5 Tips on How To Structure and Write Compelling Product Descriptions
How to structure and write product descriptions
Written with passion and purpose by
Katie King
Social Media Manager
Creative Copywriting & Content Solutions, Gold Coast
“Igniting Words Into Money For Businesses Since 2003!”
Want to write attention-grabbing product descriptions that’ll close the sale?
Maybe you despise writing them. Or maybe sometimes you just run out of creative juice and need new concepts on how to blitz writing your product descriptions.
Either way, you’re in the right place.
As a copywriter, marketer and business owner, if you were to ask me what my definition of a product description is, I would say;
An image cannot explain the benefits and features of your product. You could say a video does to a degree, but the copy in your product descriptions should capture and explain what the images in your product descriptions can’t.
The Goal How To Structure and Write Product Descriptions
- Clarify, educate, and inform your reader people about the features and benefits of the product/s they are looking at. Ultimately, we want to make a sale!
Seeing as online shopping is quickly and aggressively taking over, if your product descriptions don’t persuade, connect and stand out in a sea of sameness with your online shoppers, chances are you won’t get that sale.
Why? How To Structure and Write Product Descriptions
- Your product description’s imagery and content need to grab the attention of your hottest prospects to stop them scrolling through their phone
- Cut through the online shopping and marketing noise and clutter
- Have product descriptions that are engaging and tell a story
- Persuade and connect with your hottest prospect’s needs, wants and desires
- Get that online sale for your products or services – Then it’s time to convert them from a one-time buyer into a two times buyer
And this ain’t no theory.
This is all practical based experience of testing in the marketplace and writing hundreds, if not thousands of product descriptions for our clients who have had all types of products for sale. As well as writing our own product descriptions for our copywriting, content writing and marketing products at Creative Copywriting & Content Solutions for almost 17 years.
Step 1. This Old Chestnut Again
Whom your product or service is for is more important than what your product or service is.
Yep, it’s that old chestnut again but’s true.
Like any marketing or copywriting you do, my first tip to blitz writing your product descriptions isn’t about writing at all.
What type of person is your product for? Is it for women, men or children?
Know thy prospect folks! Because if you know anything about the Creative Copywriting & Content Solutions crew it’s that:
“Having a marketing message for a specific someone is more important than what it is.” A lesson I learnt way back in the day from the legendary Dan Kennedy, which still rings true today.
I’ll say it once and I’ll say it again. You can’t sell hamburgers to vegetarians.
Knowing whom you are writing your product descriptions for includes things such as;
- Using words, tone and language that your online shoppers relate to
- Writing your product descriptions in a way that gives you favourable attention and persuades and connects with your hottest prospect’s pain points, needs and solutions.
- It also includes knowing what your hottest prospects buying habits are. Things like how much income do they earn, their level of education and what’s important to them. (Even which payment option they prefer)!
And what’s important to them is a long piece of string. For some people, knowing how your products are made is important and can sway their buying decision. For others, how long delivery takes is an important buying decision.
Other buying factors could be what type of guarantee you offer or are you a local, national or overseas business and more. These are all crucial factors you need to capture and highlight based on whom will be reading your product description.
Step 2. Let’s talk product images or videos
The next tip to blitz writing awesome online product descriptions for your online eCommerce store is to put effort into the images or video you use. We all think in pictures, so some great media will stop the online phone shopper dead in their tracks.
I like video. It’s interactive and non-invasive. However, you still need copy in your product descriptions to explain what your media may not be able to.
What types of images are best in your online product descriptions?
If and wherever possible, I use and advise clients to feature images of people using or wearing their products in their product descriptions.
Why? Well, it puts your online shopper in the picture so they can see themselves using or wearing it. It creates connection.
For some product descriptions, I like using still images and others I’ve written I use video. It’s all about whom your audience is and testing people!
Quick action tip – Having trouble staying focused on whom your writing your product description for? Go online and download some images of whom you are writing to, print them and stick them on your desktop, laptop or tablet. Then write to that person.
Step 3. Start writing!
The next step in the structure of writing a persuasive product description is, you guessed it, your headline.
Are you going to use a sound bite headline, a stacked benefit headline, a problem-solution style headline or another type of headline?
