Your product description is your last chance to win over your customer and finalize the sale. Product descriptions are also extremely important for search engine optimization and making sure that your customer can find your products. However, many tend to focus on the technical aspects of optimizing their product description and forget about the psychological effects of having a great product copy for your site. After all, it’s not just robots that will be reading them.
Perhaps what you need to jumpstart your business is a solid plan on how to write compelling descriptions. Even if you have a great website, the descriptions won’t write themselves. That is something only you can do. But where do you start?
In this post, we are going to outline some of the components that make a great product description, based on experts who write product descriptions, as well as from some customers and web copywriters who write this type of copy regularly.
How to Create a Great Product Description that Converts
The following steps take you through how to build an effective product description from start to finish.
Build interest with your headline
The headline is one of the first things your viewers will see when they land on your page. Once they search for the products they are interested in, they will focus on your product, including your headline. Focus on creating a great headline that will attract their attention.
Think like the searcher
If you are going to draw attention among your target audience, you need to learn to think like the searcher rather than as a business owner. What would you look for if you were shopping on your site? Make sure and include a great photo that highlights the best aspects of the product and accompanies it with a dynamic description.
Tell a story
One of the best ways to get the attention of your customers to get them to purchase is to tell an interesting story.
You can do this with video or with text but create a story that is interesting, and that will resonate with your target customers. Character animations are useful for this task, but you can use descriptive text if you do not include a video.
Use power words that appeal to the senses
Using specific words that appeal to the senses or emotions is an effective way to turn viewers into customers. Words such as “smooth,” “high-energy,” or “lush” are some examples of words that may grab the attention of your most coveted customers.
Build a great offer
Creating a great offer is one of the most important aspects of your product description. Even if you have a good photo and strong wording, you will not see many conversions if you don’t have a strong offer. Make sure that what you are offering is truly a good deal and that you have communicated it to your target audience.
Create a sense of urgency
Any great ad creates a sense of urgency. Product descriptions should describe the product and the benefits that it will bring to the buyer. But you should take it a step further than this by reminding them that your offer may not last long. If people think the offer will always be there, they may not be as likely to act as quickly as you want them to. Always be honest but if there is a deadline for the offer, tell them so as part of your final call-to-action.
Include a compelling call to action
If you want to make the biggest impact on your target audience, try to make your call-to-action as strong and positive as possible. This can include telling them exactly what you want them to do (subscribe, purchase now, or bookmark page), as well as a link that allows them to go straight to the site you want them to go to.
Keep it flexible
One other note that you should keep in mind when creating product copy is that you should stay open to changes. Being flexible with your descriptions will allow you to keep an open mind so that you’ll know when to make changes if something is not working as well as it should.
For example, if your product changes or the demand for the product changes, you will need to come in and update the copy to include the updated information in a way that will not detract from the original ad. A little experience in writing great product descriptions will help with this.
Use media to enhance your descriptions.
Once you have a compelling product description and your product copy is to your liking, consider bringing in some media to accent your message. This can include anything from podcasts to video or photos. Use anything that will entice the reader to act on the ad and to take you up on your offer.
Connecting to the Customer’s Needs
The bottom line of how to create a product description that will work is to think of your target audience, create product copy that will resonate with them, and talk about how your product or service will improve their lives.
When Steve Jobs stood before an audience of thousands in 2003 and unveiled his iPod, remember that he did not say, “We have a mp3 player.” He said, “Imagine a thousand songs in your pocket.” He also stated that it was ” a tool for the heart.” By not being unique to the hardware or the technology, Jobs jumped right to the core of the matter, literally, and addressed the psychological reasons that people love the iPod. It makes their lives more meaningful.
When you can tap into the psychology and the motivation that makes people buy, rather than being focused on the technical aspects alone, you come closer to connecting with the reasons that differentiate the people who buy from those who don’t.