Selling products online, or eCommerce, has gained global popularity with the widespread use of computers and the ability to easily sell products through mobile devices. In fact, eCommerce is a $240 billion dollar industry in the U.S. and is projected to grow by at least 10% in 2014.
As potential customers can’t touch your products (at least not yet), this makes writing a product descriptions more important than ever as a quality description should be able to communicate the value of your product. The language you use should get people excited and convince them that your product is what they need.
Keep these tips in mind to write eCommerce product descriptions that sell.
Speak the Customer’s Language
Use words and phrases your target demographic will understand and relate to, rather than technical jargon that they will not understand or appreciate. You know all of the fantastic qualities your product has, but what is more important to the customer is how the product would fit in with their life. Know when to take on a formal tone, or a more casual tone, and imagine yourself as the customer’s best friend who is telling them about this great new product you just discovered that you know they will love as well.
Use Font, Size and Color to Improve Readability
Make your product descriptions as easy to read as possible by using contrasting fonts and font colors to highlight different words and phrases or separate headings from other parts of text. Make sure your font is big enough to easily read, as well. This will make your product descriptions more memorable than a plain block of text that won’t engage the reader visually. Make your product descriptions stand out and the customer will remember your extra effort when they are deciding to buy your product or the product of a competitor.
Write Completely Unique Content
Make sure your product descriptions are unique and not simply a copied or paraphrased description of the product from a different website. The customer knows what the product is if they have been shopping around and comparing prices, and they want your personal take on what makes the product special. Customers will appreciate the extra time and effort it takes to write a good product description, and if you can provide them with fresh insight on the product, they will be more interested in buying the product from you, even if a competitor is offering the product at the same price or an even lower price.
Additionally, unique product descriptions ensure that the SEO for your site is in good standing. If you opt to use the manufacturer’s description as opposed to writing your own, you’ll find that your product pages will get filtered by Google and other search engines meaning that people won’t be able to find your product when searching online.
Use Keywords the Customer Will be Looking For
When a customer searches for a product, they may use certain descriptive words to find what they are seeking. You can incorporate these words into your product description to improve the chances that the customer will find your product early in their search. For example, if a customer wants slippers, they will probably search using words like “comfortable,” “fuzzy,” or “cute.” Think about the kinds of qualities people will look for when they search for your type of product, and use those words so they will know you have what they want.
Put Yourself in the Customer’s Shoes
Think about what kind of content would make you want to buy a product, and use the qualities of that content to write your own product descriptions. What would you want to know about the product? What characteristics have you noticed in product descriptions that sold you on products you have purchased in the past? These are the things your customers will want as well, because like you, they want a quality product that promises to be better than the competition.
Bridge the Gap Between Features and Benefits
If you really want to persuade visitors to your online store that they should purchase from you then you need to clearly explain the benefits of each of the features in your description which will require you to look at your products from the perspective of the audience instead of your own.
So, what exactly is the difference between benefits and features? Benefits highlight the problem that your product solves for the potential customer, while the product’s features help to explain how it solves these problems.
Focusing on your product’s benefits before you talk about its features is important because the benefits are what the customer truly cares about. As Simon Sinek mentions in his TED talk – “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”
Write for Success
If you keep these tips in mind while writing your product descriptions, you can rest assured knowing that you will generate interest and enthusiasm for your products which will naturally increase online sales. Write your product descriptions carefully, going through and editing several drafts if necessary, because the information you give in a product description is what will sell your product and encourage customers to recommend it to their social circle.
