Tips for Writing Your Product Descriptions

If a picture is the body then the product description is the soul. Imperative for changing potential customers into paying ones, the product description is your chance to outline your product and explain why the customer absolutely needs it.

Well-written product descriptions place your product in the minds of your customers through superb writing and story telling, allowing them to get a better picture of what they’re buying.

The benefits of having perfect product descriptions include an increase in conversion rate (potential customers are more confident), a lower return rate (customers expectations are more likely to be correct) and better organic ranking (unique, keyword rich content is created for your site.

Having uniquely crafted product descriptions is a necessity if you want your company to stand out from the competition.

For those who have no idea where to start, we have your back – luckily for you, we’ve compiled a list of tip-top top tips (what a mouthful!) for producing amazingly persuasive and highly targeted descriptions for your site.

Knowing Your Audience

Before you even begin to write your first product description, you need to know your target audience or buyer persona.

Once you know your exact audience, you can craft your copy to appeal to them. For example, some audiences may be more interested in technical specifications of a product, whereas some may be more interested in the size or ease of use.

Not having an idea who you’re writing for means that your audience is no one. To avoid this, carry out detailed audience research and attempt to build up a profile of your buyer persona.

Once you have this, you can begin to create content based on their values. Use language that resonates emotionally and talk directly to them.

What some companies fail to remember is that product descriptions are about the customer, not the product. Speak directly to them by using pronouns like ‘you’ and ‘your.’ Keep the customer in mind and you’ll have no issue with converting customers into sales.

Knowing Your Product

The next most important factor is your product. You need to draw a link between your product and your audience – why would they buy it? How can it help them? What are the benefits?

Not only are you listing your amazing product’s features, specifications and overall description, you’re creating a narrative between the product and the customer.

Go back to your GCSE days and use the techniques you (reluctantly) learnt – don’t just state something but explain why it is.

For example, when writing a description for running shoes from adidas (don’t get annoyed, adidas don’t capitalise their name):

‘Offering top of the range technology, adidas Energy Boost Trainers offer greater energy return through the use of the meticulously crafted and patented Boost material used for the midsole. This allows you to run even further than ever before, smashing your personal best with ease.’

Vs.

These adidas trainers give enhanced energy return.

I’ll let you decide which one’s better (pro-tip, it’s the first.)

An easy way to think about it is like this: 

• The features/specifications = cold hard facts

• The benefits = explanation of the facts.

Knowing Your Tone of Voice

Intrinsically linked with your audience, you need to have a defined tone of voice. Keeping your buyer persona in mind, work out whether your content should be professional, casual or even comedic.

B2B companies that sell expensive software should take a technical and professional approach, whereas sites that sell novelty outfits and accessories will appeal to their customers more with a light dusting of humour.

You can even use your tone of voice to let your customers learn more about you. Instead of saying we’re easy to talk to, show it through the use of light-hearted jokes and a casual style of writing.

Knowing How to Optimise

Informed by your buyer persona, use keyword planner to find the best keywords to include in your content.

Use these keywords in your title tag, h1 and content – but be careful not to stuff it full of the same keyword. Doing so makes it read awkwardly and gives the user a bad experience.

Unique content crafted lovingly for each product is essential – using the manufacturer’s description will get your site penalised by Google as you’re duplicating content.

Unique descriptions with keywords will allow you to rank better for your search terms.

Other Useful Tips

Some more useful tips for writing stellar product descriptions: 

• Use analogies to describe quality – i.e. the interior of the Mini Countryman is of the highest quality Vs. the interior of the Mini Countryman is designed with the high end luxury that you’d expect in a country mansion.

• Only use jargon and technical language if you know your audience responds to it, e.g. professional sound equipment.

• Use shorter sentences to increase readability.

• Dispel potential buyer objections by anticipating any issues, e.g. our customisable pens are refillable.

• Ensure all product descriptions are in a standardised format.

And there you have it; our tips for creating product descriptions that will convert. If writing hundreds of repetitious product descriptions is too overwhelming a task for you, we can lend a hand. Get in touch with us to find out how we can create optimised product descriptions for you.