Your entire website may revolve around e-commerce or you may have a section of your website devoted to selling products or packaged services.
Writing about products within websites can be harder than it looks, can’t it? Here are some tips and ideas for you.
Always see it from the busy customer’s perspective.
Who are they? What are they looking for? Why should they buy your product?
Think of each product description as an advertisement in its own right.
On this basis, you need a headline, some bodycopy, the price and a call to action.
Headline
The headline is the single most important item of copy.
If the website visitor does not understand the headline, they will not read further.
Product description headlines should clearly convey what the product is and what it does. If there is room, include a benefit as well.
Many e-commerce product headlines only provide the product name.
The problem being that this may not tell the busy website visitor what the product does or why they should buy it.
Bodycopy
Ideally, this will be in two sections.
Firstly, have a brief product description. Describe what the product is. Include at least one key benefit.
Secondly, if your CMS (Content Management System) allows it, include a more detailed product description.
It is always surprising how much you can write for even the smallest items.
What is more, the additional copy will hopefully be searchable by Google and other search engines. This provides an extra reason for increasing the length of your product descriptions.
If you are able to add additional sections to the product description, the options include technical information, case studies and testimonials.
If you offer a guarantee, make sure that you include this.
Price
How much does a single unit cost? Are taxes, if applicable, included in the price? Is it easy to buy multiple units? Can the customer choose a currency?
Call to action
Advertisements should include a call to action and so should e-commerce product descriptions. The simplest example is a button with the wording ‘Buy now’ or a button which says ‘Add to cart’. If you are happy for customers to call you, include a phone number.
Customer questions
Well written e-commerce product descriptions should answer most of the customer’s questions. However, some customers may have additional questions. On this basis, make it easy for them: include an FAQ section. Point them in the direction of your contact page, online chat or phone number.
When you write, use short sentences. If you have lists (i.e. of benefit statements) use bullet points. Use Grammarly to pick up typos.
If a product is not selling well, it may be because of the product description.
Test a different version and compare it to a different version. Which one works better?
Quite often I have found that the headline makes the greatest difference.
Nigel Temple offers copywriting training services.