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How to write compelling product description copy for your e-store

Written by Marco Conti Tuesday, 09 March 2010 13:47

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Article Index
How to write compelling product description copy for your e-store
The SEO Factor
Don't use the manufacturer description
make my copy better
Watch your word count
SEO
Read, Edit, Spell
All Pages

If you are like me, writing your own copy is at the same level as getting a root canal. In fact, worse. At least at the dentist I get to sit down, put on my IPod and zone out for a while.

Writing copy is a chore; it's painful, frustrating and time consuming. But it needs to be done and done well. Your business success and its very future is at stake.

If the copy in question is a product description, the task is even more important. Now you are competing against the big boys, Your little product has to sell in an overcrowded, jaded and distracted market that really may or may not need it. You have to grab your audience with few words and give them a good reason to buy your product.

No wonder there are professionals that do this for a living.
In fact, if you have the budget, this is precisely my suggestion: hire a pro.
If you do, make sure the pro you hire has an established track record and that he or she has web copywriting experience.

But even if you decide to hire a pro, it doesn't mean you should stop reading and learning about web copywriting. The more you learn the better. At the very least you will be able to judge the quality of your copywriter's work and eventually do your own writing  after you have gained enough experience. And there is always the last minute job where being able to do your own copy is imperative.

But let's face it: If you are reading this you probably don't have the budget to hire a high flying copywriter right now. You are here because you want a few tips on how to do it yourself.

Let's start, but first of all, I want to establish a few important points about web copywriting and the main differences between print and web media writing.

The SEO Factor

In the catalog business, the copy has to entice buyers to buy the product. That's entirely true for web copy as well, but web copy has to work harder: It has to make itself found first.  You facilitate that by weaving the necessary keywords or key-phrases (a.k.a search-phrases) that a potential buyer or anyone interested in what the product does may be searching for.

I consider that job number one in Product Description Copywriting (note the key-phrase in the previous sentence). Before even starting to write your copy, collect your store's keywords and key-phrases and then add to the list the key-phrases related to the specific product you are writing about.

In order to weave them in the description, you have to think "how would someone search for this product"? Then make the resulting question into a statement to incorporate in the description.

Imagine you sell doorstops. How would you phrase your search in Google, Yahoo or any of the search engines? Would you search for: "Doorstop"? Very likely. But some, to broaden the search or lacking the right terminology, may search for "The 'thing' used to stop doors from opening all the way".
In that case, somewhere in your product description you want to weave that search phrase in a way that does not look too much out of place in the flow of the copy.

The Stop-o-Matic is the greatest doorstop ever produced. Whenever you all looking for a doorstop the Stop-o-Matic it's the right thing to keep your door from opening all the way."
OK, maybe I am exaggerating a bit and this sample is far from optimal, but you get the drift.

If SEO is a mystery to you, I suggest you beef up on it before you go ahead and start writing too much copy. You really need to understand the basics before you can get crafty enough at it to be able to optimize individual pages or products.

Don't use the manufacturer description

It's tempting isn't it? You buy your widgets from XYZ Mega-galactic and they sell the same widgets on their website. They gave you permission to use their copy and their photos so all you have to do is go there, copy their text and pictures and you are in business.
Wrong.

Think about it for a minute. Why would I, the consumer, buy my products from you?
For one thing, it's much more likely I'll find the manufacturer website before I find yours. They have been around longer and Google and Co. have certainly given their site a much better ranking.

But even assuming I am the comparison shopper type and I am visiting all the sites carrying that product, what would make me buy it from your site rather than the manufacturer?

Price for one thing, let's hope XYZ's prices are a bit higher than yours, but even if they are, to the average consumer XYZ will certainly be a more trustworthy place to drop their personal and financial info, so price may not make that much of a difference (and possibly their price may even be somewhat lower).

It may not even be the quality of the site. Most people don't really give a hoot about a site's looks as long as it's not a disaster zone, and we have to assume a manufacturer will have the bucks to hire competent web developers.
So, how can you beat them at their own game?

You got it: better copy and better pictures.

