Endorsements are a useful tool to help get potential lenders interested in your Prosper loan. There are a few ways to get the most out of this technique which can sometimes make the difference in whether your loan gets funded.

Endorse early

First, get your endorsements in line before you create your listing. Sometimes you want a relative or friend to endorse you, in which case they have to join Prosper. Get this done in advance of your loan's initiation so the endorsement is there from the beginning.

The objective here is to get people interested in your loan early because a loan with early bids will attract much more attention (thus dramatically increase the chances of funding) than one that starts getting funded late. Endorsements as a desperate attempt to generate bids often fails.

What to say

Endorsements should be kept simple and be relatively short. They should include how you know the person, how long, some mention of confidence in the ability to repay, and, if a bid supports the listing, a 'money where your mouth is' statement.

Endorse with money

While there is absolutely nothing wrong with someone joining Prosper just to create an endorsement, an endorsement from a known lender with a bid to support it is more valuable, much more valuable.

If you want to take an endorsement with a bid to the next level, make the bid at a 1% interest rate so you are in no matter what, and make sure to mention that in the endorsement so folks know you are committed to this person's loan.