Is it unprofessional for a massage therapist to ask for testimonials?

Not if you ask once, at a natural point, and make saying no easy. Most clients are glad to help someone they see regularly. Asking a first-time client on the table is the one thing to avoid.

How do I keep a client's privacy in a testimonial?

Let them choose how their name appears, and never add health details they did not write themselves. On Exalted the client types their name the way they want it shown, and nothing goes live until you approve it.

Can I mention a medical condition in a testimonial?

Only in the client's own words, and avoid anything that reads as a cure. "I sleep on that side again" is the client describing their experience. A headline saying massage fixes frozen shoulders is a claim you would have to back up.

How many testimonials should a massage therapist show?

Five or six good ones, covering the reasons people come to you: stress, an injury, a desk job, pregnancy. A new client looks for the one that sounds like them.

Should I reply when a massage client leaves a testimonial?

A short private thank you is enough. Clients who write about something personal, like an injury or anxiety about being touched, rarely want a public reply under it, and a note saying you were glad to help keeps the relationship where it belongs. That also gives you a natural moment to thank them, privately, before their next appointment.

massage therapists

Testimonials for massage therapists

Let past clients do the reassuring for you.

This is an intimate service chosen carefully and privately. Written words from other clients do the reassuring you cannot do yourself.

Right below is the text I would send a client, ready to copy.

Start freeNo card needed. Cancel whenever.

A text you can send

The text I would send after a good job

The day after their third or fourth session.

Hi Gary, it's Erin. Glad the shoulder is moving better. Would you write a sentence or two about how it's been going? People nervous about booking want to read another client. There's no account to make: [your link]

Swap in your own names. The link comes from your dashboard.

Massage therapist testimonial examples

The kind of thing massage therapists collect with Exalted. Each one is invented and labelled as an example.

Example

Came in with a shoulder I had stopped mentioning to my doctor. Six sessions and I sleep on that side again. Never once felt rushed or exposed.

Ruth E. · Client

Example

I had put off booking for a year because I was embarrassed about my back. She asked what I was comfortable with before we started and checked in without making it awkward. I have been every three weeks since.

Leanne M. · Client

Example

My physical therapist sent me here for a frozen shoulder. She actually read the notes he sent and worked around the bad range instead of through it. Six weeks later I can reach the top shelf again.

Gary T. · Client, referred by his PT

Example

I sit at a desk ten hours a day and had a headache most afternoons. She showed me two stretches to do at my desk and the headaches stopped before the second appointment.

Sana R. · Client

Someone choosing a massage therapist is mostly deciding whether they will feel safe. Each of these says how the therapist handled that and what changed afterwards. That is what a nervous first-timer is looking for, and a photo of the room cannot tell them.

How it works

1
Share one link
You get a single link. Send it by text or email to a client whose work went well.
2
They write it, in a minute
No account and no app to download. They rate you and write a couple of lines.
3
You approve what appears
Nothing is public until you say so. Approve the good ones and they appear on your website automatically.

When to ask

After a course of treatment, when the pain that brought them in has gone.

The single biggest reason massage therapists have no testimonials is that nobody asks while the work is still fresh, not that clients are unwilling.

Questions that get a real answer

“Please leave a review” produces “great service”, which persuades nobody. Ask something specific instead:

What brought you in originally?
How comfortable did we make you feel?
What has changed since?

Or an email

For clients who book online and rarely text.

Subject: A small favor

Hi Leanne,

Thank you for coming back every few weeks. It has been good to see your back loosen up.

A lot of people put off booking for the same reasons you did. Would you write two or three sentences about what it was like to start? You can be as private as you like, and only your first name shows.

It takes a couple of minutes: [your link]

Thanks, Erin

Swap in your own names and the details of the job. The link comes from your dashboard.

Where people check a massage therapist first

Google Business Profile
Where most first-timers start, searching "massage near me". They read the words in the newest reviews looking for "comfortable" and "professional".
Yelp
Still read for massage more than for most services, and it hides some reviews it decides are not recommended.
Their doctor, chiropractor or PT
A referral gets them to your site. Your site has to make them comfortable enough to book.
Your booking page
The last thing they see before paying. A short testimonial beside the button answers the doubt that is stopping them.
Your own website
The one place you can show testimonials about specific problems like a frozen shoulder, so a client with the same problem finds themselves in them.

Questions massage therapists ask

Is it unprofessional for a massage therapist to ask for testimonials?: Not if you ask once, at a natural point, and make saying no easy. Most clients are glad to help someone they see regularly. Asking a first-time client on the table is the one thing to avoid.
How do I keep a client's privacy in a testimonial?: Let them choose how their name appears, and never add health details they did not write themselves. On Exalted the client types their name the way they want it shown, and nothing goes live until you approve it.
Can I mention a medical condition in a testimonial?: Only in the client's own words, and avoid anything that reads as a cure. "I sleep on that side again" is the client describing their experience. A headline saying massage fixes frozen shoulders is a claim you would have to back up.
How many testimonials should a massage therapist show?: Five or six good ones, covering the reasons people come to you: stress, an injury, a desk job, pregnancy. A new client looks for the one that sounds like them.
Should I reply when a massage client leaves a testimonial?: A short private thank you is enough. Clients who write about something personal, like an injury or anxiety about being touched, rarely want a public reply under it, and a note saying you were glad to help keeps the relationship where it belongs. That also gives you a natural moment to thank them, privately, before their next appointment.

Every testimonial Exalted publishes is written by a real person and approved by the business owner.

Your reputation, as a ladder

Each approved testimonial moves you up a tier, so you have a reason to keep asking. Visitors see the tier and know how established you are.

Friendly1+ approved

Honored5+ approved

Revered15+ approved

Exalted30+ approved

Pricing

Starter is $9 a month or $85 a year. Pro is $19 a month or $180 a year. Both are free until your fifth testimonial, and neither asks for a card to begin.

See what is in each plan

Worth reading before you ask

More on the blog. If you ask for Google reviews too, the free Google review link generator and the review request templates need no account. If you want a client quote as a picture to post, I made a free testimonial image maker.

Start collecting this week

Set up a link in about five minutes and send it to the last client who thanked you.

Start free