Have you ever stumbled upon a testimonial that left you thinking who on earth would write such a strong statement about a freelancer‘s services? Testimonials are one of the most effective ways to legitimize your service claims and convince clients to hire you. Freelancers should know how to use them to their advantage.

(Image source: Fotolia)

I have seen a lot of online portfolios and believe that most of the freelancers fail to use testimonials to yield results. Some testimonials hold strong endorsements that prospective clients may relate to as a gimmick and others are too weak to help with a freelancer’s credibility.

Use it right though and it will be a great marketing tool to help improve your freelance business effectively.

1. Mind the Amount of Testimonials

Let’s say John is eager to buy product A and a product B. He finds that on the Internet, a good number of people have bought item A, saying that it is a great product and they recommend others buy it. As for product B, he searched high and low and it seems that nobody has anything good to say about it. What do you think are the conclusions that John would draw from this exercise?

Based on the feedback he got, he’d probably won’t mind spending his money on product A, and he’d probably be more wary about buying product B. Even if he could afford both, it is not surprising to expect a more reserved approach to the latter due to the fact that no one has anything (good or bad) to say about the product.

This is a philosophy and concept that is also applied for marketing your services using testimonials. The more people you can get to say good things about you, the more clients you’ll get to buy your services. If nobody says anything about your services, clients will not believe in your service claims, and most probably won’t even think to hire you.

2. Focus on the Value of the Testimonials

People are more likely to buy a product when a popular or famous person endorses it. It is because there are clients who are obsessed with the success of these celebrities. These customers would buy whatever product they promote. To no surprise featuring James Franco in the promotion of the Galaxy Camera will contribute positively to the sales volume produced and publicity of the Samsung bundled camera.

You can apply the same to your services. Let’s say you crafted a logo design or worked for a reputable or popular brand, you may ask the owner of it for a feedback about your services. The next thing is to turn that feedback into a testimonial. The fastest way is to ask your client if it is alright to him that you attach the feedback as a testimonial in your portfolio.

In order to increase the likability of converting into clients you can add his photo, contact (Twitter or email) or a logo of the brand he represents next to the testimonial.

3. Write Testimonial Statements on Your Own

Now, this doesn’t mean faking your own testimonials, let’s get that cleared. Truth be told, it is very hard to get a testimonial from a busy client. Most successful figures in the field are busy and would not have the time to give you an endorsement even if they want to. Plus, giving you a testimonial will not benefit them as much as it would benefit you. So what do you do?

Draft a testimonial for them to work on. Some clients just don’t know what to say or write about you. They’d be glad to lend support but somehow or rather, their testimonials may not do justice to what you have to offer. That’s one of the reason they hired you in the first place! Write a testimonial highlighting what you have to offer, how easy you are to work with and other claims that they can attest or lend support to.

On their part, it is merely selecting statements they agree with, and if they would allow you to attach their good name to the write-up before you put it up on your portfolio site.

Recommended Reading: 7 Rules To Creating A Professional Portfolio Site

4. Place Testimonials in Strategic Places

If you really want to use testimonials to convince people to hire you, you ought to place them strategically where readers can find them. Testimonials need to be in viewable places on your website where prospects can see them easily. If you have testimonials compiled in buried pages in your navigation menu for instance, chances are that potential clients who’ve been looking for “who else says so” won’t find it.

Once they leave your site, you are never getting them back again. Home pages, the ‘About page’, sidebar widgets, and within the content of pages are perfect areas to place your testimonials. Just don’t overdo it.

Check Out: Breadcrumb Navigation Examined: Best Practices & Examples

Conclusion

There are many ways you can use to market your freelance services. Using testimonials is one of them. To make sure that your testimonials are getting you the results you want, you should know how to use them the right way. Are you using testimonials to rope in new clients? Let us know how it is faring for you so far.

The Galaxy S4 is the latest flagship smartphone from Samsung, and the growing band of Galaxy S4 owners are likely to buy accessories to fully utilize their S4 features and protect their new beauty. We’ve scoured the Web to find pretty cool accessories you could use together with your S4.

Here are some of the Samsung-manufactured accessories that are selling on the site together with the S4. You’d probably notice a running theme that has to do with keeping healthy but we’ll let you explore that option and more in the items below. We’ve also put in some awesome third-party accessories that have added form and function that will do your S4 proud. Name your favorite in the comments or share more with us.

Recommended Reading: Samsung Galaxy S4: Everything You Need To Know

S Band

Track your steps, calories, distance and sleep quality with this stylish fitness tracker wristband and get all your stats stored and displayed in the updated S Health 2.0 app on the smartphone.

S View Cover

With the S View cover, you can see all incoming information through the small window without flipping it open. The cover also allows you to answer calls with a cut out at the earpiece.

(Image Source: CNET)

Game Pad

Gamers can rejoice with this portable Bluetooth game pad which bears a resemblance to the XBox controller. It has a ‘docking system’ for the smartphone which could possibly support a Note 2 as well.

