Testimonials for your spec portfolio

I'm currently working on writing some spec ads for my portfolio to go on my future web site. Not projects I'm doing for free for someone else, but pieces for things that I like that show off my work.

Testimonials are always a good thing to have, so I hit on the idea to use some amazon reviews for mine. If the item you're writing on is a physical object and is reasonably popular, odds are there will be some favorable reviews that you can quote for that authentic feel. Make up a name if the reviewer only used a handle.

Just something I thought I'd toss out there for the other newbs.

 

Making up names or anything else for testimonials is dishonest, and sets you off to a bad start in building a legitimate reputation. If that person wouldn't let you give their information for a personal review, you shouldn't be using their words as a testimonial... ever.

 

Yes, you should definitely plagiarize someone else's review that they wrote for a product and use it in your 'pretend writing' for your portfolio. Really though, why stop there? Why not just go to another writer's website and take their work and pretend you did it? And then, when you get a writing gig, why don't you just copy and paste stuff from other websites to create your article for the gig? It's so easy to be a writer, anyone can do it. Oh and also, why not just take your neighbor's car around the block for a spin and go the store and take some food? I mean, the world is just a free-for-all of crap that someone else worked on or for and that you should just go ahead and take.

You should probably go away now if that's the type of advice you are going to offer.

 

Would I use fake testimonials or reviews without permission for a real piece of copy? No, I absolutely would not. Nor would I steal someone else's articles, web site, or their car. That's why I specifically mentioned it for spec portfolios. I just didn't think I could write decent testimonials for spec examples and thought using a few lines from some public reviews might be a good alternative. Since some products only have a few reviews and most amazon users don't use their real names, that is why I mentioned changing the names. Before you jump all over me for making up testimonials, keep in mind that this was for FAKE examples that would only appear in a portfolio and would be replaced.

If it's bad advice, then I apologize. I recind the advice and forget I said anything. I'll find something else to use instead of a testimonial.

As far as using other peoples' writing though, if it's such a no-no, then why does most every copywriting book and web page encourage others to keep 'swipe files' of ads that worked? Headlines especially. People also recommend rewriting bad clickbank pages, and even Bob Bly (or maybe it was Bowerman) recommends taking bad sales letters or advertisements and rewriting them for a portfolio.

 

It concerns me that you don't see this as wrong. I understood that these were sample pieces. Why would you show a client that you steal the work of others on sample pieces? Why not just write a sample piece on something you can provide a testimonial for? That your first thought is to take something someone else worked on is disconcerting.

As for a "swipe" file, I've never read that in any copywriting book. If anything, I can see keeping samples of good stuff to learn from or develop technique from, but not to just take their words. I'm not trying to be unreasonably rude, but do you really think that copywriters are suggesting to you in their books that you steal others' work?

 

Hesser- Swipe files are not literally for swipe. They are for inspiration. They show you how a strategy was translated into a emotional appeal to a target audience. I come from an ad agency background and we would get the advertising award annuals. No one would dare steal from these since they are international publications and it would be obvious. But we used them to nudge our thinking past the generic and expected. Many times you can read something and it inspires you and you end up with something that is nothing like what inspired you except that it might be eye-catching and inspire a follow through. Many times people use swipe files to study bullet points or some other element.

As for testimonials, I would not advise using them for your spec. You are not really seeing the correlation between using it for 'real' work and spec work but it's not ethical. And I'm not accusing you of embarking on the idea with the idea that you are trying to be unethical.

I usually send clients an invitation via iVouch to get my testimonials. Most do it but then others forget. But they are typed in the client's own words so I can't edit them. And, yes, someone could leave a bad review. But by doing it this way I feel like I've advertised my accountability. And there are some checks and balances against someone simply leaving one out of spite.

 

Webgal covered the swipe file issue perfectly. Re-read those copywriting books mentioning that, and you should get a better feel for things on that front.