Fortunately, most manufacturers E-stores have terrible copy and often barely average pictures. They are anything but inspiring. Your chance to outsell the manufacturer is to entice your customers with better, more vibrant copy and with more inviting, better quality pictures. Otherwise there is really no incentive for the average customer to buy their products from you. Would you? Don't kid yourself.
("Don't kid yourself" is probably the single most useful advice I could give any new web entrepreneur, by the way. It covers a lot of ground)

If you need confirmation of this, try Googling a small phrase from any product descriptions from your manufacturer. I'll bet you'll get a dozen hits from stores just like yours all over the web. Their owners were just as lazy as you want to be.

When a potential customer searches for the same product, most likely they will get similar results, But that's great news if you think about it. It's is your chance to shine and outsell the competition.

Remember all that money and time you spent with that fancy flash animation?Those cool but expensive icons? Those overnight sessions with your web designer fixing the margins and the font point size?  Wasted time and money. You would have been much better off investing your efforts in proper photography and proper copy. Only when the basics are taken care of should you think about investing in eye candy and refinements few, if any, people will ever notice.

But what do I write to make my copy better and more inviting

OK, I got you now. I hope I convinced you that investing in good copy is a good idea and copy/paste from another site a really bad one. Let's go and craft our copy now. What's missing on the manufacturer description? Most likely, the description itself. Most manufacturer's product descriptions are very dull and uninspiring. They often just list dimensions, weight, a few sentences and that's all.

When writing your product descriptions, include particulars of how the product works, suggest new ways to use the product, help your customers address a common need.

After all, by virtue of the fact you are selling it, you are now an expert on these products. Act like one.

If you are short of ideas, role play: imagine you are on the floor of a store and a customer just walked in. They ask you a question about the product and you explain to them why they should buy it. What would you say? Would you recite the manufacturer's description? I didn't think so.

Tell the customer how the product will improve their lifestyle, their health, their love life. Anything. Be friendly, be creative, inventive, personable, act like a good friend trying to steer them toward a purchase that will improve their lives.

Naturally, a lot depends on what you sell. If you sell Tractors your general tone will be very different than if you sell collectable figurines or musical instruments. Tailor your general tone to the type of audience that's right for your products.

Watch your word count: you are writing for 5 year olds

I don't mean to offend your customers, but all web users, me and you included, have the attention span of 5 year olds on a sugar high. Just Google "Web user attention span". That means that while you want to give your customers plenty of valuable information, you can't overload them with useless information and you cannot write "War and Peace" either. People just won't read it.
Be descriptive but don't repeat yourself and make every word count.

Of course, that's easier said than done. I realize that. But try and try again until you get it right. You'll be surprised how much unnecessary fluff we introduce in our writing (this article included, I am sure).

Go easy with the formatting toolbar

Please resist the temptation to draw attention to certain phrases or words by using your text editor's formatting tools. It's your writing that has to sell your product. Not the color or the size of the text.

I know it's very tempting to overcome your writing shortcomings by coloring or changing the size of your text. Don't do it.

Especially, don't overload the page with sensational statements in bold, red 18pt font. One short sentence like that may be an attention grabber, two are annoying, more are both annoying and inconsequential. In fact, too much emphasis may even end up emphasizing the plain text copy and the page will look unprofessional.

We have all seen those sites were every page is a mess of red, blue and green text  with different sizes , different font types and backgrounds to match. I am sure their owners started out innocent enough but eventually their eagerness had the better of them and tried to emphasize each subsequent sentence more than the previous one with pitiful results.

If you need emphasis or need to draw attention to words or phrases (short phrases) use bold or Italic (the latter very sparingly as it's hard to read). Do not color the text if you can help it unless it is part of your site's style guide. Bold text has the advantage to trigger Google's ranking machine. Google considers bold text more relevant than the surrounding text and it will focus on those words. Using bold for some of your keywords is a good strategy but don't go overboard. Like with any kind of emphasis (and many other things in life) it's a matter of balance.

Let you CSS handle much of the special formatting you want to use on your pages and leave the text editor alone. Try to avoid centering text and titles (again, unless they are part of your site style) never use Underline (it looks like a link) and use bullet points liberally if necessary. They are a very good way to communicate lists of items, but don't rely on them exclusively. You are also trying to tell a story, not a PowerPoint presentation.

Let's get back to the SEO part

OK, you followed my advice and now you have a spanking new description. Did you weave the key-phrases in it? I didn't think so. You already forgot.
It's OK. Now it's the right time to do it, actually. Read the description again and see where you can insert keywords and key-phrases. If you have to add another sentence go ahead, but refrain from being verbose.

