Most freelancers and marketers already have client testimonials. They are sitting in LinkedIn comments, inboxes, and feedback calls, and nobody has collected them yet. Andy Milligan's point is simple: you do not need to beg for new praise before you can show social proof. You need to go find what people have already said.
Andy runs MMG Design, a web and SEO studio for healthcare companies, and founded the Columbus Marketing Organization. Freelancers tell him all the time that they have no testimonials. His answer comes from selling, in his words, "hundreds of thousands of dollars of marketing services," and it is part of the same system he teaches for how to get your first client.
"Social proof is the most compelling asset that you have in order to convince people that you are who you say you are and generate and accelerate the sales process." Andy Milligan
Why client testimonials carry so much weight
Buyers trust people more than they trust you. In a March 2026 SurveyMonkey and Reddit study of 1,202 U.S. business decision-makers, 73% named peer recommendations as their most trusted source when evaluating vendors. Vendor websites came in at 55%.
A testimonial is the closest thing to a peer recommendation you can put on your own website. Andy's studio site shows logos that click through to full case studies, a video testimonial from a client, and a testimonial wall with names and profiles. He calls it "absolutely littered with testimonials," and the Columbus Marketing Organization site follows the same approach.
Where to find client testimonials you already have
1. Ask friends for character testimonials
If you have not delivered results for a paying client yet, start with character. Send a short email to people who know your work ethic: you are starting something new, and would they say a few words about what you are like to work with? Andy's take: if you have friends who like you at all, they will be glad to help.
2. Mine your LinkedIn comments
When Andy announced the Columbus Marketing Jobs newsletter on LinkedIn, the post collected 47 comments. Many were praise: "This is an incredible idea." "I'm in awe how much you do." Most people scroll past comments like these. Andy treats them as sales assets, which is one more reason the right LinkedIn post types pay off twice.
"People have said this stuff online, so you already have their permission to use it," he says. He reformats those comments with each person's photo, name, job title, and quote and places them where buyers will see them. Before you republish a comment, a quick message letting the person know is a courteous step and keeps the relationship strong.
3. Run a feedback call after every project
After a project ends, Andy asks the client for a call to improve his process. He comes with about ten questions, such as:
- What made you choose us over other options you considered?
- Walk me through what business felt like before versus now.
- What is the single biggest difference the new site has made?
None of these ask for a testimonial. They ask for honest feedback, which improves your service, and clients who are happy tend to say very positive things. Andy records the call, then follows up by email asking if he can use some of what they said in a case study. Clients almost always agree.
4. Use a testimonial collection form
Andy uses a testimonial collection tool with forms he sends to clients and to every guest on his podcast, Marketing by Design. The podcast landing page is now full of video testimonials he gathered almost as an afterthought.
5. Search your inbox
Andy connects his email to an AI assistant and asks whether he has received anything he could use as a testimonial. One recent email, from an agency owner in Columbus, included a line he nearly missed: "Your passion and energy are infectious and I love how you're connecting this community." Praise like that often arrives in passing.
How to get client testimonials the right way
Collecting praise is easy to overdo, so keep two rules in mind.
First, use only real words from real people. The Federal Trade Commission's Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, in effect since October 21, 2024, prohibits testimonials that misrepresent who wrote them or that come from people without actual experience with the business. Editing for length is fine. Changing meaning is not.
Second, ask for permission when the words were private. A comment on a public post is different from a sentence in a private email or a recorded call. Andy's email follow-up after feedback calls is the model: name what you want to use and where.
If you need more practice turning trust into revenue, Andy's marketing proposal process shows where social proof fits in a winning proposal. For the related habit of turning happy clients into introductions, see Andy's Q&A on how to ask for referrals.
Client testimonials build your confidence too
Andy keeps some of his favorite client testimonials printed on a wall at home. He calls it his "wall of awesome," a reminder that you are who you say you are. If you struggle with imposter syndrome, reading what people have already said about you helps.
