Testimonials
Table of Contents
Making Stronger Connections
The biggest value of your Portfolio & Website is to show your work. It’s going to be right for some people and not for others. It’s fine when you’re not what someone is looking for. You don’t need all 334 million Americans, or all 8 billion humans, to want your work!
When someone does find interest in your gallery or commercial art that’s awesome! They might contact you. Or, they might like to know more about who you are and how you work. Your About Page and Case Study are great ways to tell your story more completely. And Testimonials are another strong way to show that you’ve worked with Galleries or Commercial Clients and produced good results.
Ask for a Testimonial
You can ask anyone to write a couple sentences about you and your work:
- Curator at a Gallery you’ve exhibited at
- Collector who’s bought your work
- Art School Faculty
- Art School Peers
- Clients
- Employers
- and more!
When you ask you can simply inquire if they’d be comfortable writing a couple sentences about you and your work. You can give them an easy out, “no worries if you don’t feel you know me well enough to write something.”
If you ask someone who has recently purchased your work, or a recent commercial client, then they should know your work pretty well. If you ask a former instructor or someone who might be less familiar with your latest work, be sure to include a link to your Portfolio Website so they can refresh their memory of you and your work.
People love being helpful. Especially if it’s easy. Don’t be afraid to suggest a point or two about working with you that they might like to mention in their testimonial. Or, to paraphrase Jerry Maguire, “Help them help you!”
You never know…
From my experience, and that of others I know, I can tell you that you never know who will say what. You might get a flat reply from someone you thought you had a good relationship with. And it’s surprising that sometimes someone who you thought didn’t know you that well will gush about your amazing awesomeness! Don’t be afraid to ask! There’s nothing to lose and career strength to gain.
Presenting Your Testimonials
As with your Case Study, you can make a new page for testimonials.
- New Page
- Text of Testimonial
- Photo of the Person
- Photo of the Art they bought or Project you created for them
- A link to their website
Be sure to pay them back with a link to their website!
In addition to, or instead of, a Testimonials Page, you can add a testimonial anywhere on your Portfolio Website:
- At the top or bottom of your About Page
- At the top or bottom of your Contact Page
- Bottom or Sidebar of any of your Category Pages
Post on Your Website & Padlet
Add a Menu Item for your Testimonial page:
VICKY MEURENT
performance art
Home – Performance – Public Art – Site Specific – Case Study – Testimonials – About – Contact
When your Testimonial is done, add a link to it on our Class Padlet so your classmates can see your work.
Another place for testimonials in LinkedIn. It’s a great idea to write testimonials for people you have worked with. Write one for a student you’ve worked with at LBSU. Write others in the future for people you work with.
You can also ask people to write LinkedIn Testimonials for you. If they do, you can ask if it’s ok to also post it on your portfolio website.