These are just some of the headline concepts to consider and test. But let’s keep your feet on the ground and not get too overwhelmed with all that.
You may already know or need to consider (and test) to see which headline for your product description maximises your results.
Plus, be sure to include your primary keyword or long-tail keyword in your headline for those search engines that are constantly making us all jump through hoops.
You could also include your location in the headline of your product description if it applies (think Recovery Massage Guns, Gold Coast) for example. You could use a headline like this to target people who want to buy a recovery massage gun who also live on the Gold Coast.
A quick example,
Recover Faster & In The Privacy Of Your Own Home With Fast Eddie’s Recovery Massage Guns Gold Coast.
Step 4. List benefits and features
I’d like to say potential customers are interested in all the specs of your product, but based on my 31 years copywriting and marketing experience, they’re not.
The majority are only interested in what’s in it for them (WITFT) and whether it solves their problem or makes their life easier.
The next step is listing all the features and benefits of your product/service. As you can tell- writing product descriptions is really no different than writing any other type of sales copy for your eCommerce online store.
Quick copywriting tip: Whatever copy you write, be it for your website, blogs, product descriptions something else, in 99% of cases you always want to write your copy in terms of outcomes and benefits for your prospect.
How to separate the features of your product from the benefits
To separate the features of your product from the benefits, grab a piece of A4 paper and draw two columns on it.
At the top of the left-hand column write the word ‘features.’
Then at the top of the second column write ‘benefits.’
List your product or service’s features in the left column, and list the primary benefit of that feature next to it in the right-hand column.
Need a quick example?
I am selling a washing machine with a 10kg washing load.
The feature is;
Huge 10 kg washing capacity.
The benefit is;
With a huge 10kg washing capacity you’ll be able to wash more clothes in the one load and cut your washing time in half – gotta love that!
On your website, use tables or bullet points to separate the features from the benefits. Last I read, approx. 87% of people shopping online use their smartphones. And let’s be honest, we’re all scan readers and reading a phone screen is harder than reading paper.
So use bullet points or tables to highlight specific features and benefits and to draw in the scan reader’s eye when you write your product descriptions.
Step 5. Call to action
Ah, the old call to action. Call now for more information, if you’d like to know more please contact us and so on. Come on people! We can do better than that. Cart abandonment is one of the biggest challenges facing eCommerce stores and any of us who sell products online.
So how do you get your online shopper to take the desired action you want them to take in your product descriptions?
Well, one way would be to give them a reason to. Remember that old ‘write in terms of outcomes and benefits’ thing I mentioned earlier?
Here’s an example of the call to action in the product description for the 10kg washing machine for sale online at Fast Eddie’s White Goods.
Example: If you’d like to do less loads of washing, slash your washing time in half and take that time off for you, put this 10kg washing machine in your cart and buy it now for delivery in 24-48 hours.
I got Eddie to write up product descriptions for me and I am amazed at the outcome. Highly recommended.
Summary
As a copywriter and content writing service and having written hundreds (if not thousands) of product descriptions for our clients for over a decade, there’s no doubt there are a hundred and one ways you can write and structure your product descriptions.
And like a lot of things in life and business, you can’t just rely on one ingredient.
You can have a great image, but if your product description copy sucks = no sales for you.
You can have great copy in your product description, but if your image sucks = no sale for you.
Failing to address the needs, wants, desires and outcomes of your hottest prospects, chances are they won’t be adding your product to their shopping cart. Which means no sale for you!
So next time you’re writing up a description for your newest product or service, take onboard the above five tips. Know who you’re writing to, use high quality, original media and focus on a features-plus-benefits structure in your copy. Finish off with a call-to-action that demands shoppers’ attention, and you’ve got it- the perfect product description.
Got a question?
Ask away! Or leave a comment, or share this with whomever you think could use it.
Until next time,
Jaffaman Eddie & the crew, out!
Oh, and on the off chance you’re after product description writing for your trade or professional service business to increase your online presence, show off your expertise and create leads, here’s a little something especially for you.
About Creative Copywriting and Content Solutions
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Based on the Gold Coast, we assist your business by eliminating your marketing waste using proven methods, rather than theory.
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