IMPORTANT: The tips below are your default guidelines. However, client instructions always override these guidelines. If there is a conflict between the client’s instructions and the guidelines below, always go with the client’s instructions.
To get a sense of what clients expect from our product descriptions, please review our product description writing service page.
Creating compelling product descriptions that encourage consumers to purchase is one of the most important content creation tasks. Perfecting your skill in this area can open up new opportunities for you as a writer and can allow you to leave your mark in the retail world.
These short bites of text provide solid information for consumers and promote the product lines of online retail stores, making them a good source of income for talented writers. Here are seven tips to polish your skills in the product description field.
- Highlight One Important Feature
- Address Consumer Concerns
- Personalize Your Approach
- Keep It Short and to the Point
- Stick to the Facts
- Write for Your Target Audience
- Maintain a Consistent Tone
1. Highlight One Important Feature
Rather than simply reciting a list of the general attributes of a commonly sold item, focus on one unique feature, attribute or use of the item. For example, an everyday No. 2 pencil in a cheerful shade of yellow could be described in this way:
Fill in those standardized test papers with a little help from our sunny No. 2 pencil. This writing instrument is ideal for everyday use and features a handy built-in eraser to correct any mistakes quickly and easily.
This approach is less useful for complex items with numerous distinguishing characteristics. However, it can provide a solid basis for short blurbs on common household or office items.
2. Address Consumer Concerns
One proven way to create compelling product descriptions is to put yourself in the buyer’s shoes. What would you want to know about the item?
This is especially important for large-ticket items that constitute a major investment for most consumers. For automobile purchases, fuel economy and performance may be the primary concerns.
A description of a towel rack should include information about the material used and the surface finish to help consumers determine whether the item will match their existing decor and will stand up to regular use.
By considering the likely concerns of buyers and addressing them in your description, you can produce better results for your retail content customers.
3. Personalize Your Approach
A cold, clinical description can turn off your readers and result in fewer sales. By maintaining a somewhat more informal tone and adding humor when appropriate, you can boost the appeal of your product descriptions and create a more conducive mood for purchasing decisions.
Consumers will respond better to a warm, friendly tone in most cases and will reward your efforts with increased sales.
4. Keep It Short and to the Point
Consumers in the online world tend to have short attention spans. Your descriptions should hit the high points and provide adequate information on which to base a purchase decision. However, there’s typically no need to include a history of the product in the consumer marketplace or a loving description of the process by which the item was made.
Stick to the point and deliver the information you would want and need as a consumer to provide the greatest benefit for your clients in the retail marketplace.
5. Stick to the Facts
Product descriptions are not the place for flights of fancy or false information. By providing factual descriptions with no misleading embellishments, you can ensure that consumers get the necessary data to make a purchase while ensuring that your representation of the product is accurate and fact-based.
This can protect your corporate clients from legal entanglements and ensure continued demand for your content creation services in the product description field.
6. Write for Your Target Audience
Doing a little market research on the demographic groups most likely to buy your chosen item can help you to hone your writing skills and produce exceptional copy for product descriptions. By pinpointing your target audience, you can increase their engagement with the product and win more sales for your clients.
A minivan, for instance, is generally purchased by families looking for extra room for passengers and plenty of cargo space; writing your product description with those concerns in mind can significantly improve the results of your work.
7. Maintain a Consistent Tone
While you may have developed a unique voice in your writing endeavors, product descriptions require that you adopt the client’s tone as your own for best results. By reading over the site and paying careful attention to other product descriptions or online copy, you can create product descriptions that fit into your client’s online catalog seamlessly and naturally.
This can increase the value of your writing to your client and can provide a more organic experience for consumers who visit the site.
Closing Thoughts
By incorporating these strategies into your writing process, you can create compelling and persuasive product descriptions for your clients and help them to increase their sales in the online marketplace. This can ensure repeat business from your established clients and help you to build a reputation for excellence in the content creation field.
Additional Resources
For more information, check out the resources below for the aspiring product description writer.
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