Top 5 Smart Ways to use Testimonials in your Email

[This blog was originally posted on Sep 3, 2020 and has been updated to showcase new examples]

How many times have you planned to make a purchase and looked up the customer reviews or testimonials on the website? Always, right? That’s the thing about consumer psychology. We tend to believe another user’s feedback rather than the claims made by the brand. Moreover, people are 270 percent more likely to buy a product that has five reviews when compared to the one with none. 

As a testimonial represents the unbiased perception of people, it is considered more trustworthy. It alleviates any reluctance that the customer might be having regarding the purchase. It facilitates decision making for the customer if they come across a positive review for the product or service they are planning to buy. 

For example: If you want to buy a new mobile phone, a testimonial would reinforce your willingness to make the purchase while eliminating any ambiguity. 

Of course, testimonials are used on all the digital marketing channels and emails are no exception. The advantage of using a testimonial in emails is that you can send out relevant testimonials for the offerings that the customer is most interested in. Let’s say, you own a digital marketing agency and a prospect is keen to buy your content marketing services. It would work wonders if you send an email featuring testimonials of clients who have used your content marketing services. 

With these points in mind, let’s turn to some awesome ways in which you can use testimonials in your emails. Ready to take a look at some of the most exciting testimonial email examples out there? Dive, right in!

1. Tell a story

We all love stories. Rather than talking about your product in a promotional tone, it is better to share your customer’s experience with the audience. While it will work as proof that your product and services are worth the purchase, it will tap on the emotional instinct of the customer. 

Take a look at this email example by Fetching Fields, which is easily among the finest testimonial emails one will ever come across.  It deals with canine wellness treats. 

In the email, they have featured the founder of oSHen Creative, Amanda, and her pet canine Henry. It describes their beautiful relationship and how Fetching Fields treats forms an important part of their life. The sweet tale ends with inviting other users to share their adventure with the hashtag #FetchingWith. It is a great way to encourage people to share their stories that can be repurposed as testimonials. 

Danner sets a nice example of using a user’s story to promote the brand’s offerings. The user’s personal experience adds a human touch to the email and increases the likelihood of conversion.

This idea can also be applied in the travel or hospitality industry emails. You can invite people to share their memorable moments on their social media handles (especially Instagram) and then promote the same in your emails (with the customer’s permission). These testimonials can also be in the form of a video, which would enhance the customer experience even more. 

2. Introduce your prospects to people like theme prospects

By using testimonials in emails, you can let your customers know that there are people out there just like them. It would help them identify with the users and discover ways to address their challenges. 

Feel has promoted their Vitamin E Balm with the help of an engaging copy followed by testimonials that highlight the key features of the product. It would leave a deeper impact on consumer psychology and get them to make the purchase.    

Another example is by Eight Sleep, wherein they have just shared three user testimonials. They have used relatable language that would sound more believable and entice the prospect to try them out.  

3. Talk about the usefulness of your product

Testimonials are a great way to let prospective customers know how your product has changed the lives of customers. 

For example: Assume that you are selling anti-aging creams. You can have a testimonial from a female user of 40 years who has observed a significant change in her skin because of your product.  

Even SaaS companies can use this trick to promote their products and services. 

Ritual, a renowned player in the health and wellness industry has sent out an exclusive email that includes testimonials for their Essential for Women products. The short and sweet testimonials fulfil the purpose and endorse the usefulness of the wellness products.    

Testimonial emails don’t get any better than this now, do they?

4. Use testimonials to recover lost customers

The world of e-commerce is all good until you get an abandoned cart. Nothing is worse than losing a customer who almost made the purchase. To help in such situations, you have a cart abandonment email. Many marketers use it to remind the customer or offer a further discount to convince them to make the purchase.

You can go a step ahead and use the power of testimonials in your cart abandonment email as Casper does. 

Reading such a testimonial would eliminate any apprehension in the customer’s mind and convince him or her into making the purchase.

This tactic, along with incentivizing, can also be used in the re-engagement email workflow to revive the dormant leads and prompt them to take action.  

Welcome emails featuring the brand story and testimonials would also work well to build a personal rapport with the new subscriber. 

Testimonials can make for great additions in back-in-stock emails too. Take a look at this email by Haus for instance.

5. Incorporate testimonials in holiday emails

Despite being the most lucrative period, the Holiday season is also the most competitive time. You must send out the most compelling email campaigns to win your customers during these days. To stand out in the competition, let your customers know how your products are better than the other companies.   

Check this St. Patrick’s email by Goodwipes. Look how cleverly (and hilariously) they have woven in the testimonial with their St. Patrick’s offerings.

Wrapping Up

A testimonial is the best form of user-generated content that resonates with the prospect. By picking the right testimonials to be included in your email, you are sure to garner a higher conversion rate. We hope the testimonial email examples shared above will guide you in the right direction while crafting your own. 

A bonus tip: Besides sending emails with testimonials, you can even send feedback emails that would help you get testimonials for your future campaigns. (like this one by Target)