You already have client testimonials. Collect them, get permission where needed, and put them where buyers make decisions.
Then meet people who will add to the pile. Columbus Marketing Organization is a peer community for marketers, freelancers, and service providers in Columbus, Ohio, founded by Andy Milligan. Members share leads, introductions, and job opportunities, including the weekly Columbus Marketing Jobs newsletter. See the next Columbus marketing event or join the community on Skool.
Social proof is the most compelling asset that you have in order to convince people that you are who you say you are and generate and accelerate the sales process.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get client testimonials if I have no clients yet?
Start with character testimonials. Andy Milligan suggests emailing friends and former coworkers who know your work ethic, explaining what you are starting, and asking for a few sentences about what you are like to work with. Most people who like you will gladly help, and it gives you social proof on day one.
How do I ask for testimonials without feeling awkward?
Do not ask for a testimonial at all. After a project, request a feedback call to improve your process and ask questions like what made the client choose you and what changed since. Happy clients say positive things naturally, then you follow up by email and ask permission to use their words.
Can I use LinkedIn comments as client testimonials?
Andy Milligan does. Public comments praising your work are already visible, so he reformats them with the person's photo, name, title, and quote. A short message letting the person know before you republish their comment is a courteous step that keeps the relationship strong and avoids surprises.
Are there rules for using testimonials in marketing?
Yes. The FTC's rule on consumer reviews and testimonials, in effect since October 2024, on consumer reviews and testimonials prohibits testimonials that misrepresent who wrote them or come from people without real experience with the business. Use genuine words from real clients, keep their meaning intact when you shorten them, and get permission before quoting private messages.
Read the video transcript
Kind: captions Language: en This is Andy and you stumbled across my channel where I teach you how I'm building a million-doll a year marketing services empire. Currently, I own three businesses. One is my design studio, MMG Design. We do web and SEO services for healthcare. Right now, this generates on aggregate between 10 and 30,000 per month over the last year. The CMO, which is my newest endeavor and is a supporting mechanism for my design studio. Columbus Marketing Organization or the CMO, which is the premier in-person networking events, mastermind groups for Columbus marketers. Also has a job board. And third is my podcast where I do business development and I interview, learn, and build relationships with leaders in the space that help me support my business efforts and all and all authoritate me as a thought leader. Today's video is going to be something I'm uniquely compelled to share because a lot of freelancers or marketers come to me saying that they don't have any testimonials or social proof. And I can say firsthand that having sold hundreds of thousands of dollars of marketing services that camera here that social proof is the most compelling asset that you have in order to convince people that you are who you say you are and generate and accelerate the sales process. So, I'm going to show a few things that have helped me and I'll show the examples of how I've abundantly used this on all my properties. So, this is my main studio website and it's absolutely littered with testimonials. Each of these logos right here link to a social proof case study. People can click into it and they can literally click in and learn more about the testimonial. So, not just a wall of logos. That's a great way to do it. Literally the third section on my website is in-depth quotable case studies where people can click in and learn more about them. Same effect. Also on this homepage here, we have just a wealth. We have an actual video testimonial from a client which we'll talk about. And we have just a whole testimonial wall, videos, backl people can go in and click into a profile about that person and just a stunning volume of social proof. Additionally, on the Columbus Marketing Organization website, you can see we have a remarkable amount of social proof as well in several different forms and places. We have a carousel. We have a nice little image right here. Another one right here at the bottom. And you might be thinking, man, I haven't been in it that long. Not that not that many people have verified these things, Andy. Like, how did you get this stuff? Did you do direct outreach to these people and ask them? I don't like doing that. That's uncomfortable. I'm going to show you guys. It's actually a lot easier than you think and the results of this has benefited to me has just done absolute wonders. So there's a few things that I want to share with you. Number one, you already have some. So if you don't have any direct customers that you provided out outcomes for, send a few emails asking