Since the pandemic, the popularity of online shopping has increased enormously once again. Sleeknote.com estimates that 2.14 billion people worldwide store online. The market is gigantic, but the competition is all the greater. It is important to stand out from the crowd. Learn how to stand out from the crowd with 5 tips for writing product descriptions that convert.
Alongside product images, product descriptions are the most important factor in achieving conversions. In online marketing, conversion refers to the transformation of a target person, in the case of online stores from prospect:in to buyer:in. And this is where product descriptions come into play: They inspire your customers, arouse their curiosity, and convince them of your offer.
Product descriptions or: The art of informing and inspiring
But what exactly is a product description? How is it structured, and what must it contain? Here is an overview:
- Product descriptions inform your customers about your goods and services and motivate them to buy with inspiring descriptions.
- They are usually 100 to 200 words long – but can be longer if necessary.
- Product descriptions are clearly structured and provide users with the most important information at first glance. Article name and facts are therefore at the very beginning. Relevant details follow. Open questions about the product round off the description.
- An SEO headline, i.e., a title that is optimized for search engines, must not be missing. It ensures that users find your website via Google & Co.
- Many product descriptions use bullet points – they give the description visual structure, highlight essential information and make it more readable overall.
There are numerous examples on the Internet of what product descriptions should not look like. They bore their readers with the same advertising slogans, are dry, monotonous and far too general. To help you avoid these mistakes, we have put together six tips to help you write convincing product descriptions.
Tip 1️⃣: A clearly defined target group
When it comes to copywriting for the Internet, it is often said that the more general the description, the more users it will appeal to. This is not true. If your description is too general, you run the risk of not appealing to anyone.
And that is also the first tip for your product descriptions: Define a target group! In the entertainment industry, people prefer casual language; customers of expensive designer furniture prefer a more serious tone. When writing a product description, you must know your target group and address them linguistically.
Tip 2️⃣: Product descriptions convey information – not empty slogans
A product description has to sit. To fulfill the overriding goal of bringing the user closer to the offered product as quickly as possible, every sentence of the enclosed description must offer added value. When writing, a simple self-check helps here: ask yourself for each sentence whether it offers information and is tailored exclusively to the product in question. If it doesn’t, out comes the sentence.
Tip 3️⃣: The right amount of detail
A product description informs and offers added value – but it must not overload readers with details. A contradiction to tip 2? No: It’s all about the right amount. One guiding principle helps here: the product description explains what the picture cannot show. For example, information about fit, materials used, and application tips.
The point is to show prospective customers what advantage the product has for them, or why it represents a solution to their problems. If neither of these is the case with your product, you need to create desire. Show your users why your product improves life!
Tip 4️⃣: Arouse emotions
Does your product improve the lives of your customers? Then the accompanying description must also evoke these positive emotions. The best way to do this is to use specific adjectives or to use words to create images in the user’s mind. For example, the TV doesn’t convince with a “high-resolution image,” but rather resembles a “magical window into another world.
But be careful: Don’t line up adjective after adjective. This disturbs the user’s reading flow and obscures the actual message of your product description. One adjective per noun is sufficient. By the way: A feeling that works wonderfully with product descriptions is nostalgia. If you can get users to associate your product with a positive memory of the past, you’ll make them even more loyal to your product.
Tip 5️⃣: Stand out from the crowd
As discussed earlier, it is ideal for a product description to be enriched with the correct amount of detail and to offer your readers real added value. This does not only apply to the linguistic level: You should also stand out from other product descriptions in terms of content.
What this means is that you should find aspects, especially in the description of the article, that enables your prospective customers to understand your product even better. Sounds confusing? Example: As advidera.com writes, accessories brand Kapten & Son provides its customers with a detailed guide on which glasses fit which face shape, and gives precise measurements on every aspect of its eyewear.
Tip 6️⃣: Good storytelling is worth its weight in gold
Storytelling is the be-all and end-all of modern content marketing. A good story triggers emotions and makes readers forget that they are in the middle of a buying process. But do product descriptions even lend themselves to effective storytelling?
Of course, they do! For example, tell how your article or your brand came into being. Or use a story from everyday life to show how customers use your product and what it can do. The possibilities are endless and the results pay off. Good storytelling also gives your products a unique selling proposition that your customers will remember.
Unleash the potential of your product descriptions
Dry, boring and always the same platitudes: many people don’t have the best image of product descriptions. All the greater is the potential for you to inspire your readers with good product descriptions. With informative messages to a selected target group, sophisticated language and good storytelling, you stand out from the crowd and increase your conversion. If you then follow the rules of UX writing, nothing can go wrong!
Product descriptions require professional work and a lot of time. We at GudComp are more than happy to support you and inspire your customers to buy your products. Just contact us!