Ever stumble across perfect specimens of social proof online and wonder how the businesses behind them managed to pull that out of their customers?
“WHAT QUESTIONS DID THEY ASK?
ARE THEIR CLIENTS JUST SUPER SWITCHED ON AS TO WHAT MAKES A POWERFUL TESTIMONIAL?
MOST IMPORTANTLY,
" Why isn’t MY social proof like that ??? "
Ok, so if you’re honest,
it *could* be that you don’t actually ask for it...
Because:
✘ You feel really awkward about, you know... bothering people
✘ It’s a manual, time-consuming process, and it’s *not* baked into your workflow
✘ You have no idea when to do it or what questions to ask to get “gimmie that thing now” type responses
✘ You struggle with asking people whether you can use the proof, so the whole exercise seems kinda pointless
✘ You’re hopelessly humble, the worst sales person of your own work, and worry that you haven’t *really* impressed the people you serve… at least not enough that they’d be willing to be the face of your reviews
Or, that when you do ask, the responses are DEFINITIVELY lacklustre
Or because the ones you do get:
✘ Kinda… damn with faint praise
✘ Don’t provide any metrics or *actual* results
✘ Are in such a formal register that all the enthusiasm is stripped out
✘ All say the same non-specific things about how “it was nice to work with you...”
✘ Don’t match the level of excitement or offer the same kind of juicy insights you get through less formal interactions, even when they’re coming from exactly the same person
Either because you don’t actually get any…
SOCIAL PROOF SIDEKICK
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SOCIAL PROOF SIDEKICK ✹
Add to this the fact that you don’t have any real strategy behind sharing the proof you *do* have, and you’re at a bit of a dead end…
Which sucks, because you have an inkling solid social proof would help you...
✔ Sell big-ticket offers
✔ Land more ideal clients!
✔ Communicate your value WAY more clearly
✔ Bump up the conversions on your sales page
✔ Increase your product sales so you can take time off
✔ Prove you’re worth the investment with some crazy good stats on ROI
✔ Nail your positioning so your offer stands out from the 21,000 competitors clogging up your space
✔ Have someone land on your website and be like “damn, she must be GOOD” and be all in from there
✔ Make your new service a success from the beginning, in a way that fits with your growth plans, boundary plans, and delivering-super-value plans
✔ Squash the fear of failure and imposter syndrome that comes from thoughts like "what if the participants think this is bullshit?" or "they for sure already know all of this, why would they pay me?", because you have evidence to the contrary
MIND BLOWN
🤯
MIND BLOWN 🤯
HANG ON…
Social proof can do ALL OF THAT ☝🏻 ?!?”
YES, YES IT CAN. YOU JUST NEED TO KNOW HOW TO COLLECT THE *GOOD* STUFF AND PUT IT TO USE STRATEGICALLY.
Hey, I’m Kirsty—
LAUNCH COPYWRITER, EX-PSYCHOTHERAPIST, AND SOCIAL PROOF FIEND.
Really!
I USE SOCIAL PROOF EVERYWHERE IN MY BUSINESS.
It’s front and centre in my work with 1:1 clients (for real: I’ve NEVER met a copy asset I couldn’t optimise with more strategic proof!) and front and centre in my own offers, whether that’s on a sales page like this one (*ooo* meta) or behind-the-scenes, in proposals and back-and-forth email exchanges with people who are on the fence about whether or not to buy.
THING IS, IT’S MAGIC—
ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IT NEEDS TO DO, AT WHAT POINT, TO HELP YOU MAKE THE SALE.
Because, once you have your head around that, you start to wield your social proof with the kind of purpose that takes it from a checkbox task to a strategic tool that does the selling for you—
Something that helps explain why I’ve been booked out 6 to 10 months in advance for 1:1 work since 2019 *and* have managed to make more than 6-figures a year outside of that client work by launching my own programs and products… to a teeny tiny list that’s *just* hit 900 humans.
PRETTY NIFTY, HUH?
Anywhoo, I looked around my little corner of the online world last year and was like, “hang on… why is no-one teaching the STRATEGY behind social proof? And why the bloody hell are we still stuck on the idea that social proof is something you can master with generic testimonials?? THERE’S SO MUCH MORE TO IT!”
