This one thing is preventing my sales 😔

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Everyone and their AI robot wants you to leave a review these days. And for good reason! It’s a major deciding factor in whether people buy or not.

We’re living in a time where even the British royal family are being debunked as faking their own photos. People need that communal trust more than ever.

Stubborn that I am, I have dragged my heels on making reviews a big part of my sales strategy. I would much prefer to never ask and never be asked for reviews.

But thanks to some feedback from buyers and non-buyers alike, I now know for a fact that my lackluster reviews have been preventing sales.

(can you hear that wah wah sad trombone sound?)

Part of my hesitation about reviews is having reviews in the past and not seeing much change with them, but I was doing reviews all wrong!

I didn’t have RAVE reviews and/or I didn’t have enough reviews.

You can get away with either. Both is better. But having a small set of not-that-exciting reviews...it was not doing me any favors.

This week on the show, we wrap our series on Selling Digital Products with an episode on six trends in reviews that successful product sellers are using.

Trend 1: Wall of Love (aka the slam ‘em with social proof!)
The absolute deluge of people using, loving and raving about whatever you sell. The pure volume of this presents immediate symptoms of FOMO.

Trend 2: Loved by Many
I call this the “stars and faces widget” because it usually has stars or faces or both. Effective at showing how popular you and the stuff you sell is, especially when you include a number of people who have purchased.

Trend 3: Social Media Shout Outs
Not just for clients and customers! You can do it too! I’m seeing more people just shout themselves out, which may seem ineffective but after enough times, it starts telling a story. Of course, you’ll want to mix in some of your actual customers too, which Laura (pictured below) does all the time.

Trend 4: Real Screenshots, Real Numbers
No manipulation here—just in the moment, off the cuff thoughts on how fantastic you are! Real screenshots captures messages where they are sent to show off how many people are talking about you, in so many places, without you even asking! (JK these people are definitely asking)

Trend 5: Sporadic Quotes
For those of us a little light on reviews, using reviews in strategic places can be a way around having a lot of them. Below, Liz Wilcox uses one select review on every product she’s selling, heading off a hesitation you might have about buying that thing.

Trend 6: The Hidden Plug
An invisible tier of reviews where people “just talk about you” because you are an unmatched gem. You’ll know you’ve achieved it when you can stop worrying about reviews. Is it possible? Yes! Is it challenging? Even more than climbing Everest! We can only hope to bask in your glory.

I dive into all these examples AND MORE on this week’s episode of the show. I also talk about how to get better at capturing reviews (or at least how I’m getting better at it). Of course, I talk endlessly about my favorite review tool Senja which is not a sponsor of this episode but is a sponsor of this newsletter. That’s how you know I like them a whole lot!

That wraps our series on Selling Digital Products. What are you selling right now? I’m searching for my next topic 👀

P.S. We have one last livestream on Selling Digital Products this Friday at 8:30am ET with Chris Nguyen, founder of UX Playbook. Chris is a serial founder playing across revenue streams. He’s going to take us inside his current business to talk what’s working, what’s not and why. Join us on LinkedIn live!

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