So, you are new to the market and:
- No one knows who you are
- You don’t know anyone in your niche
- You have absolutely no proof that you or your products work
What should you do?
How are you going to create credibility?
Typically, a new marketer will ignore this altogether. They don’t understand the need for social proof.
They just go ahead and launch their product or service and will usually fail miserably.
The seasoned marketer will, however, take the time to make sure they have social proof.
It doesn’t matter to them if it only takes a few days or a few weeks to gather as much social proof as possible before launching. They will make sure they have the social proof they need.
So, you may be wondering…
what kind of social proof do we need to help sell our products?
- Testimonials from happy customers
- Endorsements from businesses and experts
- Evidence that you are an expert on your topic
Why do we need social proof?
It’s simple, social proof helps to increase conversions.
If done well, social proof can multiple your sales, even, as much as, quadrupling them.
And with the right social proof, you can even make sales without a sales letter.
So, you are probably scratching your head wondering…
how do you get social proof when you are just getting started?
It’s easier than you think.
Maybe you have a great new diet program that you want to sell.
Search for diet or weight loss forums.
Spend some time offering good input, answer a few questions. Then once you have established yourself as an authority figure in the forum reach out to a few people who are trying to lose weight.
Offer them your program for free in exchange for tracking their progress and reporting back to you.
Then use their testimonials to sell your product.
Even better, go to your local rec center or gym and find volunteers to use your program.
You can also advertise for volunteers on Craigslist, Facebook or other social media sites.
When you can get local people to test your program, you can take ‘before’ and ‘after’ shots and easily follow up on their progress.
Do you have a sure fired system for generating $1,000 a week?
Give it away to a few marketers who can use the program to get the results. Then use their testimonials on your sales page and in your advertising.
Again, search for volunteers to test your program either locally, through forums or on social sites.
You could approach a blogger with a good-sized audience and find your volunteers through their site. Offer the blogger a free copy too.
They will have credibility with their audience. Then, you can offer them an opportunity to be an affiliate for your product.
Remember, the time you spend to get a social proof before launching a product will be paid back to you many times over in the form of higher conversions.
No matter what it is that you’re selling, building social proof is as easy as offering or do things for free for people in your market.
Just start building relationships with others in your niche, offer to provide your product or service to them for free and watch the testimonials roll in.
Do you want to be a coach?
Start by doing it for free.
Connect with a limited number of people in your niche. Offer your coaching service for free and ask them for their feedback in return.
This could be an introductory session or sessions that could turn into a paid coaching program later.
Exceed their expectations and use their testimonials to sell your coaching program.
The feedback will help you improve your program and generate new clients at the same time.
Maybe you want to start a business helping local businesses do their online marketing.
Choose a couple of businesses and offer to do their marketing at a reduced cost. You could start by having them only pay for your out of pocket expenses and nothing more.
Show them results that generate loads of new revenue opportunities. Get their testimonials and use them as a method to entice new companies to do business with you.
Offer to do things for a larger company in your market for free. Just let them know that all you want in return is to get their testimonials and use them as a reference.
If you do good work for them, they are likely to hire you to do more.
Now you have a new contact that you might work with on other projects, as well.
When you are looking for an affiliate to promote your product or service, they are much more likely to agree to work with you because you already have proven yourself.
Getting social proof isn’t as hard as you think. If you are willing to invest a little time and effort it definitely can pay off with higher conversions and increased sales.
And what happens when you increase your conversions?
You attract more affiliates, which again increases sales, creating new avenues that will add to the success of your business.
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