And here we are 😉
Social Proof Sidekick
Everything you need to collect, select, and leverage social proof to sell more stuff to the right people
Introducing the…
And by ‘everything’ I mean… well, ALL of it, from:
→ the psychology behind why social proof is so effective (because when you understand that, your ability to apply it in YOUR business increases exponentially), to
→ fully customisable tools that make it easy to collect the kind of proof that will have your ideal prospect confidently hitting that buy button, and
→ a stack of real-life, annotated examples of how to leverage that proof most effectively — regardless of whether you’re selling digital products, 1:1 services, online courses, or things that arrive in the post.
In other words, the stuff that helps you get real results.
Really! Look👇🏻
Want these kinds of shifts in your business?
Everything inside the Social Proof Sidekick is built to get you doing the thing as quickly and easily as possible
WHICH MEANS YOU DON’T NEED HUGE CHUNKS OF TIME TO PUT IT TO WORK
The whole idea is that you can navigate to the piece you need when you need it, *without* having to log in to anything, scan through videos, or refer to notes. Plus! It has interactive tools that help you do the thing right then and there, which, of course, makes it far more likely that you actually will.
Here are some of my existing Proofers’ favourite bits
SO. MANY. REAL-LIFE. EXAMPLES. Complete with notes so you can see what’s going on where, and why
Expect annotated examples across the whole ‘collect, select, and leverage’ process, from feedback surveys to how proof appears in public forums (like sales pages and social media) and private conversations (like 1:1 selling), and even a full ‘Go to Whoa’ example that shows you how I used raw data from one survey response across a number of points in a sales funnel, including the sales page, launch emails, checkout page, social media, and the beta launch of an entirely different program.
The handy, spandy Build-A-Survey tool
Don’t know what questions to ask to get the good stuff or how to motivate people to *actually* respond? This piece of wizardry tackles the task for you, helping you build a bloody good survey in a matter of minutes. Just follow the prompts, add in the bits and bobs that are relevant to your offer, and this tool pulls it all together into a survey you can literally copy-paste directly into your survey platform, ready to send.
Foolproof scripts to help you get permission to use ‘unprompted social proof’ (aka all that good stuff your clients and customers share with you off-the-cuff in emails, on social media, and inside your group programs)
If you’ve ever felt awkward about making this particular ask, you’ll love these! Simply tweak ‘em so they sound like you, then copy-paste the tweaked version into your email, DM, or Slack channel — wherever you’re having the conversation you want to capture now and leverage later on.
A use case section that steps you through specific challenges, like proving a beta offer, proving an offer in a crowded market, and proving intangible outcomes
Expect strategic insights, specific instructions, and a whole bunch of examples that bring it all to life. And yep, you’re free to take as much inspiration from these as you need!
AND THAT’S JUST SCRATCHING THE SURFACE…
Here’s a peek at what it all looks like
In all honesty, when I opened the document and saw 97 pages, I thought: "Geez Fanton, how can you write THIS much on just social proof?!" But NOW (after working my way through the doc)... I get it.
It's 97 pages of social proof perfection - the perfect balance of theory, application, and examples.
I'll be printing the first section and keeping it on my desk (for reals).”
-NIKITA MORELL, COPYWRITER FOR ARCHITECTS
“The look & feel & usability of this document is pure gold.
“The build-a-survey tool was freaking amazing.
Having something so tangible and actionable to walk away with really helps overcome action-taking inertia. (You know, that thing where you take in 100 different online courses/PDFs/webinars but can't work out the steps for *doing* anything with what you learn. With a ready-to-go survey I can plug into my systems, I'm definitely taking action this time!)
The same goes for the scripts for requesting permission to use social proof.
The examples scattered throughout of how you use social proof on your sales pages, along with the section on leveraging proof, gave me stacks of ideas about how to better leverage proof on my own sales pages.
And... the section on proving intangible outcomes was gold for me, as someone who sells something as intangible as productivity, and the confidence, headspace, and calm that comes with it.
I often find myself disappointed when I buy something only to find it adds to my store of intangible knowledge without necessarily helping me *do* something with that knowledge.
It is so easy to take action on this.
Plus, a lot of that action takes the format of actions that can be done once, or folded into repeatable processes.
