How to Write More Effective Product Descriptions

You have a good product, you’ve taken some great pictures to showcase it, and you’re ready to sell it online. Now comes the tricky part: coming up with a product description that will entice consumers to buy it.

If you’re new to the world of online retail, you might be tempted just to include a basic description of your product and call it good. After all, people will get the idea of “polka dot rain boots, sizes 6-10,” right?

The thing is, there are other people selling similar products online – lots of them – and if you use a bland description and a competitor uses compelling copy, who do you think the online shopper is going to choose? You need to use your product description to prove your product is not just better than the competitors’, but something that the reader can no longer live without. To do that, you should ask yourself these questions.

Who is my target audience? You need to figure out who you’re marketing to, because your description should be tailored to the people you want to buy your product. For example, if you’re marketing to moms looking for a good price on school supplies, you’ll want to emphasize your discounts and savings. If you’re marketing to people who are willing to pay a little extra for a good pen, you should use adjectives like “deluxe” and “elegant” to describe your fountain pens.

What’s my tone? Again, you’ll need to know your audience to determine your tone. If you’re selling to twentysomethings, you might use an informal tone with a dash of humor. If you’re selling to business professionals, you’ll probably want to use a more serious tone.

What’s in it for the buyer? One of the biggest mistakes you can make in writing your product descriptions is just focusing on the product’s features. Instead, figure out how those features will make life easier for the buyer and translate that into a list of benefits.

Would I read this product description? Nobody likes reading long blocks of text online. In fact, research suggests that web users typically only read 16% of the text on a web page. If you want people to actually read your product description, keep it short and snappy, and break it up with bullets and plenty of white space.

Am I being specific or generic? Once you’ve written the first draft of your product description, take another look at the language you’ve used. Are there bland phrases you could replace with something more specific? For example, “durable” could be replaced with “can survive being dropped off a 10-story building” (only if that’s true, of course).

Take the time to edit your product descriptions and test out multiple versions. Remember: your description is your way of making a connection with customers and turning them into fans of your brand.