!” — Carlos Guerra Martins (Being best is vague idea and if the claim can not be verified, better leave it out. It’s a matter of trust and you’re woen’t gonna say you’re silliy enough to believe this can convince even a dummy in year 2008). “Thanks very much for a great program!” that’s of no value as well. It does not convinces nobody, as well as “Thanks again for a wonderful program.” in the conclusion of a testimonial. One more “I think the product is great” - ok, keep it with you, nobody cares, if you doen’t tell the exact case where it helped you. “A software product that is an incredible value.” Instead of starting the sentence with “Congratulations, you have by far the best software. ” get to the point from the very first sentence “I have just finished evaluating about 20 similar packages, and yours”, but than again, avoid empty words like “No one else comes close.”, “find it a great program”, “This is a great little utility that does just what I want”, be detailed “searches within zips; can select mix of folders; can use output for further processing”. Avoid pure thankfullness testimonials “Thanks, many times over for a well thought out and worked out program”, “Thank you for creating such a great product”, “I like your product.”, “This is a small note to thank you for your excellent product” - doen’t say it’s small - make it small. Too vague “It’s a great program and … it works so much better than all the other programs that I have tried”. Songs of praise are of no practial use “I think I have found the ultimate file duplicate search tool, finally, great product!”

Some things must be left in e-mails “Thanks for your help on this matter.”, “I gladly give you authorization to make public or publish this letter, or part of it, if you want to.”

1. Pictures
Ask people if they would e-mail a picture with their testimonial. If they don’t have one scanned you could have them send their picture by mail and you could scan it. This technique will give your testimonials more credibility.

2. Electronic signatures
Most online testimonials you see have text signatures. You could have people mail their written signature, scan it, and upload it with their testimonial. People will feel the testimonial is more official.

3. Online audio
You could record people’s testimonials with a mini tape recorder over the phone, on your answering machine, or voice mail. Then you could convert the recording into a online audio file and upload it to your website.

x 4. Postcards
Have people mail you their testimonial on a postcard, scan it and upload it to your website. This will give people proof that the testimonial isn’t fake because it will have a post mark on it.

5. Profiles
Ask people to include a profile of themselves with their testimonial. You could just have them answer some questions like age, occupation, hobbies, favourite quote, etc. This will make your testimonials more entertaining to read.

x 6. Hand written letters
This is similar to the ‘electronic signature’ tip. Scan and upload the entire written testimonial or letter to your website. This will give your testimonials a feel of realism.

x 7. Recordings
You could record peoples testimonials over the phone with a mini tape recorder. Then, take the recording and record it to an answering machine or voice mail system. Under each one, include a phone number they can call to hear the actual testimonial.

8. E-mail messages
When you get e-mail testimonials, publish the entire e-mail message instead of just the contents. It will be more believable because it will include the date, time, subject, who it’s from and who it’s to.

9. Contact information
When you get testimonials from people, ask them if you could include their contact information under the testimonial. This will allow potential customers to ask your current customers questions about your product or service before they buy. Usually, they will trust them more than you.

10. Online video
If some of the people who give you testimonials have a camcorder, ask them to record their testimonial on video and send it to you. Then you could convert the video to an online video file and upload it to your site.