Use a client testimonial to create a case study page on your website
See how you can expertly highlight client testimonials for your holistic business.
You may not even remember how you landed here, but buckle up, friend!
Welcome to the land of the best way to share client testimonials—client case study pages.
(An idea I’ve kept locked in my SEO Copywriter Tools & Tricks Bag for far too long.)
Scroll on if you wanna see me spill the secrets!
Let’s start at the beginning—by diving into what makes a case study different from a client testimonial.
What is a client case study?
In its most basic form, a client case study is the story of—
How your client came to be your client + how you helped their business + their wins since working with you.
This story—these case studies—are often boring, dull, & dry. They’re lifeless & fall flat. You might hear one thrown around during a webinar you’re listening to. Or maybe it’s told in a way that puts you right back in Professor Alton’s 8am Chemistry lecture.
*Yawn*
Client case study pages may be of interest to you IF—
you’d like to share a personable tale about one of your most favorite clients!
you want to highlight one of your course participants.
or you think one of your people’s stories just needs to be told!
You see… Research already shows that people really like client testimonials (56% of people find testimonials helpful—according to Animoto). Say it with me now—”Oh yeah!”
And—9 out of 10 people say they trust what a client says about a business WAY more than what a business says about itself (thanks for that Wyzowl).
In conclusion, client testimonials matter.
But so does the way you share them, my friend! Which is where these client case study pages come in to help you—like Flynn helped Rapunzel in Tangled.
What should be included in a client case study page?
Your next question is very likely “What do I need to include in this case study page?” (a very good one, but we also don’t believe in dumb questions ‘round here)
And to that I say—I have a list for you!
Start with client testimonial examples on your website.
Find inspiration where you can! Maybe a client story doesn’t immediately come to mind (like it did for me when I was thinking through which client story to feature).In that case—start scrolling through your site or your testimonials folder in your Google Drive.
What testimonials are you already using?
What seems to resonate with readers?
Are you feeling strong emotions about any particular person or story?
If you’re struggling to choose a story, remember—you just need to start. Pick a client, highlight their story, & add more as you go!A clear & concise story about 1 client.
Now, friend—this story you share needs to check off a few boxes. It needs to be:
○ Clear—You must follow 1 train of thought through the entire page.
Outline the story you’re going to tell from beginning to end (a tip I took from my nonfiction author coach boyfriend, Dan Tortora). Focus on what their life was like before meeting you, how they met you, what you worked on together, & what their life is like now. Hone in on those emotions & results & Bam!—you’ve got yourself a client story page.
○ Concise—If you make the story complicated, you’ll lose your reader.
Stick to that outline—no matter how hard it is. And work to write in an uncomplicated manner. One of my favorite tools to use when writing is Hemingway App.
(It’s not an actual app. It’s software that lives on a website & exists to make your writing even more crisp.)
Pro tip: write whatever you’re gonna write, then drop it all into Hemingway App, & watch the magic happen!
○ & it needs to Connect—by following ↑ those 2 steps, you will absolutely connect with your reader.
If you need some mantras to repeat while writing, here you are:
○ Clear over clever.
○ Concise over cluttered.A beginning—How did this client find you? Why did they trust you & want to work with you?
Pretty much all service providers I’ve ever worked with want to know how we met. (And, honestly, I don’t always remember!)
The reason for this question is equally selfish—& not selfish. We love working with you so much—that we want to know where we can find your twin! Aaand it helps us focus our marketing efforts.
In the case of this client case study story—it helps to know where to start the story.
But, of course, you can beef it up! You could launch into what about you or your offer the client was drawn to. This will help you know what’s working & it will help the reader begin to trust you too.A middle—What did they like about you & your offer? How was their experience with you?
This will likely be the meat & potatoes of your client story page. It allows you to go into as much detail as you’d like about your offer, your process, & the client experience you provide.
You probably have quotes from your client to sprinkle into this section. (Use them strategically!)
Maybe they shared what they loved about your process or something about your personality.
Remember—People want to be able to see themselves in the story, so spend time highlighting what your client liked about you, your work, & their experience.An end—What wins have they experienced since working with you? How has this thing you helped them with impacted them & their business?
