I could bombard you with stats about how customers trust testimonials, but do I have to?
Customers will almost always trust other customers more than the brand. Especially if they’re newer to your brand.
It’s obvious.
I mean, how many times have you read an Amazon product listing… then scrolled straight down to the reviews?
For example, I was recently looking for couches on Amazon. I skipped right past the product description and looked for reviews specifically discussing the comfort and quality of the couch materials.
You want to hear other peoples’ experiences, especially around a specific issue… not the “marketing speak” the brand puts out.
Aside from testimonials, many customers like to read FAQs.
One FAQ may be all a customer needs to buy — they just want to see if the product they’re looking at has some slight edge over another.
Back to my couch shopping example, I also read some FAQs to get an idea of its comfort and how easy it is to put together.
So testimonials and FAQs are so great on their own… but what happens if you combine them?
And more:
What if you put this combination in an email?
Copy Chief did that… and I’ll cover the email they sent in this post.
By the way, the email is too long to show the entire thing in one or two pieces. You’d have to scroll way too much to get to the meat of the content, so I’ll just give you a brief rundown of this email with screenshots as we go.
About Copy Chief
Copy Chief is an online community of copywriters, marketers, and business owners. It has a zillion trainings on all aspects of copywriting, marketing, and growing/managing a business.
Plus, there are tons of forums inside for everything from copy criticism to business management tips to “watercooler” type of discussions…
And even a job board where copywriters who want clients can connect with businesses who want copywriters.
Copy Chief also offers several coaching programs: Escape Velocity, Real Free LIfe, and Accelerator are a few. I’ve taken the first two, and I’m a member of Accelerator.
Lastly, Copy Chief puts on various live events throughout the year.
The email we’re breaking down is from Copy Chief, and it’s selling the Escape Velocity program — for people just getting into freelancing.
The Email: If a Testimonial and FAQ Email Had a Baby…
This email is a mix of a “testimonial” email and an “FAQ” email.
Let’s define each one.
A testimonial email is a great way to address objections in an email campaign — especially as the deadline approaches.
What you do is paste in at least one testimonial you’ve received from a customer. Some people will use one longer testimonial to address a specific objection. Almost like a case study.
Others might fire off several shorter testimonials that address one objection from several angles or multiple objections.
Regardless, this allows you to bombard the customer with social proof in little time.
An FAQ email is another “low-effort” email (on the surface, at least) that lets you address questions and objections directly.
You gather some of the most common questions — based on your research and customer questions — and answer them directly.
In either case, however, you can’t always just say, “Hey, read this testimonial” or, “Hey, here are some FAQs.”
(Although that could work in some cases, depending on your relationship with your list.)
You want to get a little creative. Come up with an angle that interests the reader and makes them want to read them.
Nick Yates, writing for Copy Chief, combined both kinds of emails and pulled off the “creative angle” part of the picture.
Let’s get into the email because it’s a good one.
EXPOSED: The Subject Line
If you’re on my list, you may have seen me use the “Exposed” subject line once or twice.
It’s common in any niche touched by politics — finance, prepping, all that stuff.
However, it can work (when used sparingly) in most niches, with varying degrees of facetiousness.
I think it works great here with that preview text because the reader’s not just getting a behind-the-scenes glance at the program… but hearing it from students who are “spilling the beans” and telling “The Truth” about Escape Velocity.
There’s some drama added with the “They are leaving nothing untold…” line, too, adding a little fun.
A Short Intro
Nothing fancy here. Nick continues with the “exposed” angle and amps it up a little bit.
I like the implicit CTA here. It might capture a few sales from people who are ready to join but simply got too busy and forgot.
It’s also a bit of a curiosity builder since it seems less planned. Could get a few clicks to the sales page.
Let the Questions Begin: Starting With The Most Important
Here’s where the testimonial-FAQ section begins.
See how Nick pulled this off? He didn’t just paste in testimonials saying, “Hey, I made my money back” or “Hey, this program helped me land a client paying me $XYZ every month.”
Nor did he just make it an FAQ with an answer from the brand (Copy Chief.)
He has a question at the top, followed by real students answering the FAQ with their testimonials.
You get the best of both worlds here. Readers can easily locate the FAQ they need answered, then hear real success stories they can trust a lot more.
It’s a genius format.