Set up a survey once, and automate its distribution. Save a script to your templates, and use it over and over again. Add social proof to a sales page using the best principles, and it will be there until you stop selling the thing.
As a productivity expert, I'm a big fan of that.”
-CHRISTINA MAJOINEN, PRODUCTIVITY COACH
Wanna know the best thing about the fact you’re here right now?
SINCE THE SIDEKICK IS DESIGNED TO GET YOU DOING THE THING ASAP, YOU’RE
PERFECTLY POSITIONED TO GET REAL, TANGIBLE ROI BEFORE YOU GO TO BED TONIGHT
Those customer surveys you need to create?
Done in 10 minutes, thanks to the Build-A-Survey Tool.
A non-awkward request to use the juicy bits of proof that land in your inbox or DMs to help you sell your offer? It’s a 2 minute task, thanks to the permission script on page 35.
Clear instructions and real-life examples of how to put your new proof to work to make it really easy for the right people to say yes to your offers?
You’ll find that in the section that starts on page 39.
Plus, to sweeten the deal, you also get a bonus workshop that shows you how to embed the collection of social proof into your workflow moving forward.
If tech, timing the ask, and knowing how to follow-up with your non-responders are sticking points for you, this will be RIGHT up your alley.
All you’ve got to do is click one of the big orange buttons on this page
Price includes GST for Australian customers
I MEAN, THAT’S DEFINITELY A HUGE PIECE OF IT, BUT IT’S WHAT YOU *DO* WITH THAT PROOF THAT WILL SHIFT YOUR BUSINESS IN GLORIOUS WAYS
Imagine if you had…
Clarity around why people are (and aren’t!) buying your offers
Insight into how your stuff stacks up against your competitors’
The *exact* words and phrases to shift your positioning into alignment
The confidence that comes from knowing what you put out into the world has real, genuine value
And (since you’re using other people’s honest words to take care of the selling), the freedom that comes with knowing you never have to toot your own horn
Those are some pretty significant tools for change, amirite?
Juuuust in case you’re thinking the glory of the Sidekick starts and ends with the fact it helps you collect the kind of social proof that does the selling for you — it doesn’t
Welp, that’s exactly what happens as soon as you get quality social proof in your hot little hands… but it’s still just the beginning—
Because once THOSE pieces are in play…
You do better work
You successfully raise your rates
You start to land more ideal clients and connect with more ideal customers
Your brand new offer takes off right from the get-go
Your online course has its most successful launch yet
Your product winds its way into the hands of more of the right people
Your ideal customers start to seek YOU out (after all, social proof is word of mouth at scale 😉)
And your business starts to work better for you, putting more money in your bank account, allowing you to take more time away from your laptop, and creating a bigger sphere of impact
That there is precisely what happens when you leverage all your social proof strategically — with the help of the Social Proof Sidekick.
Fact is,
selling more stuff, more easily leads to the biggest,
most delicious kinds of shifts in business…
AND NAILING YOUR SOCIAL PROOF WILL HELP YOU GET THERE
STILL HERE, HUH?
You’re either really enjoying my gif choices
(*tips hat*) or you’re stuck on one of these thoughts…
“Will I *really* use this? I get that it’s interactive and everything, but… I dunno.
I’ve been stung before.”
Hey, I get it! I’ve got my share of regrettable purchases in the ol’ business toolbox too —
you know, the kind you open once… and never look at again 😬
I actually ask the legends who buy the Sidekick a question to help me gauge this. Here it is, along with some of their responses, screenshotted directly from the feedback form:
SOCIAL PROOF SIDEKICK
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SOCIAL PROOF SIDEKICK ✹
While you’re here, it’s worth pointing out that the juiciness of these responses might be further proof of the value of the Social Proof Sidekick itself…
Because you bet I used the Build-A-Survey tool from p.21 to create this survey. And it’s full of responses laced with pure gold glory nuggets (the very same ones you see scattered all over this here page), along with permission to use them.
How’s THAT for proof ;)
“Ok, ok point made. But how do I know everything inside will be relevant to MY business?”
