A client testimonial video is a bigger ask than a written quote and it is the one people skip straight to. The order that works is the other way round: get the written testimonial first, then ask the clients who already said something good to say it again on camera. On the worked example that is 18 written testimonials a year and 3 videos out of them: and the three come from the eighteen, not from a cold ask to a hundred and twenty.
Ask the ones who already said it
A client who has written you two sentences of praise has already made the decision. Asking them for ninety seconds on camera is a small second step, and the yes rate is nothing like a cold video request.
Make the logistics disappear
A link they open on a phone, three questions on the screen, a retake button. Every step you add: a calendar invite, a Zoom, a release form as a PDF attachment: costs you a proportion of the people who would otherwise have done it.
Put the film where the decision happens
A client testimonial video on the home page is decoration. The same film on the services page it belongs to, next to the written quote from the same client, is evidence at the moment somebody is deciding.
Questions people ask about client testimonial video
Do I need a signed release?
Get the permission in writing and keep it with the film. It does not need to be a contract; it needs to exist and be findable, which is what the record is for.
What if the client's employer says no?
It happens, often late. That is a reason to collect several rather than build a page around one, and to take the written version even when the video is refused.
Can I edit what they said?
You can cut for length. You cannot change the meaning: an endorsement has to reflect the endorser's honest opinion, and a re-cut that changes the claim is the line.