Marketing
Use customer testimonials. Real words, shared the right way.
Updated Oct. 4, 2026 · 8 minute read
Why testimonials work
Your customers can say what you can’t.
A testimonial is a customer’s own statement about their experience with a product or with you. When you say a product is great, people expect you to. When a neighbour says it, they listen.
In direct sales, testimonials do double duty. They help strangers trust a product they haven’t tried, and they remind people that buying from you comes with a real person: someone who answers questions, follows up and makes reordering easy.
They also come with rules. The Federal Trade Commission updated its Endorsement Guides in 2023, and a federal rule banning fake reviews and testimonials took effect on October 21, 2024. Both apply to independent consultants, not just big brands. The good news: if you collect real words from real customers and share them honestly, you’re most of the way there.
The short version
- Ask every customer, not just the ones you expect to rave.
- Get permission for where and how their words and photo appear.
- Never write, buy or invent a testimonial. The FTC can now seek civil penalties.
- Keep health and income claims out, even when a customer makes them.
How to ask
Collecting testimonials is mostly a matter of asking at the right moment.
Ask after they've used it
Ask everyone
Make it easy
Careful with rewards
Questions that get a useful answer
“Can you write me a testimonial?” usually gets “Love it!” These get specifics:
- What were you hoping the product would help with?
- What did you notice after using it for a few weeks?
- What would you tell a friend who's thinking about it?
- Is there anything you'd change?
Permission
Collect, get permission, check the claim, then share.
The flow above has two checkpoints. If the customer says no to sharing, or the testimonial makes a claim you can’t support, it stops there.
Permission is the step most consultants skip. A kind message in your inbox is not consent to put someone’s name and face in an ad. FTC guidance notes that people should know if their comments might be used in advertising, because that changes what they say. Using a person’s name or photo to promote something without consent can also raise state privacy and right-of-publicity problems.
Get the yes in writing. A text or email reply is enough; you don’t need a lawyer’s form. Keep it with the testimonial so you can find it later.
When you tidy up the wording, trim for length but never change the meaning. The FTC’s Endorsement Guides say an endorsement must reflect the honest opinion of the person giving it.
What to get a yes on
- Where it will appear: your posts, your website, a printed flyer, an email
- How they'll be named: full name, first name and town, or initials
- Whether you may use their photo or video
- That you may shorten it for length, but won't change what it means
- That they can ask you to take it down later, and you will
The FTC rules
What the law says about testimonials, in plain English.
The 2024 rule on fake reviews and testimonials
Announced August 14, 2024 and in effect since October 21, 2024, the FTC’s Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials lets the agency seek civil penalties against knowing violators. It prohibits:
- Fake reviews and testimonials, including AI-generated ones, or ones from people who never used the product
- Paying or rewarding someone for a review that must be positive (or negative)
- Insider reviews from officers or managers without disclosing the connection
- Company-controlled “independent” review sites
- Suppressing honest negative reviews with threats or false accusations
- Buying or selling fake followers, views or other social media indicators
The Endorsement Guides, revised 2023
- Typical results. If a testimonial shows results most people won’t get, you need to say clearly what people generally achieve, and have proof of it.
- No claims you can’t prove. A testimonial can’t say something you couldn’t say yourself without proof.
- Don’t cherry-pick. Showing only the five-star reviews, or sorting them so they come first, can give a misleading picture.
- Disclose connections. When you share your own experience as a consultant, make it clear you sell the product. That disclosure has to be clear and conspicuous, not buried in hashtags.
Individual experiences aren’t a substitute for scientific research.
Health claims are where consultants get into the most trouble. FTC guidance says health claims need competent and reliable scientific evidence, and a stack of glowing customer stories doesn’t count. If a customer says a product cured, treated or prevented anything, don’t share it.
Income claims are the other trap. The FTC’s guidance on multi-level marketing says truthful testimonials from people who earn large amounts are likely to be read as what others should expect. Our guide to telling direct sales from a pyramid scheme explains why regulators watch this closely.
Share it or skip it? (Illustrative examples)
Share it
“The candles burn evenly and the scent fills my whole living room.”
A real customer's experience with the product itself.
Skip it
“This lotion cleared up my eczema.”
A disease claim. Health claims need competent and reliable scientific evidence; one person's story isn't that.
Share it
“I love how quick the reorder is, and she always follows up.”
About your service. Easy to support, and true to what happened.
Skip it
“I joined her team and made $4,000 my first month!”
An earnings claim. Unless typical, it implies others should expect it. Show what participants typically earn instead, or don't use it.
Share it
“She sent a handwritten thank-you and checked that my order arrived.”
Specific, about your service, and something you can keep doing for every customer.
Skip it
“Lost 20 pounds in a month!”
A dramatic result that isn't typical needs proof and a clear statement of what people generally achieve. Most consultants should skip it.
These are made-up examples written to show the difference, not real customer quotes. Your company’s policies may be stricter, and many companies publish approved product claims. Check them before you post.
Let people see who they're buying from.
Keep reading
More marketing guides
New to direct sales? Start with What is Direct Sales?, Direct Sales 101 and Direct Sales vs Pyramid Schemes, or browse all articles.
