What are Product Descriptions?

A product description is a type of marketing copy that brands use. It provides essential details about specific items that merchants are selling online. Compelling content makes up for the lack of tangibility in shopping online just by describing product features, key benefits, dimensions, models, and make.

The Role of Product Descriptions in Online Conversion

In the world of eCommerce, online merchants need to rely on the power of product descriptions and various media to entice shoppers to add to cart and check out. Marketing copy is brand storytelling, a way for retailers to give customers a clear picture of how a product looks and functions.

Studies have shown that missing or unclear product details account for 20% of failed purchases. A good product description should answer what customers are likely to ask to make a purchase. Sellers just need to consider the various factors that can influence a buyer’s decision and use that as a foundation to write great product descriptions.

The Formula of a Good Product Description

A good product description also enumerates an item’s technical details, highlighting its value by telling how it can solve the target market’s pain points or needs. A poorly-written product description can do as much harm as having nothing at all. Merchants must invest time and energy to ensure that marketing copy accurately represents both the brand and the product.

A good product description commonly consists of the following:

Headline
Creatively writing product headlines is not the goal. It can be as straightforward as merely providing product and model names that customers can easily refer to.
Feature and Benefit
The main difference between a product feature and a product benefit lies in intent. The former is more about educating the market about the product’s specifications of the item. The latter is about providing the product’s value, telling how it can better make a user’s life.
Reviews
There is more to customer feedback than just building a good reputation. Retailers can use glowing reviews as a basis to write compelling product descriptions. Identifying what particular product feature rakes in positive sentiment and incorporating it into the product description is an effective copywriting strategy.
Call-to-Action
A seller’s goal with a good product description is to sell, so it only makes sense to write it in an actionable way. A call-to-action can be in the form of a button or a closing statement designed to encourage the reader to put the item on their carts and check-out.

How to Write Product Descriptions That Sell

More than a formula, a seller must consider a lot of things when writing product descriptions. Here are five tips that can help online entrepreneurs craft compelling and high-converting copy:

Know Your Audience
Effective marketing feels personal. A good copy resonates with the retailer’s target audience, and a great approach is to understand what they value and look for in products as consumers. Merchants equipped with the knowledge of their customers’ pain points will make it easier for them to write copy that directly addresses those.
Use High-Quality Product Images
While words have a powerful impact, images serve as key supporting content that can give a literal picture of how a product looks like. Online sellers must not settle with blurry or pixelated product photos, especially since the human brain processes visual data 60,000 times faster than text. Merchants must invest in having high-resolution pictures of their products or risk losing their consumers’ interest.
Be Descriptive About the Product
Writing product descriptions should be treated as creative storytelling. A good marketing copy can make the reader feel as if they can physically see, hear, feel, or taste the product. It is about helping the online shopper imagine what it is like to own the product enough to make them push through with the purchase.
Make Formatting Clean and Simple
Given that humans are highly visual beings, a product description placed on a poorly-designed page layout might discourage online shoppers from reading it. Merchants must consider the design of their product page in relation to the other elements that make it. Using negative space wisely can help sellers direct their consumers’ focus on the main point of the page, which is the product.
Use Social Proof.
A 2018 ReviewTracker Research showed that 90% of consumers would avoid a business after reading a negative review about it online. This statistic is a testament to the influence product reviews have over a consumer’s purchase decision. Placing social proof, like online reviews and star ratings on product pages, can boost conversion rates and build credibility for sellers.

The art of writing compelling product descriptions is not something merchants can master quickly. But with patience, testing, and data analysis, they eventually craft marketing copy and reap long-term benefits through increased online sales and repeat customers.

If you need expert advice in managing inventory and order fulfillment, do not hesitate to reach out to us here at ZhenHub!