In the
> bulk of the so-called
> "newsletters" I get, the
> testimonials are from the other gurus. They
> just each create something, then get the
> other "gurus" to give a
> testimonial as to why I should buy it.

Some "gurus" do it this way. They are indiscriminate in their praise, with the result that their praise comes to mean very little. However, my policy is never to provide a testimonial for something I have not read in full and can endorse in full. This has earned me some enemies who don't understand why I can't endorse something shoddy! On the other hand, some people have been very gracious and understanding when I have said "Sorry, I'm just not comfortable with this approach" or "I can't endorse something filled with so many typos and grammar mistakes."

In the latter case, there was one instance where a writing coach, no less, came back at me twice more with revisions. "How about now?" It was still a mess with spelling mistakes after she had supposedly fixed it. I noticed on her Web site, though, that many of my colleagues had written blurbs for her.

Not all of us "gurus" operate the same way on this!


Learn to write meatier, more effective testimonials