Over half a million people start their own businesses every month, meaning if you’re selling online, you need to stay competitive. If you’re offering similar products to another online store, you need to make sure your product descriptions stand out. A good product description can be as good of a sales aid as an on-site sales associate.
Every year, another big bite is taken out of brick and mortar retailers. Whether you sell on your own site or through a major online retailer, you need to write strong descriptions. If you can’t afford to hire someone to write for you, you need a guide to writing better than your competitors.
Great product descriptions take time to develop. Follow these 9 tips to make your descriptions close sales for you.
1. Think Like Your Customer
While you might want to imagine that your product is for everyone, there is a specific audience that your product fits perfectly. List some characteristics and try to make a Venn diagram of a profession or a social role that those people fill. If you’re selling the perfect groomsmen socks, lean into that niche.
Think about the kind of language a customer like yours expects. If they’re a little more refined and classy, write in the same manner that other people selling to that market write. If your audience is younger and a little more laid back, cater to that audience by having fun and making more jokes.
Don’t use words or language that doesn’t feel sincere. The most important characteristic you need to embody is sincerity.
2. List How Each Feature Benefits Their Life
Don’t just talk about the coolest specifications or ingredients that you use. Think about how those elements impact your clients’ lifestyles. Consider what is valuable to them and focus on that.
Don’t be afraid to be poetic. If you have a new set of scents for the holidays, talk about the spirit of the season and don’t be afraid to be sentimental.
If you’ve just released a series of eco-friendly products, talk about the environment. Talk about climate change and why it’s important to think about the planet. Tie it all together by bringing it back to your product.
3. Avoid Cliche
Rather than telling your clients that your products have “excellent quality XYZ”, tell them specific details. If an element is American made or hand dyed, highlight those details. Your product descriptions can veer into details of your products if they add to the character of the description.
Share the positive qualities of your products and speak honestly. Don’t use a single generalized adjective to describe anything. Get as specific as possible in describing details.
4. Make Your Superlatives Count
A superlative can sound kind of generic in your product descriptions. Saying that it’s the best or the top-quality in the industry doesn’t say a whole lot. Show them through videos, photos, or examples.
Media is important online and an increasing number of online retailers allow for videos to be included in product descriptions. Take advantage of this new way of doing business and turn it into a sales tactic.
Back up your superlatives by adding links to reviews or testimonials.
5. Tell A Story
Storytelling is a huge element in contemporary marketing trends. You see it in ad campaigns from cars to mattresses. Telling a story allows customers to put your products in context and to use their imaginations.
Just telling people a product is great is one thing. They have plenty of reason to doubt you. But if you can make them feel an emotion, they’ll connect that emotion with your description and forge a deeper connection.
That’s why you’ll see storytelling in an increasing number of ad campaigns in the next few years.
6. Give A Backdrop
Beyond imaginative storytelling, you can connect with your customers more strongly by opening up about your company’s story. Talk about yourself or how you got into the industry you’re in. If there’s a family business behind it, tell them about the origins.
When you open up about your story, be as sincere as you can be. No one wants to hear a major soft drink retailer talking about how it’s “just a family business”. If your product descriptions can’t connect to a longer history, talk about the history of your type of product in a general sense.
7. Connect To The Senses
Use words in your descriptions that connect to your customers’ senses. When you talk about a sense of smell or taste, a larger number of parts of the brain are triggered.
The more vivid your descriptions are, the more excited people will feel about your products. Words like velvety, crunchy, and crisp help people sell food all of the time. Think of ways your product can incite that kind of feeling.
You want people to imagine touching, smelling, or tasting your product when they read your descriptions.
8. Use Reviews To Your Advantage
People now trust reviews as much as they do a suggestion from a friend. That means that if your reviews aren’t good, people will perceive something faulty with your product.
Use review and comment sections to your advantage. Reach out to your most loyal and dedicated customers to get them to write descriptive reviews. Offer a promotion or a deal on their next purchase if they write a review.
Make sure this is kosher with the site you’re soliciting reviews from. Every site has different rules.
Your Product Descriptions Matter
Strong product descriptions can make the difference between purchasing your product or an equivalent competitor’s. Your descriptions can take the place of the ability to taste, touch, or try on a product in person. A lot is riding on your descriptions so make sure they look good.
If you’re looking for other ways to promote your products online, contact us for more tips.