Let me guess. You are about to launch your business, have some clever products you are keen to get all of us to buy, but have arrived at one of the hardest parts of running an online business? The question is how to write product descriptions that turn your invention into the hottest must-have item?
Great product descriptions take more than simply putting pen to paper and knocking out some quick words while watching the latest episode of your favourite Netflix show. Here are some make-or-break product description copywriting tips to get your head around before you even attempt writing your first product description.
Understand your product
I get it. You have come up with the hottest product since Chris Hemsworth, but there are more success factors to a product than a tempting six pack. It’s time to change perspective and put yourself into your customers’ shoes. Experience your product just like any of your regular customers would. Use it and see what it adds to your life. Why would you use it and what tips and tricks can you share with your customers along the way once you have experienced your product?
Another great way to dig deeper is to survey your friends or family who know your product to find out directly from the source what made them fall in love with it. What would they tell their friends about it?
Once you understand what your product stands for, you will be much better positioned to sell it in your product descriptions.
What problem does your product solve?
Every product needs to address and solve a very real problem for customers to spend their hard-earned cash. Whether it makes them feel better about themselves, takes them a step closer to the lifestyle of their dreams or solves an everyday problem, this is your big selling point.
Work out why people buy your product and weave this into your product copy. Let your customers imagine how much better their lives will be once they own your product. No product out there doesn’t tick off an emotional or practical pain point.
Once you have caught onto it, rub it under their noses and see how hard it is to resist.
What is your unique selling point?
Now it’s onto working out what makes your product unique among your competitors’. What makes your product the pick of the bunch? It might be price point, design, quality or green credentials.
That’s where understanding your customer is crucial. Work out what is important to them so you can link it in with your product description. If your customers love to save the planet and look at eco-friendly production methods as a key factor in their decision making then you need to remind them about your local product facility that only uses recycled materials. If your customer wants to be the most stylish mum among her playgroup friends then remind them of your minimalist design and those design awards you might have earned along the way. Get it?
A unique selling point is a MUST to stand out from the crowd! Understanding your product should give you a good idea of why customers will love your product.
What are your competitors doing?
As much as I always advise to stay within your lane, this is the one time I advise you to certainly pay attention to what the competition has to say.
A starting point is to suss out how they position themselves in the marketplace. Work out a list of your immediate competitors and audit how they sell their products. Work out the unique selling points and you will see pretty quickly where there is a gap in the market that suits your product to a tee.
If 5 out of your 10 competitors compete on a super low price point, do you want to be no.6? Rather than competing on price, use your unique selling point to your advantage and never have to compete on price again.
Customers take price into account to a certain degree, but to convince them to click that ‘buy’ button you only have to give them the right reasons to choose your product. They are happy to pay that little bit extra if they are part of a premium experience.
Understand your customer
Eventually it all comes down to this key component that aligns with all of the already discussed aspects. In order to successfully sell a product you have to have a good grasp of who you are trying to sell to. Are they students in their early twenties living at home on a very limited income or professionals with high disposable income who can afford to splurge on luxury goods?
Work out your customers and create a profile for each of them. This will help you step into your customers’ footsteps. It will let you work out where they hang out, how they research their purchases, where they live online and how they talk to their friends.
Your brand tone of voice needs to align with your customers and flow through not only your website, emails and brand content but also through your Product Descriptions. Consistency is absolute king!
Here is my product description copywriting tips homework for you:
Go back to basics and analyse your product, brand, customer and unique selling point over a freshly brewed cuppa. Getting it right from the get-go is much easier than having to apply fixes at a later stage when your entire brand persona is established and leaves your customer wanting more.
Happy writing!
Still asking yourself how to write product descriptions?
Why don’t you task me with whipping up strategic goodness for you?
I happen to be the copy brain behind product descriptions for global ecommeerce success story We Might Be Tiny.
