How to Dazzle with Your Product Descriptions

A well-written product description for your items online has the potential to carry your customers right through to checkout. It's not just big businesses that need to think about how they present their products; whether you are writing a product description for your top-selling item on a 500 page website, or just a pair of second-hand shoes on eBay, the words you choose could gain or lose a sale.

Adding a little creativity into the mix when writing your product descriptions may convert the casual browser into a returning customer when combined with clear item pictures. Especially, if you're selling on sites like Etsy where customers are often browsing unfamiliar brands and sellers it's a way to really showcase your products greatness! Use this as an opportunity to state the key features and benefits of the product - your product description can build customer interest, increase excitement and even reduce your rate of returns!

Writing product descriptions that sell doesn't need to be overly difficult. They are there so your customers know the answers to why they need your product. Done well, your items can distinguish themselves from your competitors - even the addition of accurate sizes and weights can convert customers to buy. We've put together a few tips so you can dazzle potential customers with your descriptions.

Optimise your product descriptions

Use your description space as an opportunity to entice the customer into buying. Use positive adjectives that will add character, allure and value to the product itself. A photograph will show the customer what your product looks like, the right description will fill in the blanks and tell them everything else! As they can't smell, touch or taste the product you'll need to describe these features (where appropriate!) and tempt them to buy!

Yankee Candle are experts at using descriptive language. Their products are all about scent, which creates a problem: how do you pitch a scented candle to a customer who can't smell it through a screen?

Their Mandarin Cranberry candle could be simply described as - 'Large candle scented with oranges and cranberries'. Which, while entirely accurate, doesn't really tempt the buyer into handing over any cash.

Instead they've used descriptive language to detail the fragrance: 'Bursting with the vibrant, fruity sensation of sweet, sunny oranges and crisp, tangy cranberries'. It's fun language that gets the mouth watering and the nose twitching.

Choosing the right words is important for other reasons too - take for example allergies. If someone is looking for a dress who is allergic to polyester it is important for them to know what fabric your dress is made of. By not including this information in the product description of your 100% cotton dress you may lose a sale if the customer doesn't know this dress is safe for them. Including the right info also means you won't have a surge in customer service emails or calls, maybe also consider installing a ChatBot so customers can ask short questions and have them answered fast!

Know your audience

It's really important to understand your customers and tailor your product descriptions to them. In our age of increasing online shopping habits and increasing eCommerce business conversions, consumers have all the time and all the choice! So making sure you're channeling your brand toward your target audience is vital.

Having a sense of humour when writing your product copy can be a great marketing tool if you are selling a fun product and targeting casual customers who are of that demographic. This probably won't work so well if you are trying to sell a new type of valve to large pharmaceutical companies - you may come across as unprofessional and would probably lose the sale.

On the other hand, using 'business' language or corporate jargon may well impress the head buyer of a fortune 500 company but won't do much to encourage a teenager to fork over their pocket money on the latest video game!

Most customers will be turned off if you sound like you're desperately pitching a sale, so the begging to a minimum and stick to the facts, whilst choosing language that your target demographic will find most appealing. If in doubt though, stick to plain, easily readable language. Let your products do the talking and leave the jargon and jokes for now!

Include all the details

It goes without saying that your potential customers will want to know all of the product features and details of an item before paying. These details can include:

• Size - Give dimensions, weight or even a size chart.
• Colour - Don't just call it white - is it cream or eggshell white?
• Quantity - Is it a part of a set? Are the parts sold separately?
• Allergen Information - As mentioned before you need to state the materials or ingredients.
• Relative Information - This one's very helpful if you sell clothes and you included pictures of a model. Include the model's measurements and what size product she's wearing!
• Shipping Information - It's useful here to include what shipping options your brand offer. No one likes to be kept waiting, so let your customers know you can expedite delivery.

Integrating your online store with Interparcel can solve this issue as our low-cost shipping services allow you to offer your customers Next Day or Economy services on any order with you!

Our Shipping Manager allows you to integrate all of your ecommerce platforms like Squarespace, Shopify, and WooCommerce into one easy to use shipping solution.

We can pull all of your orders together in seconds, giving you the fastest, cheapest and easiest way to arrange your deliveries. Our excellent tracking service enables you and your customers to follow the delivery from door to door, Freeing you up to work on those product descriptions and get more orders!

Keep trying!

Getting the right tone of voice for your brand can take years in the making and some big businesses are still chopping and changing it so see what works best. Getting feedback from customers is an important tool to know what they want to see, so listening to their thoughts can provide you with vital info on what to include in descriptions.

Share with your friends and network and ask for honest opinions on your descriptions and that they accurately describe your products, clearly shows its benefits, and why customers would be absolutely mad to not buy it! It's all trial and error so give it a try and see where it can get you.