Writing the copy for your product descriptions can start to feel real tedious. It's an important part of selling your product and SEO, but after a while, what do you say? Is it the right thing? We asked copywriter and craft artist Nathalie Poulin of WordCraftLove to share some tips on how to nail your product descriptions.
Y’know that moment when you’re shopping online, and you find that perfect scarf? The perfect dress? Or perfect piece of jewelry?
Nathalie Poulin of WordCraftLove makes writing copy less daunting, maybe even fun.
You click on the item to take a gander at the product description, and more often than not you’re left a little disappointed. Sure, it’s exactly what you want, but reading a list of features doesn’t exactly compel you to buy it. lt doesn’t tell you about the product. Who made it, or how was it made. It doesn’t tell you about the person who makes these specific things.
When selling your hand-made products online, people don’t want to buy just things, they want to buy an experience. Your job as the seller of unique, hand-made items is to give your customers that experience. People want a story, they want to know the story behind the product that they’re going to buy.
The product description is a mini sales page for online shops. I would say that it’s even more important than the actual item itself. The product description box is the place where you get to describe what you’re selling, and give people a reason to buy from you. I’m surprised by how many sellers offering only product features.
If I’m looking to buy a pair of fingerless gloves, I don’t care that they’re ‘this year’s must-have item’ or that they’ll keep my hands warm on cold days. That should go without saying because that’s what they’re made to do.
But if you talk about walking to your favourite coffee shop on a crisp fall day, your cheeks flushing as the cold wind bites, the chill of winter making itself known through your jacket that probably wasn’t quite warm enough for this weather. And how warm it feels to step into the coffee shop, the smell of brewing coffee making your mouth water, knowing exactly what you’re going to order.
The way you feel when your order arrives and you hold that steaming cup of coffee, inhaling it’s sumptuous flavour, grateful that the freshly-brewed coffee won’t burn your hands through your gloves.
Don’t you want those gloves?
When I opened my Etsy shop,YarnCraftLove, I knew that I wanted it to have a whimsical, fairytale theme. I decided that every product would tell its own unique story and in doing so, it would also tell the unfolding story of the magical world that I’m creating out of my online shop.
At the bottom of my descriptions, I always put the basic information that people want to know (size, materials etc). Some people prefer that information at the top, and you’ll have to decide the best way to do it for your shop.
Product descriptions don’t have to be long; just a couple of sentences describing the experience of having/owning/buying it can be fine.
I wrote a description for my Rorschach Hood, and while the majority of the people that read it thought it was great, one friend of mine said it was too long. She said it got in the way of the information that was important to her, the information of the product (that I keep at the bottom of my descriptions).
I would say a good rule of thumb is to keep it between 50-150 words for a product description. You can can make it more or less, but any more than 350-400 is probably too long. You have to keep in mind that people don’t have the attention span to slog through a novel of a product description.
Make sure the item you’re writing about tells a story not just about what it is, but how it will make your customer feel when they wear it/own it. You’re not just selling earrings, you’re selling a night out on the town with your lover. You’re not just selling knit or crochet items, you’re selling midnight toboggan rides, or cozy afternoon snuggles on the couch.
The world is a rich tapestry of experiences, and you can draw on as many as you need to write fun and interesting product descriptions.
If, however, you think that product descriptions are not your strength, the next best thing you can do is hire a copywriter. A copywriter is a wonderful investment in your business because you’ll see the return on your investment almost immediately. Not to mention, a copywriter will alleviate the stress of having to figure out how write all your product descriptions yourself, which will give you time to focus on building your business.
The most important thing about writing product descriptions is to have fun with it and enjoy the storytelling!
My name is Nathalie Poulin I’m a purveyor of well-crafted words at http://wordcraftlove.com where I help people create an online experience for their customers.
If you’re having problems writing your product descriptions, feel free to drop me a line at nathalie@wordcraftlove.com because I’m crafting a special package for online shop owners for their product descriptions! I also sell hand-made custom crochet pieces at http://yarncraftlove.etsy.com You can follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yarncraftlove and https://www.facebook.com/wordcraftlove
