So you've had a photoshoot (website built, received a reflexology treatment, got brand design completed...), now what?
Well, funny you should ask, because the selfish person in me will say - once everything is said and done, you're hapy with your photographs, you know exactly where they will slot in perfectly and you've started incorporating them into your visual marketing stratergy already, why not leave me a review?
Hopefully, a glowing one - eek!
If you're anything like me, you'll feel a bit stuck as to where to begin - that's the hardest part, isn't it?
Let me break it down into snack-size steps and some tips on what to include if you'd like to write a review for someone whose work you truly appreciate.
Reviews are really important to us, small business owners. We feature them on our websites and socials, we can use them in blogs, as social proof - to show that someone else, just like you, has used me and walked away happy - here's exactly HOW happy - come see! For my clients, together with their brand photos, it's basically the receipts, as young people would say :)
Writing a good testimonial involves a few key features. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you craft an effective one:
Start with a hook - this is basically a punchy summary of your experience. Without reading the rest of the review, gentle (or not so much) reader will be able to grasp the feeling of your experience. This can be a bold claim (the best brand photographer in the whole of Scotland) or a heartfelt sentiment (I have never felt as beautiful as I did when I saw my new brand photos).
Whooooo are you? This may be relevant if you're leaving a professional review (of course, if you're reviewing the pooping flamingo toy on amazon, it doesn't matter that you're a highly qualified therapist with 15 years experience in the field). But when sharing your professional background when leaving a review for a professional service adds credibility and context to your testimonial.
Describe your experience - what service did you receive? As I specialise in brand and family photography, one might be confused to read that I started talking about web design on a family shoot with a 3 year old - would probably be appropriate to mention that this was my brand photographer talking :)
Get real - people love people. I am a firm believer of this. Nothing will motivate someone to look into booking a photoshoot, than a real human sharing their fears, feelings and delights, after going through it themselves. Share what your concerns and fears were going into the shoot, maybe things you had no idea about and found out in process - much to your delight? How did receiving the images make you feel and most importantly, how did it impact your business? Do you no longer spend hours and days thinking of the perfect visual to go along with that killer caption you penned yourself? Does your website now have your bespoke images, rather than things you've picked up from stock sites, meaning that you can be closer to your audience and connect more authentically?
Size doesn't matter - I would be bold enough to say this. Some people are quite consise and clear and able to deliver the message perfectly in just a few sentences. Others find that they love a frilly turn of a phrase and can go on for a little while to describe their experience. Trust me when I say, if you have taken the time to write a testimonial and a review for me, I appreciate it all - long or short. If using some of your feedback on my website or socials to share with others, I'll happily pluck out some key phrases, if it needs to be shortened to fit in a box.
Oh and by the way, if you've gone into the trouble of reviewing my services, truly, a heartfelt, huge THANK YOU!
If you haven't gotten quite that far yet, but would like to, here's the link to my google page, where I would love it if you left a few kind words as to what working with me was like - THANK YOU!
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