Simple! If you sell stuff on the internet *or* help other people sell stuff on the internet, it will be, regardless of whether you’re:
A fellow copywriter, looking to use it to ace your client projects
Someone who sells 1:1 services, like web design, massage, pet-sitting, or podcast editing
An online course creator who wants to persuade more of the right people off the fence and into your programs
The owner of a service *or* product-based business on the cusp of launching something new, and want to do everything you can to make sure it hits the mark and sells gloriously well from the get-go
The brains behind an eCommerce biz, and you want to optimise your reviews, check-out pages, and abandoned cart sequences, *and* lift conversions through social media
I have a sense a lot of what’s inside would also be useful for bricks and mortar folk, but the fact is I don’t have any proof of that, and I’d much rather err on the side of caution. So, if all your selling happens face-to-face, sit this one out.
“Ok, cool. Next question… will the Sidekick help me overcome the ‘ick’ factor in asking for proof? And the mindset stuff involved in putting it out there, for the world to see? Because both of those are HUGE blocks for me.”
Oh, I love this question! These are huge blocks for a LOT of online business owners, and I knew that when I created the Sidekick.
I could list all the ways it addresses the mindset gunk, but I’m going to let some of my existing customers tackle the task for me.
Cool? Cool.
I feel excited to ask for feedback now — the way you have helped me to structure it in a way that’s beneficial for both parties and can have a huge impact on my sales moving forward.
I have three different products I'm going to send questionnaires out for feedback, made so easy now with the features in the Social Proof Sidekick. I've never used a document like this one where it pulls everything together and you can copy and paste.
I’m going to be using it like a bible over the coming weeks. So many tips and tricks.
I'm often nervous to share testimonials at the risk of sounding like I'm blowing my own trumpet, but it feels like a no brainer now.
I wasn't expecting it and I literally thought, gosh what other genius products does Kirsty sell that I need to buy to get me over copy hurdles.”
- SOPHIE WALKER, PODCAST HOST + COURSE CREATOR
“ I had been stuck in a downward spiral of sending a request for feedback > not getting useful feedback or any feedback at all > not asking for feedback."
“Selling with integrity is one of my core values and I love how integrity runs deep throughout; it’s always about consent, and no sneaky repurposing to change meaning.
Some specific highlights:
- The request for permission, even when using screenshots of feedback given publicly
- The way that asking for feedback has been laid out feels very non-threatening
- Love the real-world example of how you took feedback you were given in raw form and then how you used that as polished social proof, on repeat and in different mediums
- I now know what proof points I'm looking for and so I know the questions to ask to get me there. That’s not to say that I can in any way manipulate their feedback; it just means I’ve got some strategy behind my line of enquiry.”
- KELLY EAMENS, CONVERSION COPYWRITER
I used to have 1 lone feedback form. I didn't know what else to ask. As soon as I opened the workbook, I could see how I could (and should) craft new forms for each service I offer.
Now, I have a number of forms that feel perfectly tailored for what I need both in terms of a) improving my service and b) sharing the benefits of my services with others, in the words of people who have been there, done that.
I've done the work, so I'm excited to send out requests for feedback.
I feel more confident in how I might use the feedback as it comes back. I've only had one response so far, but I think it's the most in-depth piece of feedback - and the best social proof - I've ever received.”
- SARAH STANFORD, CONTENT DESIGNER
“I currently have loads of social proof through podcast reviews and daily instagram messages, however I have been too shy to put a formal ask together in an email to get meaningful testimonials which I can use to help to sell.
“Ok, point made! Last question…
I already know how to use testimonials pretty effectively, so I don’t need this, right?”
That depends on how well those testimonials are serving you…
If you’re selling your offers easily *and* attracting the right people (i.e. clients you’re excited to work with or customers who don’t request refunds), that’s great!! You don’t need the Sidekick, because your social proof is already allowing you to hit your goals.
On the other hand, if selling still feels effortful *or* you’re consistently attracting the wrong people, that’s a very good sign the Sidekick will actually help (in fact, it’s the problem it’s designed to solve… hence the subtitle). It’s also worth noting that testimonials are only PART of the social proof puzzle, and it’s usually when you discover the other pieces that you start seeing much better results.
If it helps, a lot of other people have had this EXACT same question…
And have gone on to buy the Sidekick, and be bloody stoked they did. Here are snippets from a couple of them, to help you make the call.
