Pre-Xmas Tune Up

Writing Product Descriptions That Sell

[KevinC]

I can't believe that Oct. is coming a to a close and the xmas season is approaching fast. For many E-commerce web sites a large portion of the money made all year is made in the next 2 months.

Knowing this I decided to give my site a good tune up - I'm starting with my product descriptions.

I have used the same descriptions for some time now and while they do give all the important information regarding each product, I think they can be improved.

Any advice or helpful links regarding writing product descriptions that sell?

[caine]

Use emotional associations to help sell - though never bull'''t.

Thats it for me -> Xmas is my quietest time.

[digitalghost]

Before you even begin, read other ads. Swim in them. Roll around in all the words. Determine which ads make you want to buy.

1. Stress benefits.
2. List Features
3. Write in an active voice
4. Avoid superlatives.
5. Make it conversational (like you would describe it to a friend)

Edit, Edit and Edit. Keep the descriptions succinct. Use adjectives wisely. Don't use cliches. Read David Ogilvy and HG Lewis. Write several versions of the ad for each product. Test, Test and Test. Then edit some more. And next year, start in January for those Christmas ads. ;)

[Ivana]

How about a personal comment on some of the items? Like 'Editor Choice' with explanation why or similar.

When people buy online, they want to know that there are people in the shop, so to speak.

[jsinger]

Product pages on most commerce sites are awful. Descriptions are written by techies, not ad pros. Or they're copied verbatim from manufacturers' wholesale catalogs.

A few months ago I went thru our top products and beefed up those pages: livelier text, sharper and faster graphics, more product features including some closeup photos, bullet lists. None of our competitors do that.

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Most sites get 80% of their sales from 20% of their pages. The key pages, especially, should be buffed and polished till they glow.

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A tip: read every page on your website once a year.

[KevinC]

Thanks for the tips - as I go back and rework my descriptions I've found some pretty bad ones I didn't expect. Its gonna take a while but I think the benifit is well well worth the effort.