Wireless Charging Cover

Want wireless charging for your Galaxy S4? Just use this back cover in place of your battery and start charging wirelessly on a charging base. No cables, and no extra weight. Futuristic and practical.

Flip Cover

The S4 may look like the S3 but it’s thinner so you might want to get a new flip cover for it. This one comes in 5 vibrant colors on top of the simple black or white variants.

Pouch

For the pouch lover, here’s a classier way to protect your Galaxy S4. There are no details of what it is made of but just look at that material!

Protective Cover+

A klutz with all things electronic? You may need added protection. The Protective Cover+ gives you a thick case that surrounds the entire body of the device to give it that extra layer of protection, in 5 different colors.

Headset

With 2 speakers in each earphone, a woofer and a tweeter speaker, giving you "premium Hi-Fi sound experience". This means you’ll have a very balanced sound in any type of music you hear. The headset also has volume and playback controls.

Extra Battery Kit

An extra battery is always a life-saver. With this extra battery kit, you can carry around a spare battery instead of a charging cable or device. It’s also fitted in a nice sturdy box to ensure its safety when you carry it around.

Heart Rate Monitor

Great for runners and sport enthusiasts who want to fully record their heart rate in real-time and wire the statistics to the S4. Perfect for health fans, speaking of which…

Body Scale

… here is a great one for weight watchers. This body scale can send your daily weight to your Galaxy S4 via bluetooth, allowing you track your weight history through a period of time via your S Health 2.0 app. Supports up to 7 family members.

More Accessories

Snugg Ultra Thin Case Cover

Available in black and white, this lightweight case is made of a non-slip material and gives you access to the camera and all the ports.

Mujjo Galaxy S4 Sleeve

This hand-crafted sleeve made from top-grain 100% vegetable-tanned leather is easy to clean and water repellent which is why their quality products have gained much recognition on the Internet. [$45.47]

Belkin Grip Sheer Matte Case

The Grip Series Belkin cases are made of semi-flexible, shock-absorbent plastic for your device. It covers up the buttons to protect it from damage but leaves the headphone, microphone, camera and charging ports open for easy access. This is a 2-pack case with the colors black and white to be shared with your loved ones. [$34.99]

Belkin Micra Folio Case

Similar to Samsung’s Flip Case, this one has the ability to keep business or credit cards in the inner pocket of the front cover. In addition to that, the back is also protected with easy access to all your ports. The case comes in the colors of Black or Rose. [$34.99]

Belkin Micra Glam Matte Case

This matte case is slightly translucent and has a metallic finish that gives it a sparkly look. Comes in 4 colors: Sorbet (Orangey-Red), Topaz (Sky Blue), Clear and Blacktop (Black). [$29.99]

Belkin Pocket Case

The soft microfiber lining inside the case does not leave scratches on your screen. It features a pull-tab for easy removal. An extra compartment at the front allows you to store business or credit cards for even lighter travels. [$24.99]

Belkin Slim-Fit Armband

This Slim-Fit Armband fully protects your device from any sort of bad weather conditions and is made out of comfortable, breathable neoprene material. There is also a storage area for long earphones cables on the arm strap for those who like to work with music on. [$34.99]

Backing up your iPhone data is important to you to keep your data safe. With iTunes, you can backup your data with two methods: onto your computer and on iCloud. iCloud is cloud storage that which gives you the ability to sync between multiple iOS devices and your Mac. With these two options, you can rest assured that your previous data is restorable.

iTunes is usually a hassle when it comes to transfering music and pictures. However, backing up your iOS devices on iTunes is very simple and takes just a few clicks. Here’s how to do it properly.

Recommended Reading: How To Backup iPhone SMS To Your Computer

Backing Up Your iPhone Data

When you connect your iPhone to your computer and launch iTunes, you can immediately see the options to backup your data to your computer or to iCloud. Note that iCloud only backs up a few important things, while backing up to your computer backs up almost everything on your device.

Select either option, and click Backup. Then come back to this and select the second option for a complete backup.

You can select both backup methods through iTunes under the Summary tab of your device and it is recommended that you run the backup process manually by right clicking on your device and clicking on Back Up.

How To Backup And Restore Apps

To backup apps, use the Transfer Purchases option found when you right click your device on iTunes.

Doing this transfers and backs up all the apps installed on your iOS device to your computer. Since restoring your device from a backup does not restore apps, you can drag the apps transferred to iTunes back to your device.

How To Restore From Backup

Once you have a backup, you can easily restore most of the important information to a new or recently restored device. All you have to do is connect your iDevice to your computer and start iTunes. Right click on your device in iTunes and select Restore From Backup. Then select the latest backup and restore it.

When times get rough, it’s time to restore factory settings. ‘Restore Factory Settings‘ will wipe out all information from the iDevice, turning it brand new, like the first time it came out of the box.

Since the method is the same on any iDevice, you can check out our Quick Tip on how to Restore Factory Settings on an iPad Mini.