137 video testimonials in 48 hours.
That's how much social proof we collected after our annual conference, New Media Summit 2026.
About 27% of event attendees, shared a video testimonial
Most founders and creators I talk to have zero testimonials.
Maybe a few screenshots of nice DMs.
And they wonder why their landing page, webinars, and offers don’t convert.
Here's the thing:
You don't need a massive audience to collect massive social proof.
You need a system.
Write, Grow, Sell has 379+ testimonials (mostly video) from about 1,500 customers.
New Media Summit has 218+ video testimonials from roughly 800 attendees over two years.
At our retreat event, Audience Camp, we collected video testimonials from 40% of attendees.
Here's my 8-step system:
1) Use tech that removes friction
We use Senja to collect, store, organize, and display testimonials.
It costs about $50/month and it's worth every penny.
Why it matters: If collecting a testimonial requires emailing a video file or filling out a long form, people won't do it.
Senja makes it one-click easy. And it lets you turn those testimonials into website widgets, social images, and more.
Try Senja free here (affiliate link).
2) Build something worth talking about
I'll keep this one short.
If your product, course, event, or service isn't great, no system will save you. People share testimonials because they had an experience worth sharing.
3) Ask at the right time
This is where most people screw up. They send a random email 3 weeks later asking for a review. By then, the excitement is gone.
You need to ask at the PEAK of the experience.
For live events, I ask on stage during closing remarks on day 1, opening remarks on day 2, before lunch on day 2, and again at closing.
Plus, 3-4 follow-up emails and texts after each day.
For courses, I ask at the end of the session I know people love most (based on data from previous cohorts), again during the graduation session, and then with 2-3 follow up emails and posts in our community over the next 24 hours.
Here's my exact testimonial CTA schedule:
Live event — on stage
End of day 1 — Closing remarks
Morning of day 2 — Ppening remarks
Before lunch on day 2 — Pre-lunch remarks
End of day 2 — Closing remarks
Live event — via email and SMS
End of day 1 — Brief email repeating the stuff I said on stage
Morning of day 2 — Email
End of day 2 — Reminder email
Morning after event — Last call email
Afternoon day after event — Deadline email
Cohort-based course
Second to last live session — Ask at end
On the graduation session with all attendees after they share their positive experience about the cohort — Ask at end
Immediately after graduation session — Follow-up email and community post
Four hours later — Follow up email
Next morning — Reminder email
Next afternoon — Deadline email
4) Give them an incentive
A great experience plus good timing gets you a lot.
But adding an incentive takes it to another level.
For events: We offer free event recordings and slides (which we sell separately for $499). If attendees share a video testimonial they get them for free instead of paying $500. That's a no-brainer.
For courses: Everyone who shares a video gets a bonus group coaching session with me. Plus, we do a random giveaway of 5-10 Amazon gift cards between $100-$300 for people who submit videos.
Key: Never give away cash to everyone. Make it a random giveaway.
Ideally, you don't give away any cash or gift cards at all. Instead, offer something that has real value and costs you time or money (bonus session, bonus course module, event recordings, etc).
Other incentives I've seen work:
Sam Ovens had an entire module of his course that you could only unlock after sharing a video testimonial. This drove 10,000+ video testimonials.
If you did not promise lifetime community access, people could unlock lifetime access to the community if they share a video testimonial.
If you have the time and bandwidth, give away 1on1 calls or even small services from your team.
If you're doing a cohort, give away free access to the NEXT live cohort for free.
Give away something so valuable it hurts to share for free.
5) Set a hard deadline
This is non-negotiable. If you give people unlimited time, they'll never do it.
I give people 24-48 hours to share a testimonial and claim the incentive. That's it. Midnight the next day is the hard cutoff.
You'll get better testimonials this way because the experience is still fresh in their minds.
6) Only accept video
Always ask for video. Only give the incentive for video.
Video testimonials are 10X more valuable than text. People can't fake them. They look incredible on your landing page.
And if you have the video, you already have the text — just use the transcript.
You have to be clear: No video, no incentive.
7) Tell them what to say
Don't just say "share a testimonial."
People freeze up. They don't know what to talk about.
Give them 3 open-ended prompt questions on your Senja form.
For events: What did you like most? Would you recommend it? How did it help you?
For courses: How has it helped your business? What part helped the most? Would you recommend it?
Tell them to keep it under 2-3 minutes.
More than 30 seconds, less than 3 minutes is the sweet spot.
8) Explain why it matters
People are more likely to help when they understand why it matters — and when it doesn't feel like you're just asking for a favor.
For an event: "Your testimonials help us attract better speakers next year."
For a course: "Your testimonials help me bring more founders into our community. When we get positive feedback, I can invest more into making this program better for everyone."
Frame it around how their testimonial improves the thing they already love.
Last Tip
That’s it!
Follow these 8 steps and I promise you’ll get 10X more social proof.
Do this and your landing pages will convert better, your sales emails hit harder, and your offers will feel like a no-brainer.
Here's one final bonus tip:
Pick the top 20% of testimonials from your most successful customers.
Schedule a 15-minute case study interview with them.
Before the call, write down 5-7 questions to ask about the product experience and the results they achieved.
Interview everyone with the same 5-7 questions.
Edit out the boring stuff. Soon you’ll have dozens of ~5-10-minute case study videos.
Plus, content like quotes for text testimonials, video clips for ads, VSLs, and more.