for character testimonials. Say send an email to a friend that says, "Hey, I loved the work that we've done together. I'm starting this XYZ venture. could you say a a couple positive words about my character? They if you have any friends whatsoever and they like you at all, they'll be more than happy to do that for you. So, out of the gate, you should have several. In addition, you've definitely been missing a few as well. So, this was a post that I made for the newsletter kind of launching the Columbus Marketing Jobs newsletter, which serves as the top of funnel for the Columbus marketing organization. Within this in and of this is before I even built the website. I built this beehive newsletter in a weekend and then pushed a post about it. Had a nice little hook with the obviously very emotional post and you know photo that gets people's attention. And in this there are 47 comments of people. This rocks you know. I don't even go through all these. I freaking love that you're being a connector. Love this. Uh there's several more on here. Love the idea. Amazing work. There are great people out there. This helps connect them to those spots. This is an incredible idea. I'm in awe how much you do. So, all these things you might be thinking, "Wow, these are just static comments. I can't do anything with these. These are all your biggest sales assets. And once you start to see this, I'm telling you, you guys are going to start seeing it everywhere. A couple other things. When you have a meeting, so all of these I basically reformatted. Great idea. I've thanks to networking. You can literally take all of this. People have said this stuff online, so you already have their permission to use it and put them right here. Photos, actual quotes, names, job titles, stars. Share what the just bring to light the things that people have already said about you to the moment where it's appropriate for others to see it. So, that's a big part of that. Uh, another thing, if you do have a client, have a after you finish with a project-based engagement with a client, have a call with them. Say, "Hey, I would love to get on a call in order to get your feedback to help improve our process. It's remarkable helpful, remarkably helpful for us, and we want to see how we could continue to add more value in the future. You come ready with these questions and record this call and have a have a 10 question doc like this. What made you choose us over other options you considered? Walk me through what business felt like before versus now. Single biggest difference the new site has made. All of these questions that are not asking for a testimonial, but will lead them to a give you incredibly valuable feedback of your services and b also they're likely going to say very positive things as well. And you have that capture testimonial and then afterwards you send an email that says, "Hey, I love some of the things that you said today. Do you mind if I repurpose it for the case study on our website?" Guarantee they'll say yes. So that's the hardest thing to do. What makes it even easier is having a tool like Suna, which shout out to Sanja, not affiliated. I should definitely do some outreach and, you know, have them be a partner here. But this makes capturing testimonials remarkably easy. I have multiple forms built that you can send to guests. I send one to every single podcast guest, which by the way, if you guys haven't seen the podcast landing page, resources again, bombarded with social proof. Again, all of these collected from Senda videos. I am so big on social proof and that's why I'm so compelled to make this because all of you guys already have this stuff. You just need to bring it to light. Senda let you creates these forms which allows the opener of the form to capture testimonials. 17 of them here, four of them there. And I just do this stuff as an afterthought. So have something like that in your tool belt as well. And also within your emails, connect your Gmail account to Claude and ask it, have I received anything that I could use as a testimonial. This is a remarkable thing that you can do. It's a remarkable opportunity to not have to do this manually and sift through things. But I just got this email from Michelle and this is what prompted it to live to me. I'm so impressed. She just said this thing almost in passing and I almost missed it. I am so impressed by what you're building and how you're going about it. Your passion and energy are infectious and I love how you're connecting this community. That right away is something I can use for the Columbus Marketing Organization website. She owns an agency in Columbus and you know that's the stuff that you have to have an eye out for. So, pretty short video here, but I just want to say to you guys, this is your most powerful sales tool, you know, and it's also a good way to build your own confidence if you're someone that has imposter syndrome. Literally, look at this. I have a wall in my house where I have some of these things printed off. It's called my wall of awesome where you just reinforce and remind yourself that you are who you say you are. So, look for those testimonials, gain that sales credibility, and I'll see you guys in the next one. Cheers.