A picture is worth a thousand words, isn’t it? Maybe, but successfully selling product goes beyond posting great pictures. For thousands of years, people have utilized words to push products: from crying about wares for sale in the marketplace, to creating a blog article review, to writing a book blurb in a novel sleeve. That’s why product descriptions are important to your membership site. From a marketing standpoint, their purpose is to tell a potential buyer why he or she should buy your product. Words are powerful, and the right words can help close a sale (even a small sale).
If you don’t know which plugin to use to create descriptions, check out this step-by-step blog article on how to use an Ecommerce or MemberPress plugin to develop those descriptions.
Here’s some advice on how to make stellar descriptions to market the products on your site.
Follow the classic advertising rule: features + benefits + value
Every good marketer knows the three critical elements of selling product. They’re used in developing commercials, print ads, PR blogs, newsletters, and even a brand image. Well, guess what? They apply to writing product descriptions as well. Let’s break it down:
- Features: Features are facts—the components that make up your product. For instance, that pair of pants you’re selling may be black, size eight, include zipper pockets, be made of denim, etc.
- Benefits: Benefits are how the product will solve an issue your customer is facing. The pants may be easy to take on and off, comfortable, great looking, warm, or durable.
- Value: Value may be difficult to include in a product description, but if you can find a way to capture it, it will be the most influential in securing a potential buy. Value goes beyond solving a pain point; it shows consumers how this product will help them reach their dream potential and fulfill their long-term goals. For instance, that pair of pants may help a potential customer become the businesswoman of her dreams or help another feel comfortable with who she is.
Value is often the most neglected piece of the equation in the advertising rule. If you’d like to better understand the concept, take a look at this Volkswagen commercial and consider what it’s saying about who a person becomes when they own the car.
Use powerful adjectives, verbs, and nouns
It’s not just what you say but how you say it. When writing descriptions, bland adjectives and nouns can make the product seem, well, bland. Use specific and enticing adjectives, verbs, and nouns to make product descriptions really pop.
For example, consider a few of the descriptions of Otterbox’s features for their Trooper 12 cooler:
- Premium insulation keeps ice up to three days
They could have simply listed that it’s “insulated.” But “premium” sounds a lot better, doesn’t it? It’s an adjective that tells you the product is high-quality. What’s more, this description includes an example of how awesome the insulation is.
- Solid, heavy-duty base defends against punctures
“Solid, heavy-duty” sounds a lot better than “strong,” and “defends” is more powerful than “protects.”
Don’t be afraid to use a thesaurus to look for powerful synonyms that appeal to your target audience. Use words that talk about how awesome your product is.
Know your target audience and write in a way that appeals to them
Always know who you are selling your product to. Otherwise, how will you sell it? The words you use and the elements you focus on will depend on what potential buyers love and need. If the product is simple and obvious, like a red baseball cap, you may not need much of a description. But if the product is unusual or has a lot of unique aspects, it may require a more verbose description.
Product descriptions are a great way to emphasize your brand. Don’t sound robotic, but be funny, snarky, classy, strong, etc. For instance, Malicious Candles sells candles to snarky women, and their product descriptions fit that brand.
Here are the first few sentences used to describe their Congrats for Being in Charge of A Tiny Human candle. “‘Be a parent,’ they said. ‘It'll be great,’ they said. Misery loves company. And hey…you'll sleep again in like…18 years! Just wait until they start dating!” It’s only a candle, but the description makes it seem like so much more.
Refer to our previous article for help finding your target audience. To better understand your audience, conduct research and ask them what they want!
Use Google searchable keywords
Be sure to include words that make the item easily searchable on Google and on your website. Whether it’s a wallet, shirt, dress, etc., you’re talking about, identify it as such. And Google AdWords Keyword Planner is a great tool for discovering what words are being searched in connection with your product. On the keyword planner, type in the word most often used for what you sell. A list of words and average monthly searches under various keywords will pop up. Use those words!
Remember:
- Follow the advertising rule of features + benefits + value.
- Use specific and enticing verbs, adjectives, and nouns.
- Know your target audience (always, in everything you do).
- Use keywords that make your product more easily searchable.
A product description may not seem like a huge deal, but it’s what customers use to decide whether or not they want to buy your product. It is the first thing they will check out after finding your product.
While a picture may be worth a thousand words, words allow a potential buyer to see beyond the photo—to form a mental image based on their own perspective. What will your words allow a customer to see?
What product descriptions have you seen be most effective? Are you worried about being able to write descriptions that fit your target audience’s needs and deepest desires? Have you seen any great examples of product descriptions? Please let us know in the comments below. If you liked this post, please follow us on Facebook for more great content. You can also find us on Twitter and Instagram.
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