Your website is gorgeous, beautifully optimised for sales. You’ve invested in quality product photos. You’ve paid for Google Ads and SEO and loads of people are coming to your site. But no-one is buying your product.
Why?
Unless you’ve written product descriptions, it’s highly unlikely that people will buy your products. A study showed that descriptive titles may increase sales by 27%.
When M&S chocolate pudding sales were terrible, they used emotive language on their advertising and sales increased by 3,500%.
What would a 3500% increase in sales look like for you? How can you do it?
Sell the hole, not the drill
If you’re writing product descriptions, you need to do more than just list the technical information. While the vital statistics of the item are important, the thing that makes people buy something is not the product; it’s what it does. For instance, no-one buys a drill because they desperately desire a drill. They invest in a drill because they actually need holes. And a hole is what you’re selling.
One of my first roles in the content industry was a product description writer for a luxury goods company. Those Louis Vuitton handbags, the Jimmy Choo shoes, the Chanel suits. And when writing descriptions, it wasn’t about saying that this handbag was made from leather and was 45cm long. It was about making people feel good. If they are buying a luxury handbag, they are probably concerned about their appearance. They want to be unique, special, and to be perceived a certain way.
As a result, descriptions would talk about how the LV print was instantly recognisable, a hallmark of quality and style. The leather was luxe leather, sourced from France, stitched by artisan craftspeople. The bag would complete any outfit with class, making the wearer the epitome of style.
Appeal to the feelings, not the physical needs. Because it works. Appealing to their emotions makes them more likely to buy their product.
How to write great product descriptions
These days, when I have to write product descriptions, I think about what the customers want to know. I look at the product advertised elsewhere and see what has been written about it. Then I look at the Q&A section on EBay and see which questions are being asked. These are things that should be answered in the copy.
Then I look at who is buying the product. The persona or ‘avatar’ is who you should be writing for. An example is that I was writing descriptions for mini gummi-bear trays. A quick look on EBay reviews showed me that mothers were buying these trays in order to make their children eat otherwise-unpalatable foods.
So, into the copy, lots of wording for mothers. ‘Dishwasher safe, no need to scrub or wash yourself’ and ‘these gummy bears are the perfect size for little hands’. You can even just replicate the words the reviewers use; utilise their language.
Tell the customer what they want to hear
There are certain words, that if used correctly, will increase your sales. These words (a simple Google will gives you screeds of lists as starter ideas) are emotive, making your customer feel the thing they need to feel. They will start to perceive your product a certain way. It’s exclusive, or scarce, or valuable, or beautiful. A study from Missouri University showed that emotive words produced ‘more positive shopping outcomes’.
Find your customer’s hole
What is your customer truly looking for? If you’re a clothing store, are they looking for hard-wearing fabrics that’ll last a long time? Do they want something timeless, or do they want to be different to their friends? Play to that.
Instead of a ‘size 14, striped shirt in 100% cotton’, you need to sell the hole. ‘This shirt in beautiful 100% natural cotton sets you apart from the crowd. The wide stripes are bold and daring, and the vibrant neck tie gives this a flair that will set you apart from the crowd. This is a showstopper that’s appropriate for work or an event.’
You just told your customer that they will be special, the item is versatile, and that this item will make them stand out. You’ve sold the hole.
Write awesome product descriptions to increase sales
If your website is awesome, you’re getting loads of hits but you’re not converting those visits to sales, it’s time to look after your product descriptions.
-Use descriptive words
-Sell an emotion, not a product
-Research your customer avatar
-Sell directly to that person.