I don’t know about you, but when a copywriting project comes to a close with my holistic business peeps, I send them a quick client testimonial questionnaire (← like this). The template has a few questions & feels like Mad Libs-meets-testimonials.
This has worked so well for my clients because they’re busy people! The questionnaire is quick & easy.
And it works for me because I get 1-liners I can use strategically on my website & in my social media posts.
The point is → you want to be able to highlight client wins since working with you. Expand on the successes they’re having (be it an internal win like “increased confidence” or external win like “my calendar is booked solid for a month!”).
You can even go into the specifics of (or hypothesizing) how what you did helped create a solid foundation for this win. (Might not always be applicable, but it is sometimes!)Honorable mention: Don’t forget the pictures!
People are always always always looking for human connections. One way they quickly scan to find that on a website is with photography.
It’s also pretty well known that people trust testimonials (or stories) when they see the person’s face.
Heard of the DISC personality assessment? I use it with just about all of my quizzes & one personality in particular loves them some faces with testimonials! In fact… they likely they won’t buy if they don’t see a face with a client quote.
So—get some photos!Bonus points: Include a video testimonial with this client.
I know, I know—but hear me out my introverted friends. 47% of people say testimonial videos are effective because they help visualize how a product or service will work (Wyzowl).
As an introvert myself, being on camera made me turn 50 shades of red. (Not joking here. I’m as pale as pale can get & I turn bright red with sunshine, attention, or anger. And being on camera totes falls into the “attention” bucket.) What helped me move past that, was realizing that people don’t care what I look like—they care about what I’m saying!
And as my friend Brenna McGowan (a pre-launch strategist) says… When people are looking into a program, service, course, or membership—they want to be able to picture themselves in there.
You can do that with words …sure! But a video clip of that client talking to the camera or talking with you on a live—ugh! THAT—is gold.
How do you share a case study page for your business?
First things first—write the client story you’re going to highlight as a case study.
Then—you get to have fun creating an organic marketing plan for it!
Ideally, you will use something to help you research & organize your SEO keywords & phrases.
(Ahem, excuse me for one moment while I point you in the direction of my One-Stop SEO Cheat Sheet.)
SEO is a critical part of any organic marketing plan. The sheet will direct you to resources for research, organization, & integration (actually putting those bad boys to use on this living, breathing testimonial page).
Once you’ve optimized this web page, think through where you can talk about it!
Your first thought should be: your own website!
Where can you insert links on your site to direct traffic to that page?
Maybe you have blog posts that relate to this client story. Or perhaps you get readers from your services page to this testimonial page.
Next stop—social media!
I’m a big—like, GIANT—fan of Instagram & Pinterest.
If you are too, brainstorm a posting frequency that feels good! Do you want to share this client story once a month? Once a week? (Don’t look at me! You do you, boo.)
The point here is to talk. about. this. page. It’s not going to be living in your navigation bar (the top bar of your site), so you have to direct people to it.
You could link this client case study page in your Instagram bio link, or send people there from a Pinterest pin, or even (think “repurpose” here…) create a Reel on Instagram—download it & share it over on Pinterest!
(I’ll dive into why exactly I love Instagram & Pinterest so much another day—for now, I digress.)
In addition to all the things you can do, run through your mental Rolodex of who else can help you promote this page.
You for sure know of 1 person—the client you’re featuring on this page!
Throughout this process, you should keep this client updated. (I mean, who doesn’t love knowing their story is getting highlighted?!)
And if you haven’t followed up with them in a little while, ask if they’ve had any additional wins. I can almost promise you they’re going to be thrilled knowing you care enough about them to feature their story and they will probably have an update for you.
Other people who could help you promote this client case study page:
Business friends who see the value you provide
Anyone in your network who already refers clients to you
Someone featuring you in an article would most likely love to share this
What to do if you’re still confused or don’t want to write your client case study page?
Call me! Seriously—this is a service I provide. An offer I love with my entire Ted Lasso sized heart.
Holistic healthcare professionals call me when they’re ready to make sure they show up as the answer to a Googled question & fill their businesses with clients that feel like friends.
So… if you’re simply confused & could use a lil clarification—leave a comment or email me!
If you know this is something you would pay someone to take off your plate—holla! By way of filling out this inquiry form.
Looking for more info about SEO? You might find this SEO Tutorial helpful.