ecommerce

6 Rules on How to Write a Product Description That Sells

by Josh Biggs in Marketing on 5th December 2020

So you’ve got an amazing new product, but how can you make sure that people are buying it? 

It can be so disappointing to make something that you know people will love just to have it sit there on the metaphorical online shelf. What gives?

In reality, knowing how to write a product description that sells is everything in the digital age. People scroll through thousands of items and if yours doesn’t catch their attention at first glance, they’re going to move past it.

How do you fix that problem?

We’re here to help. Keep reading for a few of our top tips for writing a product description that will keep customers coming your way.

First, What Is a Product Description? 

So what is a product description anyway? Isn’t your product already described with your title and specs or measurements? You even have a picture!

A good product description describes the product in a more flowery way while still getting across all of the important information. Product information should be consistent and clear across platforms which can be managed with PIM data management. Click here to learn about PIM.

Consider the product description as the creative writing version of your product information. In other words, it’s more marketing copy than it is straightforward information. 

How to Write a Product Description

So if it’s not a straightforward description, what are you supposed to do? Do you add as many potential product tags as possible to make sure you get all of the eyes on your product? Do you write paragraphs of flowery language?

Here are a few ideas that actually work. 

1. Focus on the Good Things

You want your customer to focus on all of the benefits of your product, right? Don’t be afraid to oversell them. After all, your product is great.

Consider why you’re selling it in the first place. How can it help your customer or improve their life? What does it have to offer? 

Your customer doesn’t care about the technical jargon that describes how worthwhile the product is. They want to know what it can do for them. Try describing how they’re going to feel when they use this product.

For example, if you were selling a humidifier you wouldn’t want to focus on the fact that it can hold a liter of water and diffuse essential oils. They know that from the product information.

Instead, talk about how clear and soft their skin can be, how their house will smell like fancy oils,  and how their sinus issues can be a thing of the past. Doesn’t that sound more appealing? 

2. Make Sure Your Pictures Pop

Pictures are part of the product description, so make sure they count. 

Too many businesses use generic photos and even use photoshop to edit their product into stock photos or change the colors. This is lazy. 

Make sure that your product photos are all clear and unique. Consider showing the product in use so your customers can imagine themselves with it.

It’s more time-consuming to do this, but it’s worth it.

3. Know Your Target Audience

Who are you trying to market to anyway? This matters when it comes to writing product descriptions that sell. 

If your target audience is older women, you can get away with more flowery “blogger-style” writing. If your audience is punk rock musicians, you might want to use trendy and almost abrasive language to get your customers into the right mood. 

Obviously, these two writing styles don’t go together, so make sure you know who you’re talking to. Remember, there’s probably some crossover in your audiences so you don’t want to alienate anyone. 

4. Do Some Keyword Research

People are going to find your product based on the keywords that they put into search boxes. If your product description doesn’t include those keywords, you’re not going to show up. 

Too many businesses make the mistake of stuffing keywords into their product description. We’ve all seen this before. 

Returning to the example of the humidifier, you might see a poor description that just lists words like “fancy humidifier humid hot air with essential oils lilac oil perfect clean air”.

Is that appealing? Sure, it has the keywords, but it’s confusing and it’s bad marketing copy. Instead, work the fitting keywords into natural phrases.

5. Use Powerful Language

Don’t be afraid to use sensory and exaggerated language. 

Your customer wants to know all about this product. If it’s clothing, how does it feel? If it’s that humidifier again, how does it smell and what does the air feel like? 

Your customer needs to get in the mindset of being around this product and that’s difficult with online sales.

Also, don’t be afraid to call yourself the best. Is your product amazing or life-changing? Tell your customers! It’s not arrogant or misleading if you believe it to be true.  

6. Tell a Story

This is more on getting into the customer’s imagination. 

As we mentioned, how is your customer supposed to imagine themselves with the product when they can’t hold it, feel it, or see it in person? 

This is where storytime starts. Talk all about the kinds of things that your customer might do with the product and how those things would look. 

Maybe they’re using their new humidifier with lilac essential oils as part of a home spa day or an addition to a relaxing bath. Maybe it’s in their baby’s room to ease their stuffy nose or scratchy throat. 

Put your customer in the mindset of already owning your product.

Are Your Product Descriptions up to Par? 

Part of a successful marketing campaign includes learning how to write a product description. Do you think you’re up to the task? 

Once you get the hang of it and get into the customer mindset, it’s easy. What would you want to know if you were a customer? What would you search for in search engines if you were looking for your product? 

Your product is great. Make sure your customers know it. 

For more posts on business, services, and more, check out the rest of our site! 

Categories: Marketing

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