I get this question a lot. And frankly, I've never been a big testimonial guy. Well, until recently.

If you've ever wondered about effectiveness of testimonials, this article should clear any doubt in your mind.

As most of my subscribers know, I develop and promote Internet marketing products and services. And this is a niche that is, well... somewhat crowded.

Heck, just do a search at google.com for "internet marketing expert" and you'll find more than nine million (yes, that's 9,000,000) web pages listed.

Wow. That's a lot of experts. (I wonder how many of those nine million really know their stuff.)

But heck, do a search for ANYTHING you need or want online and you'll find thousands, if not millions of choices.

So who do you believe?

That's question millions of potential customers want to know!

Who can they believe? Who can they trust?

What website will not rip them off or leave them for dead after they get their money?

As a web business owner myself, I hate to have to admit this, but... making purchases from unknown vendors on web can be a real crap shoot. There are far too many cons, scams, cheats, hacks and just plain old bad businesses on web.

And because of that, TRUST is something you have to instill in your visitors order to make sales on web.

But how do you portray an image of trust online when customers can't see you or shake your hand?

Simple. You let your other customers do talking. Here's a perfect example from my site...

__________________________

Good Afternoon Jim,

"In a word, WOW! "

"Your ezWebBusinessBuilder is a one-stop source for developing all aspects of a successful Internet business. The information and tasks are easy to understand and implement. It is clear you will help many people 'get it all together' for long-term success."

Thank you, Chip Snyder Hagerstown, Maryland __________________________

Even GIANTS realize value of testimonials...

Go to amazon.com - one of web's largest Internet-only based retailers, and look for any product you might be interested in. When you get to product page, more than likely you'll find one thing prominently displayed...

Customer comments.

Why does amazon.com include these with nearly everything they sell? It's a simple theory. People are more comfortable purchasing when they can first read what people like themselves think about product. It makes them feel more at ease knowing not only that other folks like them bought it already, but exactly what they thought of it.

thoughtful and informative article on an topic in your area of expertise. Then you submit it to e-zines to be read by

general public and possibly re-published on other web sites.

Appended to end of your article is a resource box containing a brief promotional message linking to your web site.

Webmasters who wish to reprint your article on their sites are required to include your resource box along with any live

links to your site.

For example, an article written by me might have following resource box:

Article by winson , webmaster of [url=http://www.ppcchina.com]Lucky Search[/url] , a great serch engine for people

searching more exact results. Please visit his site to try.

The benefit that you get from your article is two-fold. First, your article will be read by visitors to e-zine site. If

they find it helpful and interesting, they will likely visit your web site to see what else you had to offer. Second,

webmasters who find your article useful to their visitors may re-publish it on their sites, giving your article additional

exposure.

Every time your article is re-published on a web site, you gain an additional one-way link to your site through live link

in your resource box. This adds to your link popularity and ultimately increases your search engine rankings. As you can see,

the true potential of your article lies in its ability to propagate virally in cyberspace.

For your article to propagate virally, it should appeal to both readers and webmasters alike. Keep in mind that your goal is

hold your readers' attention long enough for them to get to resource box. If your article is boring and uninformative,

few people will read it beyond first or second paragraph.

Below are some pointers to consider when writing an article:

1. Give your article a catchy title.

Your title is first and often only thing that visitors see when they skim through a list of articles on an e-zine

page. Put some thought into coming up with a title that grabs reader's attention right away. Words like "Secrets",

"Free", and "Successful" tend to attract more attention than others.

2. Your article should not read like an ad.

Most people read articles to find information they can use, not to see a pitch about your products or services. If they see

your article as nothing more than a shameless act of self promotion, they'll get turned off and hit "Back" button right

away. Put yourself in reader's shoes. What benefits do you want to get out of reading an article? Cater to your reader's

interests rather than your own.

3. Offer lots of free, useful information.

Following on last tip, keep in mind that your readers are looking for specific "how-to" instructions to help them achieve

a certain goal. Offer lots of tangible information that is immediately useful to them. Do not lead them through hoops just to

get to an order form for a $29.95 "Make $50,000 in 30 Days or Your Money Back!" e-book.

4) Avoid gimmicks.

While it may be true that a sucker is born every minute, most internet users are sophisticated enough to tell what's

legitimate and what's not. Write with intention of offering something substantial to reader. Be honest and

forthright. Your article should not cause reader to think, "What is this guy trying to sell me?"

5) Be succinct.

Get to point quickly, preferably in first or second paragraph. Avoid lengthy paragraphs. Use lots of white space to

separate your paragraphs to make them easier to read.

6) Your article should not be too short.

Certainly, it's possible to write a good article packed with useful information using just a few hundred words. If your

article is too short, however, some webmasters may feel hesitant to reprint it on their sites. They may, instead, borrow your

ideas and write their own article, gaining authorship without having to give you credit for your ideas.

How long should your article be? I suggest at least 800 words, preferably longer. Longer articles give webmasters

impression that you have put some thought and effort into your work and, thus, are deserving of publicity on their sites.

7) Use live (clickable) links in your resource box.

Many e-zines permit clickable links in resource boxes. Yet, many authors forgo this privilege by simply spelling out their

URLs. Whenever permitted, you should spell out your URL as well as make it clickable (e.g. http://www.ppcchina.com). The

advantages of a clickable URL are (1) readers can go to your site simply by clicking on it, and (2) more importantly, search

engines will be able to record it as a link your web site, adding to your link popularity and search engine rankings.

Avoid hyping in your resource box.

Your resource box, while promotional in nature, should be brief and tasteful. The purpose of your resource box is not to sell

your readers something, but to lead them to your website which does actual selling. Your resource box should contain your

name, your company name, a brief description of your products or services, your web site's URL, and a clickable link to your

site.

9) Put some thought and effort into your writing.