Do some research, snoop the competition and see what they are using in their descriptions for similar products. It's not OK to copy, but it's OK to get your inspiration from others. It doesn't even have to be a similar product.

Link to other products and resources

Unless you only sell one product, you can try cross selling by inserting links to other products in your product description text. Often that can be more effective than the "Customers that bought this item also bought" or the "related products" box. Again, you are telling a story. If you can suggest other products to buy together you may be able to increase you sales and it will also increase your SEO.

You can also provide links to blogs and articles elsewhere on the web as additional resources. These can be additional information about the product or the "culture" around the product.

Careful how you handle those. In my experience it's usually best to open the links in  a popup window (the DHTML kind that does not open an actual new browser window) so that visitors don't leave your site never to return.

Call-to-Action

A call-to-action is basically a statement that creates urgency to purchase the product. Naturally, it is related to the product(s) you sell. But a Call-to-Action could be a statement like "Free shipping for orders over $50" or "Join our mailing list and get a 10% off coupon". The Call-to-Action can go near the add-to-cart button or at the end of the description.
It should be crafter to be unobtrusive yet evident and create a sense of urgency so that the user won't just bookmark the page and "think about it".

The effect of the Call-to-Action can be even more far reaching than the immediate sale. For instance, getting a visitor's email for inclusion in a newsletter list it's a great goal. But remember that when you ask your customers to give you something, you have to always give them something back. In fact, giving things away for free is a time honored business model on the web. If you sell Piano lessons on DVD, let them download a beginner, an intermediate and an advanced lesson for free in exchange for their email and their permission to send them a weekly "piano tips" newsletter.

Read, Edit, Spell, Read, Edit, Spell, Read, Edit, Spell!

Let me make one thing clear: You can never read, edit and spell check your copy enough. Also, don't trust your spell checker 100%, especially if you use an online spell check. Them and Then are easily mistaken but their meaning can be totally different. Google's spell checker won't catch that. Only your careful reading will.

When a new customer buys from your store, they are putting a lot of trust in you. You want to make them feel that their trust is in a good place. A pleasant, professional web site, is a first step. Professionally written copy is important factor. Don't ruin it with spelling mistakes. When I find spelling errors in otherwise professional web sites I can actually hear the sound of the record player scratching the disk. Immediately the perceived value of the site, the product they sell and the people involved, go down a notch in my mind. Don't give them that excuse.
You just can't afford it.

If you have followed my advice so far, you have worked too hard to ruin it this late in the game. Beside the spelling, read and edit your copy again and again. In fact, get into the habit of going back the next day and read it with a fresh mind.

Ask someone that you trust to read your copy. But make a pact that they have to be honest with you. No sugar coating allowed. They wouldn't be doing you any favors.

Conclusion

If after all this your copy is still wanting, maybe you want to reconsider hiring that professional. By now, you should have a good idea what to look for in a professional copywriter. Don't tell them what you read in this article, let him or her tell you about it instead.

Remember that copywriters, just like web designers, programmers and everyone else involved in building your web site, are not mind readers or have otherworldly powers. They cannot produce a decent product description out of nothing. You will still need to give them something to work with. In fact, in a sense what we are talking about here is not so much copywriting but "copy re-writing".

You'll have to give the copywriter something already close to its final shape. At the very least they will need the raw data and any relevant information regarding the product, the product line, the kind of culture around the product and so forth. The more unique your product, the more specific you'll have to be. The job of the copywriter will be to take your output and refine it so it will flow nicely while still providing the same information.

When you interview your prospective copywriters, you should look out for signs that they know what they are doing. Ideally they should bring up the topics I discussed in this article on their own. If they don't, try prodding them a bit but not too much. They should be able to explain in detail what their job is and how they are going to accomplish it. Have them explain to you what their approach to SEO, web accessibility and web technologies is. If they look at you blankly, move on and interview someone else.

The ideal relationship between you and your web team, should be that of close collaboration. Everyone should have a stake in your success, you included. You have to be able to pull your weight and show your team that you care and that you work hard, that you give their opinions the proper weight and that you value their input.

Otherwise, if you cannot muster the enthusiasm necessary to do the job, they certainly are not going to and the results will be mediocre. Mediocrity is the norm on the web. Make your site shine.

I hope this has helped. I am sure I have left plenty out, but I hope that with your comments I will be able to make this article more complete and more useful to everyone.

Good luck

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