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Up Your Game: 3 Simple Ways to Write Product Descriptions that Rock

Brooke LipsitzBy Brooke Lipsitz

You’ve set up your first online store. You know your product is rock solid, and now, you’re on a mission to showcase your items.

You know great images make a big difference so you’ve made sure to include the best photos, but you still need a creative and unique description to tell the viewer what makes your product worth buying. This verbiage goes beyond the visual to describe your product’s features and benefits — and it’s critical to your e-commerce efforts.

Here are some helpful tips and tricks to make writing those product descriptions easier.

1. Personality and voice are key

Begin by determining your core audience and how to best speak to them. For example, if your product is meant to appeal to an engineer, your description of features and benefits, as well as your language, will be different than that of someone selling beauty supplies.

Educating an audience about a product or service may be helpful, but if your target audience is already aware of how the product functions, be sure to speak to their existing knowledge and add to it.

What about some personality? Absolutely! You can be fun and conversational with all types of buyers, but make sure your humor will be appreciated based on whom you are trying to target.

Some things to remember when injecting your personality into a description: 

  • Avoid filler text — get to the point!
  • Don’t use anything that would come straight out of a manual.
  • Be conversational, and have fun with your customer.
  • Avoid dry language. Opt for compelling, meaningful descriptors instead.

Pro tip: Incorporating your own experience or other customer experiences with the product can be helpful. The more product information you can share via different social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter — especially for reviews — the better!

Here’s an example. 

All of our sheets are:

  • Made from fully sustainable resources
  • Hypoallergenic
  • Mold- and fungus-resistant 

Our unique material blend certainly benefits allergy sufferers, but here’s our favorite part: the temperature difference. We’ve noticed this combo of fibers tends to run 3 degrees cooler than regular cotton. 

I can personally say these sheets have been a great combatant for night sweats and have helped us rest much easier throughout the night — we also seem to be happier waking up next to each other in the morning!

Check out more reviews on Twitter from other customers who noticed the temperature difference and benefits!

2. Keep it simple! 

Most customers are visual and do not intend to read a short novel every time they search for one of your products. It’s always best to focus on keeping your wording short and to the point. When a longer description is needed, make sure it’s engaging throughout and successfully draws your customer in.

You can always opt to have a shorter header and initial description that links to a fuller and equally engaging description for those who need to find out more before purchasing. 

Pro tip: Linking to a YouTube video demonstration can help reduce the wording in a full description. It is also a great way to connect with other social media platforms that will link back to your site.

Example: 

The one and only “Top Door Light” 

As Seen on TV! 

The Top Door Light sensor is activated when opening any door it’s affixed to. A flood of soft light flows into the dark space giving you time to safely find and make your way to the switch without squinting or hurting your eyes or stubbing a toe! The fixture is activated when the door is open, and deactivated when shut, maximizing the longevity of the battery (which you should only have to replace every 2-4 years — woot!). Click here for a full summary of the design and specifications backed by our team of engineers.

Watch a demonstration on YouTube!

3. Features vs. benefits

Describing the features of your product is going to be your first move in writing your description, but you also want to focus on the benefits and what sets you a part from your competitors. It may happen that you even offer the same benefits as your competitors — but when you properly address the benefits of your product or accompanying service, it can make a difference in purchasing from your site over your competitor’s.

Example: 

Tired of waking up soaked? We hear ya. 

Our moisture-wicking pajamas offer the ultimate in comfort and style. Created by industry professionals featured at Fashion Week as well as MIT product specialists who know the right material combinations for temperature control, our nighties have been carefully crafted to last. Throw them in the washer and dryer, and they’ll come out wrinkle-free and fresh — as if they had been dry-cleaned.

And you don’t have to worry about our PJs coming apart after several washes, thanks to our reinforced design and top-quality fabric and threading.

Plus, we back our product 100%, so on the off-chance the material frays, our free repair program has you covered. All you’ll have to do is mail the items back to us, and we’ll ship you a fresh set. 

So, what have you got to lose (other than sweaty, uncomfortable nights)? Buy now!

With these tips in mind, you’ll be well on your way to writing e-commerce product descriptions that will start filling those carts!

Bio: As a Project Lead with the Professional Web Design team at GoDaddy, Brooke Lipsitz helps people from all walks of life pursue their online dreams. She loves learning, tech-ing, and sharing her knowledge and encouragement with others. Brooke came to GoDaddy from the nonprofit world, where she worked as a client advocate. In her downtime, she enjoys exploring the world with her friends and family, if she’s not immersed in a great read.

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