Why testimonials matter, and when to ask
When you work for yourself, nobody hands a prospect your appraisal. There's no manager they can ring, no team that can vouch for you, and your own website is exactly where people expect you to say nice things about yourself. A testimonial fills that gap. It's the closest a stranger gets to asking around before they hire you.
Timing does half the work. Ask while the project is still warm: the client remembers what was at stake, what you did and how it felt to work with you. Leave it a few months and you'll get something polite and vague, if you get anything at all.
These are the moments that tend to work best:
- Right after the client signs off the work, while the relief is still fresh.
- When they praise you without being asked, by email, on a call or in a message. Ask whether you can use what they said, or whether they'd put it in writing.
- Once the results start to show: the site's live, the campaign's out, the accounts are filed, the new kitchen is in daily use.
- At the end of a phase, on a long contract, rather than waiting for a finish line that keeps moving.
- At the very start, in a small way: mention in your proposal or your first call that you'll ask for a testimonial at the end, so it never comes as a surprise.
- Never tucked under the bank details on your final invoice. There, it reads like part of the bill, and it's the easiest line in the world to ignore.
How to ask so the client actually replies
Most clients are happy to help. What stops them is effort: a blank box, no idea what to say, and a week that's already full. Your job is to make saying yes take as little of their time as possible, without putting words in their mouth.
A good request is short, personal and specific. It says why you're asking, what you'd like, where it'll appear and how to go about it, and it leaves a polite way out. That last part matters more than it looks: a client who feels cornered writes something lukewarm, and a lukewarm testimonial does you no favours.
- Ask the person you actually worked with, not the most senior name on the account.
- Say what it's for: your website, your proposals, your profile. People write more freely when they know where their words will end up.
- Give them two or three questions to answer instead of an open request. Questions are far easier than a blank page.
- Offer a format that suits them: a few lines by email, a short call where you take notes and send them back for approval, or a form.
- Ask permission to use their name, job title and organisation, and get that permission in writing.
- Chase once, kindly, and then leave it.
- Don't offer a discount or a freebie in exchange. Under UK consumer law, a review written in return for a reward has to be clearly labelled as such, and it's worth far less to the person reading it.
Testimonial request emails and messages for the end of a project
Adapt these rather than sending them word for word. Swap in the details in square brackets, cut anything that doesn't sound like you, and keep the tone you already use with that client. If you've been on first-name terms for months, a formal letter will only feel strange.
- By email, at the end of a project. Subject: A quick favour now [project] is wrapped up. Hi [name], thanks again for trusting me with [project]. I really enjoyed working on it with you. I'm gathering a few testimonials so new clients can get a feel for what working with me is like, and yours would mean a lot. Would you write a few lines? If it helps, you could say what you needed at the start, what changed once the work was done, and what it was like working together. With your permission, I'd use it on my website and in proposals, with your name and job title. And if now's not a good time, that's absolutely fine. Best, [your name]
- A short message, by text, WhatsApp or Slack: Hi [name], really glad [project] is out in the world. Would you be up for writing me a short testimonial? A couple of sentences on what you needed and how it went would be perfect. No pressure if you're snowed under.
- To a corporate client, where comms or legal may need to sign it off: Hi [name], now that [project] is signed off, I'd love to include a short testimonial from you on my website and in my proposals. I know organisations like yours often have a process for this, so I'm happy to quote you by job title only, or without naming [organisation], if that's simpler. Could you let me know who needs to approve it? I'll send you the final wording before anything goes public.
- To a private client, for work done in their home or for them personally: Hi [name], I hope you're enjoying [the new garden, the finished room, the new website]. Would you mind writing a few words about how the job went? People in the position you were in find it really reassuring to hear from someone who's been through it. I'd only use your first name and your town, or no name at all if you'd prefer.
- To a client you've worked with for a long time: Hi [name], we've been working together on [type of work] for a good while now, and it struck me that I've never asked you for a testimonial. Would you write something about what it's like having me on hand for [area]? You've seen my work over the long run, and that's exactly what new clients want to hear about.
- To a client who's just praised you: Hi [name], thank you, that's lovely to hear and it's made my day. Would you mind if I used what you said as a testimonial on my website? I'd quote it as [short excerpt], with your name and job title. If you'd rather write something fresh, or would prefer I didn't use it, that's completely fine.
Chasers, older clients and public reviews
Not every client replies to the first request, and not every good client is a recent one. These messages cover the cases in between.
Silence is usually a full inbox rather than a refusal, so one friendly chaser is fair. After that, take the hint and ask someone else: pestering a happy client is the quickest way to make them a less happy one.
- To a client from a while ago: Hi [name], it's been some time since we worked together on [project], so I hope this doesn't come out of nowhere. I'm refreshing the testimonials on my website and I'd love to include one from you, because that project is still one I'm proud of. If the details have faded, I'm happy to send a short reminder of what we did and what came of it.
- Asking for a public review: Hi [name], thank you again for the kind words. If you have a moment, would you post them as a review on [my Google Business Profile, my profile on the platform where we met]? Here's the direct link: [link]. It really helps people who come across me there.
