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"We 10x'd their revenue in 90 days."
You have seen that sentence a hundred times. Count how many times it came with a start date, a definition of revenue, what else changed that quarter and what happened to the next client. Usually zero.
That is the problem with most case studies. They read like a highlight reel, and an intelligent buyer treats a highlight reel the way they treat a stranger's résumé: with a raised eyebrow. Evidence persuades. Hype just sounds like selling.
This article is educational and is not legal advice. Confirm your claims and disclosures with a qualified attorney.
What is a case study actually for?
It answers one question for a buyer who is already interested: "Will this work for someone like me?"
That is a very different job from impressing people. A prospect reading your case study (the same trust logic drives founder-led video ads) is looking for similarity (same situation, same constraints) and for honesty (does this person tell me what went wrong). A story with both builds more trust than a bigger number with neither.
Why believable beats impressive
A modest result with a clear method, honest caveats and dates beats a huge result with none. The first can be checked and repeated. The second asks for faith. Faith is expensive, and buyers have been burned.
Alex Hormozi explains why a buyer weighs other people's words over yours, in a branding video he posted on June 4, 2024:
what other people say to them matters way more than what you tell them
That is the case for a case study. It also raises the bar. A client's result only carries that weight if every number in it holds up.
VideoAlex Hormozi
10x Your Profit. 10x Your Pricing. 10x Your Business. [Here's how]
His movie trailer, word of mouth and first-hand experience loop starts here.
What goes into a case study that people believe?
Seven parts. Skip any one of them and the story gets thinner.
- The starting point. Where the client was before you started, in numbers and plain words. Include the date range.
- The constraint. What made it hard: budget, time, market, a broken piece of the business. Constraints make results believable.
- What was actually done. The specific actions, in order, including the early win from the first 14 days. Not "implemented a strategy." Say what changed.
- The measured result. The number, the date range, how it was measured and by whom. Define terms such as revenue, leads and qualified.
- What did not work. One honest paragraph about a miss or a dead end. This is the part readers trust most.
- What the result depended on. Starting audience, offer strength, client effort and anything else that mattered. This is what protects you from implying a guarantee.
- What to expect. A plain sentence about what a typical client should expect. More on that below.
A placeholder you can use
Here is the shape of a sentence worth writing, with brackets where your facts go: "Between [start date] and [end date], [client] went from [baseline number] to [result number] in [metric], measured in [tool]. During that period we also [other change that might affect the result]." That last clause is what makes it credible.
How do you get consent without making it awkward?
Ask early, ask specifically and put it in writing.
What to ask for
- Permission to publish the specific numbers and claims, not a vague "okay to share results."
- Permission to use their name, role, company and photo, if you plan to.
- A chance to read the final wording and correct it.
- Clarity on whether you may keep using it later and in ads.
Why this protects you
Clients change their minds. Businesses get acquired. Numbers get restated. A signed approval of the exact text tells everyone, including you, what was agreed. If you use first names only, as many experts do, still get the approval in writing.
What do the FTC's rules mean for your proof?
The short version: do not fake it, do not hide your connections, and do not imply a typical result you cannot support.
The 2024 reviews rule
Since August 2024, the FTC has had a final rule that prohibits fake reviews and testimonials (I wrote about it in The FTC's Fake Review Rule). It prohibits creating, selling or spreading fake or false reviews and testimonials, including AI-generated ones, and restricts insider reviews that fail to clearly disclose the reviewer's material connection to the business. It also bars using threats to suppress negative reviews and selling or buying fake social media indicators in some circumstances.1
The rule took effect October 21, 2024. Law-firm summaries put the civil penalty at up to $51,744 per violation, subject to annual inflation adjustment, along with other relief such as consumer redress.3 For testimonials, the rule covers fake or false consumer testimonials, and it defines a consumer testimonial broadly enough to include advertising messages that consumers are likely to believe reflect someone's real experience.3
$51,744
The Endorsement Guides
The FTC updated its Endorsement Guides in 2023, covering incentivized reviews, employee reviews, fake negative reviews of competitors and the liability of advertisers, endorsers and intermediaries.2 Its FAQ adds that endorsements must reflect the honest opinions or experiences of the endorser, and that a connection a significant minority would not expect, including payment, should be disclosed clearly and conspicuously.4
For a case study, that means two plain things. Do not edit a client's words into something they did not say. And if the client has any connection to you that a reader would not expect, such as a referral fee, a discount or a partnership, say so.
How do you handle results that are not typical?
You say what is typical. That is the part most case studies skip.
The FTC's FAQ gives an example: if an ad features an endorser who lost a lot of weight and the advertiser has no proof that experience represents what people generally achieve, the ad must make clear what the generally expected results are.4 The same logic applies to a client who tripled their sales. If that is an outlier, the case study needs to say so and say what is typical.
Practical wording
- State the basics: sample size, time period and whether the client was in a favorable position to start.
- Say plainly: "This is one of our stronger results. Here is what we see more often."
- If you do not know what is typical, say that too, and do not imply a pattern you have not measured.
A small "results may vary" line tucked under a giant headline is not the same as honesty. Make the typical expectation as easy to read as the big number.
What is the difference between hype and evidence?
| Hype | Evidence |
|---|---|
| "10x revenue in 90 days" | "Revenue from [X] to [Y] between [dates], measured in [tool]" |
| A single dramatic number | Number, range of dates and a definition |
| No mention of other changes | Other changes that may have affected the result, listed |
| Only the win | The win plus one thing that did not work |
| "You can do this too" | "Here is what a typical client should expect" |
A pre-publish checklist
Before any case study goes live:
- Does every number have a date range and a source?
- Did the client approve the final text in writing?
- Is any connection between you and the client disclosed?
- Have you said what is typical, in language as prominent as the result?
- Could a skeptical stranger check any of it?
A case study should survive a skeptical reader with a calculator. If it can't, it's an ad.
I have watched proof work in both directions. Honest proof lasts for years, while inflated proof gets screenshot, shared and quoted back at you. Write the one you would be comfortable having read aloud to the client. A case study also gives happy clients something to forward, which feeds the engine in Referrals by Design. You can see how I present results on my results page.
Keep building.Ekai
Questions people ask
What should a case study include?
The starting situation, the constraint, what was actually done, the measured result with dates and definitions, what did not work, what the result depended on, and a plain statement of what a typical customer should expect.
Do I need permission to publish a client's results?
Get written consent for the specific claims, numbers and name or likeness you publish, and let the client approve the final wording. Consent protects the client and you.
What does the FTC's fake reviews rule cover?
Effective October 21, 2024, it prohibits fake or false consumer reviews and testimonials, buying reviews tied to a particular sentiment, undisclosed insider reviews and review suppression, with civil penalties of up to $51,744 per violation (subject to inflation adjustment).
Is 'results not typical' enough of a disclaimer?
Do not rely on it. The FTC's Endorsement Guides FAQ says that if you lack proof an endorser's experience represents what people generally achieve, the ad must make clear what the generally expected results are.
Is this legal advice?
No. This is educational. Confirm your claims and disclosures with a qualified attorney.
Sources
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