By Yaro — Entrepreneur, Blogger, Podcaster, Angel Investor, and Digital Nomad
There’s one force in marketing that outshines all the rest: overwhelming proof.
You’ve seen it before—especially if you’ve ever stayed up too late watching TV. Those infomercials roll out one beaming face after another, each person sharing how some miracle ab-roller transformed their life.
More testimonials. More praise. More happy buyers.
And alright, I’ll admit it—I bought one. I even tried it.
Why? Because we figure people reflect our image.
Humans are social creatures. We trend-follow. Decisions are intimidating, and we don’t want to be in the wrong. So we do what other people have done. If many people are happy with their purchase, it’s clearly a sure thing.
That’s why smart marketers use endorsements.
Sometimes the proof is right in front of you—like advertisements full of consumer testimonials. Sometimes it’s subtle, like an influencer wearing a beauty product effortlessly or a celebrity sipping on a specific brand of vodka. In both instances, the message behind it is the same: people like you have tried this product and adored it.
Not only is it convincing—it’s disarming.
When you are talking about your product, it’s selling. When the customer is sharing their story, it’s relatable. Especially when they share it honestly, with real emotion, and describe the process they used. That’s the kind of message that resonates.
At my company, InboxDone.com, we’ve been filming client testimonials from day one. Where possible, we have customers share their story on camera.
We’re even lucky to have celebrity-status names as clients—like podcast host Lex Fridman. I’ve been waiting for him to write a testimonial, but he’s quite private, so I understand (still waiting, though!).
I recently collaborated with my marketing team to create some ‘overwhelming proof’ videos by editing together short testimonials from current ones. We created three versions, all different lengths, and started running them on LinkedIn, YouTube, and Meta.
And you know what?
My best-performing video to date is literally a one-minute plain vanilla video of a client sharing their story.
No bells. No whistles.
That’s the genius of having a library of testimonials—you have options, variety, and volume. You can try different things and see what adheres.
I especially love it when a client puts something fresh and new in a testimonial—something real that I never would have thought of.
That’s the advertisement.
One of my recent favorites from a client was the following:
“I was traumatized by email before working with you.”
That’s real. And powerful. And 100% authentic.
Now I’m in the process of editing that video down and sending footage to my editing team so we can spin it into new content.
Here’s the thing:
If you’re not gathering testimonials and showing ‘overwhelming proof’ to your audience, it’s time to get started.
Contact your customers. Request their stories. Listen to how your product or service changed their life. Record that.
Not only is it incredibly rewarding to hear what they say—it’s also some of the best marketing material you’ll ever create.
Keep growing,
Yaro