- Offering a call instead of a blank page: Hi [name], I know writing a testimonial is one more job on a long list. Would a quick call work better? I'd ask you a few questions, write up what you say, and send it back for you to change or approve. Nothing goes anywhere without your say-so.
- A polite chaser: Hi [name], just nudging this back up your inbox in case it got buried. No worries at all if the timing's wrong. A couple of lines would be plenty, and if you'd rather not, just tell me and I'll stop bothering you.
- A thank-you once it's in: Hi [name], thank you so much for the testimonial. It's exactly what helps a new client make up their mind, and it was a real pleasure to read. It's now on [where you've used it]. If I can ever return the favour, just say.
What to get them to write: the problem, the result, how you worked
The testimonials that persuade aren't the ones with the most adjectives. They're the ones a prospect recognises themselves in. 'Great to work with, highly recommended' could be about anyone. A few sentences on what the client needed, what changed and what it was like along the way could only be about you.
So rather than asking for a testimonial in general, send two or three of these questions and let the client pick. Their answers, lightly trimmed, usually make a better testimonial than anything they'd have written from scratch.
- The problem: what was going on before you got in touch? What had you already tried?
- The hesitation: was there anything that nearly stopped you hiring me?
- The result: what's different now the work is done? What can you do that you couldn't before?
- How we worked: what was it like day to day? Was there a moment that stood out?
- The detail: which part of the work would you point out to someone else?
- The recommendation: who would you recommend me to, and why?
Where to show your testimonials, and keeping them above board
A testimonial buried on an About page does very little. Put it where a prospect is making up their mind, and match it to the work they're weighing up: a testimonial about a brand identity won't reassure someone who wants a website rebuilt.
If you tidy up a client's wording, send it back for approval and never change the meaning. Be careful, too, with anything that reads like a hard fact. If a testimonial says your work doubled a client's sales, the UK advertising rules expect you to be able to back that up. Something clearly personal, like how the client felt about working with you, needs no proof.
More broadly, the Advertising Standards Authority expects you to publish a testimonial only with its author's permission, to be able to show that it's genuine, and to keep a way of contacting the person who gave it. UK consumer law now bans fake reviews outright, along with presenting reviews in a misleading way, such as hiding the negative ones. A short, hand-picked selection on your own website is normal, as long as every quote is genuine and current and you don't pretend it's the whole picture. This is a summary rather than legal advice, and the guidance from the ASA and the Competition and Markets Authority is worth a look if you're unsure.
With that in mind, these are the places where a testimonial earns its keep:
- In quotes and proposals: one or two short testimonials from clients with a similar need, right beside the price.
- On your website: on the page for each service, not only on a testimonials page that nobody clicks through to.
- On your profiles: LinkedIn, the freelance platforms you use, your Google Business Profile if you have one, and a portfolio that gathers every client testimonial in one place.
- In your email signature: a link to your testimonials works quietly away on every message you send.
- In a case study: a testimonial sitting next to the actual work is more convincing than either on its own.
- On social media, now and again, when a project goes live and the client is happy to be tagged.
When a testimonial comes back lukewarm
Sometimes the reply is polite and flat, or it slips in a reservation you weren't expecting. Don't argue with it, and don't rewrite it yourself. A lukewarm testimonial is information: either the client simply isn't a natural writer, or something about the project didn't land the way you thought it had.
Start by working out which it is, then respond accordingly.
- If it's just thin, say thanks and ask one follow-up question, such as which part of the work was most useful. A specific question often brings out a much better answer.
- If there's a genuine criticism, thank them for being straight with you and take it seriously. It may be the most useful thing a client tells you all year.
- If you'd rather not publish it, you don't have to. Nobody is owed a spot on your website. Just don't lean on the client to rewrite it.
- If it's a public review on a platform, reply calmly, thank the client, and say briefly what you've changed since. Prospects read the replies as closely as the reviews.
- Never quietly delete the critical ones from a page that claims to show every review. That's the misleading presentation UK consumer law now prohibits, and prospects tend to notice.
- A reply you can adapt: Hi [name], thank you for taking the time, and for being honest with me. I'd really like to understand what would have made [project] better for you, so I can get it right next time. Would you be up for a short call? And if there was one part of the work you did find useful, I'd love to hear about that too.
Keep your client testimonials in one place with Take Your Skills
Testimonials have a habit of scattering: a line in an email thread, a review on a platform you've stopped using, a compliment on a call that nobody wrote down. Take Your Skills is built to keep them together, in your name, as your client list grows.
You create a portfolio and send each client a personal link, by email or WhatsApp. They sign in with a code sent to their email address, so there's no password to set up, and every recommendation is tied to a verified address. If the blank page puts them off, an AI assistant asks them a few questions and they answer in their own words. Anyone who'd rather write it themselves can skip the assistant.
Each recommendation goes into your portfolio, which you can share with a single link or download as a PDF to attach to a quote.
In practice:
- It's free, for you and for your clients, with no ads.
- Anyone can read your portfolio from its link, without signing up.
- You decide what's public, and you can make any recommendation private at any time.
- It works alongside your website and your other profiles rather than replacing them: the link sits happily in a proposal, an email signature or a LinkedIn profile.