Also, notice how Nick put the “Accelerator” phase after their names. It’s further along than Escape Velocity in Copy Chief’s hierarchy of offers. If I recall correctly, Escape Velocity is a required prerequisite for Accelerator.
This is a subtle way to amp up the social proof.
The fact that they’re in Accelerator implies they have a thriving business — which, ultimately, is what the customer wants.
If they started in Escape Velocity and are killing it now, that’s a strong reason to join Escape Velocity.
Also, it’s worth noting the question Nick chose. He talked about ROI, which is clearly the most burning question many prospective students have. If they invest in the program, will they get clients and make their money back?
Lastly, let’s talk about the choice of testimonials.
Nick’s got a short, medium, and long one.
The long one is great for giving the reader a real peek at some key benefits of the program.
The medium one paints a great picture of the prospective customer’s potential results if they join Escape Velocity.
The short one is punchy and commanding at the same time.
Overall, a powerful first section.
Another Question That’s Long and Specific
The next section is another question, but it’s much longer and more specific. It deals with the objection of “Is this right for my experience level?”
We’ve got two longer testimonials here that cover a lot of ground. Such a level of detail is quite persuasive.
A Question That Sets Expectations
Promoting the benefits of your program is all good, but you should also show the customer what to expect.
This gets the right kind of customer — the one that is happy to pay you money to get the offer. They’re less likely to talk trash or demand a refund because they know what to expect.
That’s where the first testimonial FAQ helps out. Real students tell you the time they put in and even give some advice.
Customers reading know this isn’t some get-rich-quick stuff. They see that there’s work involved.
Will that turn off a few customers?
Yeah… a few.
But if you’re selling a program that requires the student to put in effort… you want students willing to put in the effort.
They know what to expect and are fine with it.
“Questions? Or Are You Ready to Join Us?”
This email addressed some of the most common objections and questions… and answered them with successful students’ words.
Nick reiterates all the success these students found, then asks if you have any questions. Of course, if you don’t…
The CTA to invest in Escape Velocity is right there.
Normally, 2 different CTAs may confuse the reader. Not here, though, because it’s still focused around one offer.
The first CTA is to reply with any questions because this lets Copy Chief’s sales team swoop in and close the sale. Being genuinely helpful with someone on the fence never hurts.
The second CTA is there if you’re already sold.
It’s important to note this email came later in a promo. Copy Chief used several emails to slowly “tip the scales” in the buyer’s mind toward buying. This email reinforces any earlier points made and offers a great opportunity to address any final objections.
Like I said earlier, some customers just need 1 question answered before buying. This email probably answered some of those and closed a few sales.
One More Point to Make
Nick has an interesting challenge here because he has to sell Escape Velocity to members and non-members of Copy Chief. Each one’s a slightly different customer persona, most likely.
Most of the email covers the broad benefits of Escape Velocity, appealing to the largest base of subscribers.
He then lets the reader know about the approaching deadline to inject urgency and shows them how to learn more about Escape Velocity ASAP.
Finally, he zooms in on a slice of the subscriber base — Copy Chief members — to let them know about their special discount.
If he started with the discount or didn’t break it into a CTA separate from the main CTA, it might have confused customers about whether they’re allowed to join EV as a non-member.
One last thing: I like the line at the very bottom of the image. It’s a neat segmentation technique.
See, some people have been through Escape Velocity already, whereas others might not be ready to invest in it.
The line at the bottom allows people on the list to stay on the list but opt out of this specific promo. This minimizes unsubscribes from people who may otherwise get annoyed with the promo.
It could also offer some data about what types of subscribers are on the list and maybe provide you with some feedback on your copy.
Takeaways
Answer common customer questions with successful customer testimonials. Simple, but genius.
The best part is that it doesn’t take much writing work. It’s more about picking the best testimonials, arranging everything nicely, then deciding on an angle/theme to secure the customer’s open.
I’ll say it again: these work best later on in a promo after you’ve hit the customer with other emails to address individual objections and do some belief-shifting.
They seem more genuine, and they often give customers that final nudge needed to say “TAKE MY MONEY!”
What to Do Next
- Get on my email list.
- Reach out to me if you want help writing emails like this one.
- Join Copy Chief whether you’re a copywriter, marketer, or business owner. It’s got trainings from marketing experts, forums, a job board, and much, much more.