In a previous article, I wrote about how the testimonial, thanks to the FTC ruling, was now dead. Make no mistake about it…it’s defunct. However, that doesn’t mean that you still can’t make sales from sales page that doesn’t have any testimonials. It’s going to take a little bit of effort, but in the long run, it will prove to be most profitable. Let’s begin.

In short, the days of sending somebody straight to a sales page without testimonials is over. Sure, if there are any sales pages out there breaking the law, they’ll still work. But they won’t be around long. So you’re going to eventually have to prepare for the inevitable. How do we do that?

To start with, you’re going to have to presell people. I’ve been doing this for YEARS so this new rule doesn’t affect me a bit. In fact, if you look at my sales pages, very few even have testimonials. Okay, so how do we presell people?

I have found that the best way is to first present them with a comprehensive HONEST review of the product. By honest, I mean you point out what you like and don’t like about it. Yes, you are now going to have to disclose that if somebody buys the product through YOUR recommendation that YOU will get compensated for it. This is another part of the FTC bag of tricks. However, this doesn’t have to kill things for you.

What you do next is offer a bonus or additional information to the prospect IF they purchase the item from you. Make no secret about this. Be right up front about it. Say, “Hey, here’s what I am going to do. Get this product using my affiliate link and I will give you…” and then tell them what you’re going to give them. The key is to make sure that the product you’re going to give them complements the product they are buying.

For example, let’s say that you’re promoting a service that submits articles to various directories. What I would do is offer my book on how to write articles as a freebie. People who have trouble writing in the first place will probably jump at the offer, especially since it is so closely related to what they’re buying.

Don’t have anything of your own? Buy a report that complements the product. There are many options to do this. In my signature, I will give you a great one.

But we’re not done.

Offer them a newsletter filled with info related to the topic that the product covers. Have them opt in and send a number of followups. I recommend at least seven, but you can make as many as you like. Make them a regular subscriber to your newsletter and not just somebody you’re trying to pitch an affiliate product to.

Naturally, the above system will work for your OWN sales letter as well. Can’t create a product with those killer testimonials anymore? No problem. Before you even THINK of sending a prospect to your sales page, give them the review, the offer of the bonus and the newsletter.

Gain their trust.

Ultimately, what will happen is that any time you have ANYTHING to promote in that niche, they are going to be more likely to buy it if you’ve done nothing but provided them with value during the course of your relationship with them.

Yes, the sales letter testimonial may be dead. But marketing will NEVER die.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim
A great way to get products to give away is through the use of PLR. Don’t know how to go about this? John Rhodes and myself have put together the definitive guide on PLR, how to find good PLR and how to put it together in record time. You can check out the sales page here. But, here is the deal I’m going to make you. Purchase this product through my affiliate link, send me your receipt, and you can have your choice of any one of my products…FREE (except for my NRR series because those are limited issues). You can’t beat a deal like that. But remember, you have to purchase through my affiliate link and it has to be verified. So make sure that when you get to the Clickbank payment page it says “affiliate=swagen”.

Here is the link:

http://www.stevewagenheim.com/plr.php