+ Free Product Description Template!
Does the following problem sound familiar?
You put your heart and soul into developing your product. Every ingredient, material and element has been thought about in great detail. You’ve designed cool-looking packaging that you know your customers will love. You’ve even done a professional shoot done to get some super slick product shots. But when it comes time to upload your products to your website, you get stuck.
You stare into the white box where you’re supposed to write your product descriptions. The cursor blinks at you, mockingly. What are you supposed to write? What do your customers actually want to know? After all, people can get everything they need to know about your product from the photos, right? And you’re not a copywriter! You end up just describing the most basic function of your product and leaving it at that.
Well, dear eCommerce store owner, we’re here to tell you that you have to lift your game. Your product descriptions play a role that’s beyond what your photos can do. Product description writing doesn’t have to be hard or scary. We’re here to help you out.
What is a product description?
Product descriptions are more than just a literal description of your product. They’re your chance to tell your customers the story behind your product, what makes it unique, and why it’s the best product for them. It’s where you should be telling your customers how your product will solve their problem, pre-empting their questions, and really selling your brand and story to them. Yes, photos are important, but if you don’t have well-written product descriptions, you could be losing sales. And on top of helping your customers to convert, good product descriptions can do a few things you probably haven’t thought of yet…
Product descriptions can legitimise your eCommerce site
Have you ever landed on a website, thought about purchasing something, but felt put off by a lack of information about the business or product? Lack of product descriptions will mean that at best, your customers feel unsure about what they’ll be getting if they make a purchase, and at worst, make your website seem fake or like a scam.
They help with SEO
If your product descriptions are optimised for the keywords your business is targeting, they can help your SEO ranking. When writing your descriptions, write with keywords in mind. Aside from keywords, effective product descriptions can help you avoid a high bounce rate on your site. The longer a user spends on your page, the more it signals to Google that your site is full of quality content that’s relevant to the keywords users are searching. But if someone lands on one of your product pages and there’s no information, chances are they’ll bounce, which will hurt your Google ranking!
They support the performance of your ads
If you’re driving traffic to your website from ads on Facebook and Google, customers are less likely to add to cart if there’s nothing on your landing page to convince them. If you’re spending money on ads but your product descriptions are poor, you could be throwing money down the drain.
Ok, but what makes a good product description?
- Don’t just describe your product
While it is called a product description, it needs to do a little more than simply describe your product. Your customers want to know more than that your product is a ‘green cotton hoodie’, or freshly roasted coffee beans’. Highlight the benefits of your product, how it can solve your customer’s problem, what’s unique about it, and why they should choose your product over another. If you can, tell a story to hook your customers in. Was it lovingly handmade? Is it the result of years of testing and perfecting your manufacturing process? At what moment in their life would they need to use the product?
- Don’t leave customers questioning
But be sure to include vital information like size, material, colour or weight, shipping or manufacturing timeframes, care or use instructions, etc. Think about the questions you get asked most often and make sure you cover it all. Your customers shouldn’t be left with any questions after reading your product description. If they read your description and still have to go to the effort of contacting customer service before purchasing, you could be losing sales. It’s also a great idea to include online reviews as part of your product descriptions (or somewhere on the product page, if your website allows), as these help give customers confidence, and (hopefully) back up the claims you make in your product description.
- Write with your audience in mind
Think of your product descriptions as an extension of your brand. It’s another chance for you to endear your brand to your customers. Product descriptions don’t have to be dry and informational! They can be fun, poetic, punchy, full of puns, or serious and business-like. As long as customers can easily get all the information they need from your descriptions, you can make them whatever you want them to be. Revisit your audience personas and think about what sort of writing style they would respond to most.
- Make it scannable and readable
While it is ok to tell a story and have some fun with your product descriptions, there is a fine line between injecting your descriptions with personality, and making them rambling or difficult to read. Don’t use overly complicated or technical language if it’s not necessary (it rarely is!) and don’t write an essay if one or two short paragraphs will do. There will always be those shoppers who just scan your site for the info they’re looking for, so try incorporating subheadings and even listing product specs as bullet points at the end of your description.
- Match your ad copy to your product descriptions
This also goes for any landing page. Matching the copy and language in your social media ads to the copy used in your product descriptions is vital in creating a seamless experience for your customers. If the way your product is described on your site is vastly different to your ads, it can be confusing and jarring for customers, and could hurt your conversion rate.
Free product description template!
Now you know why descriptions are important, and you’ve got tips to help you write them. But if you’re still feeling stuck, don’t worry. We’ve put together a free product description template to help your organise your ideas and make product description writing a breeze! Click the banner below to download your free product description template now.