As for the testimonials being for mock pieces (not called "spec" pieces), it's still absolutely wrong. A mock piece isn't "fake." It's real copy you've written that won't actually be used (may be created for your own company or another organization). You never, ever, under any circumstances should steal anything and portray it as legitimate - if you put a mock piece in your portfolio do it without testimonials and label it as such if you want to be transparent. But never lie, and never include anything false, especially if it could be misconstrued as legitimate by an unsuspecting client. That isn't how you want to start off any professional relationship.

 

I figured a public review is a public review for anyone to see. I've written public reviews, and I wouldn't mind if someone used a few lines from my reviews. Maybe that's just me, though. A lot of catalogs I've seen use product reviews taken from their web site. Cabela's catalog comes to mind. I think they might have a disclaimer on their site stating that by leaving a review you agree to have it published.

Would I do that for real copy? No, but apparently some people have. I remember the writer of the X-Entertainment blog got a line from his review of a movie quoted on the DVD cover, and the article he wrote in the blog about it clearly indicated that the person that used it did not ask him in advance. He thought it was pretty cool.

As far as taking words go, The Copywriter's Handbook gives a long list of classic headlines, not all of which were written by the author, and encourages newbies to use them or variations. He also encourages copywriters to build a swipe file, and calls it by that name. I can pull out the specific page number if you want. I've also seen such lists in many other books.

I didn't assume that swipe meant literally stealing other peoples' work. In cases other than headlines, I can't think of any situations where it would simply be a matter of copying. It would make for lousy copy, since the tone, audience, and tons of other things wouldn't match. You can rest assured that if I were commissioned to write something, I would write it myself.

As for why I didn't pick something I could provide a testimonial for, the answer to that question is I already had the items written up and the testimonial thing was kind of an afterthought. I don't know anyone else who used the same product, and figured a public review site might be a good place to pull from. Thanks for the iVouch suggestion, though. I can use that instead if necessary.

What about people who write ads for fake products as part of their portfolio, though? Should they just not use any testimonials in their spec pieces at all because by definition there is no product, thus there can't be any real testimonials?

I'm just feeling kind of stung because I don't think suggesting taking a few lines from a public review justifies jumping to the conclusion that I'm a horrible plagiarist who should be run out of town.

Edit: Whoops, didn't realize the fake product had already been covered. Thanks jmattern.

 

And if they're using public reviews of their own products for that same product in their catalog, that's completely different. It's not dishonest. It's a legitimate review.

And a lot of people kill people. Doesn't make it right.

Of course they call it a "swipe file." That's what they're called. But in no way does it literally imply you should steal the work from others. As for using variations, brush up on copyright issues - titles and headlines generally can't be copyright protected like review content is. Using variations of a headline isn't "stealing" like what you've been talking about

Exactly. If you don't have a real testimonial, you have no business using any testimonial at all. Don't steal them. Don't write fake ones.

Swiping a "few lines" is plagiarism - no ifs, ands, or buts about it. People who write professional copy and earn real testimonials have every right to be pissed off when they see that kind of awful advice thrown around. Why should honest professionals have to worry about competing with liars and thieves building an image around a bunch of BS? They shouldn't. Live and learn. Now you know.

 

Well, Cabela's uses reviews of products that they sell on their site, not necessarily products that they've made themselves. I see reviews for all kinds of products made by other companies in the catalog. I suppose it's the disclaimer on their site that makes the difference, though.

As I said before, I recind the advice in my OP.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

But it's still a legitimate review for that specific product (although it's still unethical if they're just retailers and swiping reviews from the sites of other retailers of the products, and illegal if there's no license allowing them to publish it in the way they are - I don't know exactly how they're using them).

 

How are you going to feel when you have put a lot of work into your mock portfolio and someone copies it, even a few lines, and uses it in their blog or website? You are going to fell as if you've been robbed, because you have been. It's a lot like taking the paycheck of someone who has just put in a hard week's work, just because you found an easy way to do it.