And with that, the ball’s in your court, boo 😉
If you’re confident you’re already getting the most out of your social proof, that’s great! You don’t need the Sidekick. High-five yourself and be on your way.
On the other hand…
If a lack of know-how, tools, and confidence are making your social proof game… well, a little underwhelming,
there’s quite literally no better time to buy.
Because the sooner you start optimising your proof, the sooner you’ll get results.
So, you ready to get started?
Price includes GST for Australian customers
OH, NOTHING TO SEE HERE...
Just a last-minute peek at your potential very-near future
FAQs
“How many pages is this bad girl?”
97. But I *wonder* if the question you’re really trying to answer is “how valuable is this?”. And hey, I get it! PDFs aren’t typically thought of as game-changing business tools. So let’s chat about why I made this a PDF as opposed to an online course or a workshop (because yep! It was a deliberate decision). The whole idea is that you can navigate to the piece you need when you need it, *without* having to log in to anything, scan through videos, or refer to notes. Plus! It has interactive tools that help you do the thing right then and there, which, of course, makes it far more likely that you actually will. It’s also worth noting that 53 of the 97 pages are annotated examples to help make everything I show you crystal-clear. In other words, don’t be worried you’ll be greeted with a GIANT WALL OF TEXT or a stodgy pile of unactionable theory 😉
“I’m an {insert your biz type here}… is this for me?”
If you sell stuff on the internet *or* help other people sell stuff on the internet, yes. If you’re a bricks and mortar business, no. If you want to be super duper sure, shimmy an email to support@kirstyfanton.com and my VA or I will give it to you straight.
“I’m a fellow copywriter. Will the Social Proof Sidekick help with my client projects?”
It sure will! Not only will it make the voice of customer collection process easier (thanks to the Build-A-Survey tool) while simultaneously building a big ol’ pile of proof you can pull from as you go and write the copy, it will also give you the words and strategic intel to justify what you’re doing, so you can show up like an expert and get your clients’ buy-in. Then, once your project is done, you’ll be able to capture social proof for your own business — the kind that will help you sell more of your services to the kinda people you *really* want to work with.
“How practical is it?”
Extremely. Everything inside is built to get you DOING THE THING as quickly and easily as possible. So, while there is a learning piece to it, the knowledge element is just enough for you to understand what you’re doing and why, so you can apply those new nuggets with confidence.
“How much time do I need to dive into it properly?”
It depends how you want to use it! If you want to read it through from start to finish, it’ll take you 1.5 to 2 hours. If you want to jump in and create a survey, it’ll take about 10 minutes. If you need to pull out one of the permission scripts, that’s a 2 minute task, and if you want to get your head around a specific use case, like how to prove a beta offer, I reckon you’ll need half-an-hour to sponge up all the goodness in that section and another 2 to 3 to put everything into action.
“I’ve done Brain Camp… will anything here be new?”
Yep! This Sidekick is a DEEP DIVE into the world of social proof, so while a few things will be familiar (hello, framing and question skills!), the bulk of it will be fresh. There’s new intel, shiny tools to support the application of that intel, and a stack of annotated examples you won’t find in Camp.
“Will this help me write better copy?”
Indirectly, yes. While the focus is FIRMLY on how to collect, select, and leverage social proof, you’ll also see how to turn your raw data into the kind of persuasive assets that take your copy up a level or two. For example, there’s intel on how to position a beta offer (with copy you’re welcome to pinch!), examples of launch emails that help your offer stand out in a crowded market, instructions on what kind of messaging to include when, and a bunch more insights to help give you a fuller picture.
“Is there any kind of guarantee?”
Since this is a digital product and you get it in your hot little hands as soon as you checkout, all sales are final. Rest assured it’s been tested within an inch of its life to make sure it works like a dream — both in terms of functionality and delivering the promised outcomes.
“The interactive tools in this thing sound fancy. Do I need any special software to use it?”
Nope — just Adobe Reader, which works on Mac and PC and costs precisely $0 to install. If you don’t already have it on your computer, the link to download it is waiting for you in your welcome email 😉
“Gah! I still can’t decide…”
“I’ve got another question…”
Great! Questions are legitimately my fave, so shimmy it to me here or send me a DM on the ‘gram, and I’ll get back to you ASAP.