Own an e-commerce site?
Despite what you might think, you don’t sell products.
That’s right, you don’t – your unique product descriptions sell (or don’t sell) your products.
Chances are good that no matter what you’re trying to sell, somewhere on the Internet, there’s a competitor who has the exact same products that you do. Maybe the other guys have lower prices, cheaper shipping or a better return policy.
To keep pace with the competition, you need powerful, sales-focused product descriptions – strategic sets of carefully-crafted words that convert casual shoppers into paying customers. Here’s where you need to start:
1. Know Your Target Audience
Focusing your sales and marketing efforts requires knowledge – you need to know who your customers are, what’s important to them, what makes them tick. Mark Macdonald of Shopify.com states that “the best product descriptions address your ideal buyer directly and personally”.
Invest some up-front time on developing a buyer persona – a profile of your ideal (imaginary) customer. Write content that speaks to that person; use a tone and style that resonates with your buyers to distinguish your company from the competition.
2. Discuss The Features & Benefits
Customers want products that make “life easier, richer or more pleasurable”, says Henneke Duistermaat of Kissmetrics. When describing the features of your product (such as the color, size, compatibility) remember to let your readers know why these features are important – what’s in it for your buyer?
3. Don’t Be Boring
Internet users expect to be entertained, even while they’re shopping. When crafting your unique product descriptions, engage your readers using humor, empathy and nostalgia. Whatever you do, don’t be tempted to use predicable phrases and recycled content – that’s just plain boring.
Not much of a copywriter? No worries – you can always outsource your content creation to a professional writer. Just remember, when it comes to unique product descriptions, don’t just tell -sell!
