Introduction
A great way to give your book credibility is with testimonials. Nothing helps give your book more credibility than a positive quote from a prominent figure or knowledgeable person in the field of your book’s topic. Credibility is essential to your professional success and to your book sales.
Here are eleven sources for finding free testimonials that you can use in your book, on your website, and in your marketing materials:
1. Teachers, professors, educators: Think about some of your favorite educators you had in school, especially ones who taught a subject similar to the one in your book. Be sure to also consider educators with impressive titles, like “Dean” and “President,” etc. Many in this group will also have been published, so make sure the title of your most famous, most successful, or most recent book is attached to your name.
2. Authors, bloggers: If you’ve already written your nonfiction book, you already know who these people are. Email them to your publisher or your blog and very kindly ask for a testimonial.
3. Industry expertsTestimonials: Bigwigs within your industry can be hard to get testimonials for, but you should try anyway. These will be much easier to obtain if you are active within your industry. But anyone else in your industry who is well accomplished, has been on the job for many years, or is an author of a book will be just as good for you.
4. Leaders of professional organizations: For national leaders, this might also be hard to come by because they will fear that by giving you a testimonial, it will appear that their organization endorses you and your book. But getting this kind of testimony will be like hitting the jackpot. It will be much easier to get a quote from the leaders of professional organizations that are locally based.
5. Local Celebrities: This group is worth following. Little local celebrities, like the ones on the local TV news, or successful business owners, newspaper reporters, and anyone with a fancy title. The biggest celebrities that regularly appear on national TV shows can be very hard to come by.
6. Suppliers, manufacturers: Talk to some of the vendors or manufacturers that you and your company deal with. The best testimonials will be from anyone at these companies with a professional degree. But don’t forget that the ones without a fancy title can also be good, especially if they have direct knowledge of you and your work.
7. Charitable organizations: Any charity or religious organization you belong to, especially if you are actively involved in the group. Once again, try to get someone with a degree.
8. Government Officials: Nationwide, these can also be very hard to come by for the average person. Try local first.
9. Social networks: Social media quotes can be very good, especially if you want to get a lot of testimonials. Make an effort to get quotes from those who have a large following and have also written a book.
10. Current clients: These may be some of your most powerful testimonials and they should be very easy to obtain.
11. Friends, family: Yes, even these can be good, especially from those that don’t have the same last name as yours. It is imperative that they write an honest testimonial about you and your book, using your own words.
conclusion
Be sure to get a variety of quotes from different professions and different industries, as well as some from regular readers that aren’t necessarily on this list. Testimonials from those with big, fancy titles are certainly impressive and can help you sell more books. But testimonials from those without those fancy titles can also help you sell more books, as well as help you build a larger devoted following. A variety of voices and opinions is key to building and maintaining your credibility.