Writing Your Own Product Descriptions? Here's What You Need To Know
So, since we went into lockdown, it may be that some of you have found yourself with the task of moving your products to an online-only offering. If you’re used to only having the responsibility of running a brick-and-mortar store, the transition to communicating online may feel overwhelming. Hopefully, this post will help you.
Don’t copy and paste the supplier’s product descriptions
I know it seems like the easy option but it’s not beneficial. First of all, it’s plagiarism but secondly, it’s bad for SEO (search engine optimisation). Make your descriptions of products as unique and informative as possible.
2. Don’t give items obscure names
What do I mean by that? Again, we’re back to SEO but you'll want to give your items a fighting chance in search engines. So, if you’re selling a side table, make sure that’s what’s in the title. When you're writing the names of listings, think of what your customers would search for in Google or the search box of your website.
3. Create a narrative
‘You mean tell a story?’ Yes. But maybe not the way you’re thinking. Get into the lifestyle of your customer. If you’re used to speaking to your customers face-to-face, you should find this easy. Use the knowledge that you have of their lives and work it into the copy.
I use a bronze-silver-gold tier structure, to judge how effective product descriptions are.
Le't’s take this plant pot, for example
If we follow the bronze, silver, gold structure, your product description for the plant pot above could look something like this…
Bronze
Broste Copenhagen Grey Plant Pot. 11cm x 14cm.
As you can see, it has the bare minimum, in terms of information. Completely uninspiring.
Silver
This Broste Copenhagen plant pot is grey iron, finished with an antique effect. 11cm x 14cm. Indoor use only.
This one includes more information but there’s still room to do more.
Gold
Treat your favourite house plant to a new look with this beautiful iron plant pot, from popular Danish interiors brand, Broste Copenhagen. Its rustic antique grey colour will add a little countryside charm to your home.
Other useful information
Indoor use only
11cm x 14cm
Available in three sizes
This description works so much harder than the other two. It gets into the lifestyle of your customer and the information is presented in a much easier-to-read way.
4. Give people more information than you think they’ll need
There’s no such thing as a silly question, when it comes to your conversations with customers. Much of the time, they will only have a couple of photos to go off. They can’t pick up your product and inspect it. So give them more than they need. For example, the plant pot above. It may obvious to you that the plant pot is suitable for indoor use only but people don’t know what they don’t know. Tell them.
Save your customers the hassle of having to email or message you, to ask a question. Their user journey (which we hope will end in a sale) should be free of as many obstacles as you can remove for them.
5. Focus on benefits, not just features
When you’re describing products, focus on how this product is going to make their life better. Is it a gift? Be emotive and get your customer to think about whose face it will put a smile on. If you’re writing about homeware, get into your customer’s imagination. Make them think about how great it will be to own that product. ‘Imagine working from the sofa, supported by the softest, plumpest cushion you could ever own. Not only is it made from plush velvet but the mustard colour will turn heads, during your next Zoom call. Oh, and your posture will thank you.’
6. Talk it up
If a particular product is a best-seller, say so! It’s popular for a reason, right? Make sure that people know. If it’s been featured in the press or you have a review about it, include that on the product page. A little bit of social proof goes a long way.
And that’s all for now! After writing thousands of product descriptions, I could go on and on but these tips should be enough to help you to write product descriptions with confidence. If you have any specific questions, please do email me or if you’re feeling completely overwhelmed by it all and would rather hand the task over altogether, get in touch.