Why do freelancers need testimonials?

All freelancers can benefit from having testimonials and recommendations for their work. Just as you wouldn’t hire someone as an employee until you did a few reference checks, you also want to make sure that your freelancer is highly recommended by their past clients.

Getting freelance gigs is a little bit different with each client. Some potential clients want to see resumes and do reference checks; other potential clients want to see writing/editing samples and testimonials; and still other clients want to get started based on what they already know about you (which is where a blog can come in handy! Blogs are awesome for getting to know people and to provide potential clients with the opportunity to see your personality and writing style). All of these are great! They’re just different. And that means that as freelancers, we have to always be prepared for any of these avenues.

This is one of the reasons why testimonials are so useful. If you’re connecting with potential clients fairly regularly, it’s a little inconvenient to constantly check back with past references if it’s okay that you use them yet again as a reference. I’m sure none of them mind – but you start to feel rather silly when you’re constantly giving your references the heads up that they might be contacted about such-and-such a gig.

Nowadays, when potential clients ask me for references, I direct them to my Testimonials page. I always let the potential client know that I’m happy to provide them with references as well if they want references in addition to the testimonials, but only one person has ever requested contacting a reference on top of seeing my testimonials page.

On a side note, I’d also like to point out that LinkedIn is a nice option for a resume. I’ve had a fair amount of clients look me up on LinkedIn before connecting with me (or at around the same time that they connect with me), and it’s a nice way for them to gauge my style and expertise before moving forward. Although as a freelancer you have clients rather than employers, people still like to be able to see the work you have done in the past, and an online resume is a great way to showcase this. The point is, the more options that you can have online, the easier it is for potential clients to determine whether you’re the right person for the job.

Even if you only have three or four testimonials, if they are from the right clients and they provide enough detail about the type of person you are and about your work quality and ethic, they can make a huge difference to your business. Start out with a few testimonials and build them from there!

Next week, I’ll address the issue of how to ask for testimonials from clients.

If you’re a freelancer, do you try to get testimonials from clients? Do you think they’re important for illustrating who you are and what you do best?

If you’ve hired a freelancer, are testimonials and references important to you? Do they help you make up your mind about who to hire? Share in the comments section below!