Source: https://pixabay.com/photos/ecommerce-online-marketing-internet-3562005/
In the eCommerce business sector, product
descriptions play a huge role. But why is that?
Product descriptions are one of the business's last attempts
to encourage their prospects to convert to customers. This is where you need to
do your best to convince your visitors that your products are exactly the thing
they've been looking for.
So, what this means is that your product description is one
of the most important elements of your online store. However, even though they
can be super effective when done right, writing a good product description can
also be quite difficult.
That's why, in this article, we'll explore some of the best
ways to write good product descriptions, include helpful step-by-step guides
and see how you can test out your product descriptions before you include them
in your website.
But let's first define the term.
What are product descriptions?
As the name itself suggests, product descriptions are words
you use to describe your products. They can vary from just a couple of
sentences to short paragraphs or bullet points.
Most commonly, product descriptions are placed either next
to or underneath a product's picture. They can vary in tone and voice, and even
in scannability and readability.
And even though there's no "one right way to do it,"
writing a good product description will include so much more than just simply
talking about your products.
5 W's and an H: think who, what, when, where, why and how
You now know that you need product descriptions for your
eCommerce store, but you are still not sure how to create them.
What do you say? Which part do you mention first? How long
should your description be?
Ideally, you need to aim at saying the most about your product in the shortest way possible and even that's not all, but we'll elaborate on this later.
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So, the best way to approach it is by answering these six
questions:
1.
Who is this product for?
Answering this question will enable you to define your
target audience (more on this later, as well), which is an extremely important
part of running a successful business.
2.
What is so great about the product?
Here, you should include the product's basic details, such
as the dimensions, weight, material, specific features, functionality and cost.
3.
When will the product be used?
This part needs to answer when, how often or how long the
product can or should be used. Answering this question will add more emphasis
to the product's long-term value.
4.
Where will the product be used?
Just like it's important to let your audience know when they
should be using your product, you also need to let them know where the product
is intended to be used.
5.
Why is this product better than the rest?
In this part, you will simply need to emphasize your
product's unique features and explain to your audience why your product is the
one they should decide to go for.
6.
How does it work?
Although answering this question won't be necessary for all
products out there – if you're selling coffee mugs, chances are people already
know how they work – it is extremely important to include if your products
include electronics, moving parts or any other product-specific feature.
Define your target audience
We've previously mentioned that defining your audience is
important, but we didn't go into detail. So, if you're trying to sell a
product, you will first need to define who you're trying to sell the product
to.
To understand this, you should define your buyer persona.
Think about the age, gender, social status, lifestyle demographic, etc., of the
people that would potentially be interested in your product.
Clearly defining who your product is intended for will help
you immensely when writing the product description, as all of these factors
will influence the relevant data you need to include in your description.
Hone in on the product's benefits
While you may find it interesting to discuss all the
features of your product, your potential customers will be mostly interested in
one thing – how buying your product will befit them.
So, make sure you hone in on your product's strongest
benefits. Therefore, instead of focusing on the product feature (let's say a
soy candle made of all-organic components), focus on the product benefits
(longer burning time – thus more use, more eco-friendly, etc.)
Let emotions work in your favor
Since people are emotional beings, it's no secret that
emotions heavily influence buyer behavior. That's why your product description
should also evoke some type of an emotional reaction from your audience.
So, make sure you use words and phrases that evoke positive
emotions when writing your product descriptions. For instance, "no more
sleepless nights," "(product) will keep your feet warm,"
"snuggle-up on your couch with (product)," etc., are all phrases that
will instantly drive positive feelings in your audience, which will make them
more prone to buying.
Use natural language and tone
Keep in mind that you're selling your products to humans, so
you need to sound human in your product description as well. When you read your
description aloud, it should sound natural and have a natural flow to it.
In other words, your product descriptions should not sound
like a computer or a robot generated them, but a real person. A good approach
here is to think about how other people describe products they like to their
friends and family and try to use the same type of tone and language when
creating your descriptions.
Include power words
It's no secret that there are certain words marketers use
that simply sell.
For instance, when looking for web design services, people won't go with just any company. Instead, they'll be looking for the best website design company they can find.
Source:
So, make sure you let your audience know that your products
are "best," "mind-blowing," "stunning," and
"great," or that the services you're offering will be
"eye-opening," "life-changing," and "top-notch."
Of course, these words are not the only ones you can include
in your product descriptions. You can see a full list of these power words
here.
Pay attention to form
Another thing that we're mentioned previously is the form of
your product description.
Instead of writing an elaborate page-long description about
your product, you should try to pack as many useful pieces of information into
the shortest form possible. Why?
Well, since the attention span of the general audience is
significantly decreasing, you need to make sure that your audience can find all
the relevant information as quickly as possible.
A good practice is to include bulleting points into your
product description so that your consumers can easily find the answers to any
of the questions they may be having.
Optimize for SEO
SEO plays a huge role in determining just how successful
your business will be.
The more you cater to the overall SEO rules, the better
optimized your eCommerce store will be. And considering the fact that search
engines prefer well-optimized websites, this will – in turn – bring more
attention to your business by providing you with the opportunity for better
SERP (search engine results page) rankings.
Therefore, make sure you include your keywords in your
product descriptions to increase your products' searchability.
Optimize for the platform you're advertising on
Another important factor to consider is the platform you're
advertising your products on.
For instance, if you opt for Google Ads, you simply won't
have as much leeway as you will if you choose to go with Facebook Ads. And if
you promote your products on Instagram, you won't follow the same format you
would if you were promoting them on your own website.
So, make sure you keep the platform's specific format in
mind as well.
Use high-quality visuals
No matter how big or small your business is, and no matter
what type of products you're offering, you need to make sure you use only
high-quality visuals.
According to experts in web design from New York, the better your
offer looks, the more appealing it will be to your audience.
Since product descriptions and visuals go hand-in-hand, you
simply can't allow yourself to master one and slack on the other.
Test your product descriptions
In the end, if you've followed the rules closely, you should
end up with a good product description. But what you can do to make sure you've
truly managed to nail it is take it for a test ride before you include it on
your website.
Ask your friends, family and peers to go through your
descriptions and give their feedback. This will enable you to notice any weak
points that require more work.
Additionally, you can even launch your product descriptions
and see how your audience responds to them. You may think that you've created a
good description, but if your audience disagrees, you will need to go back to
the drawing board.
To sum up
The main goal of your product descriptions is to attract
customers and encourage them to make the purchase.
Unless your product descriptions manage to achieve this
goal, you will need to identify the weak points and fix them.
Following this guide will be a great place to start, but keep in mind that each business is unique, so you may even end up including some practices that we haven't listed in this article.
Author bio
Ellie Northcott is a long-time marketer, currently working as a
freelancer in Miami, Florida.
Editor at DigitalStrategyOne
She is also a passionate writer and loves to explore new, innovative and
digital news.
In her spare time, she is an eco-activist.
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