The importance of a good product description can�t be overemphasized. A product description is an online advertisement for your goods. Its title is your first opportunity to grab the attention of users and make them click further and find out what you are selling. The picture is the only sensory link between the prospect and the goods. The description you write is the only way to convince them to choose your goods over a thousand others in the marketplace.
This article talks about the four most important components of any product description and tips on maximizing their efficacy:
Title: The Name You Call Yourself
Users see the product title before they see the actual description and decide to click through or not depending on what they see. A good title should act like a hook for a potential customer. A checklist for choosing a good title is:
� Clearly state what is for sale?
� Add as many important features as the word limit allows.
� Play up unique features or selling points.
� Research and include relevant keywords towards the beginning of the title.
� Don�t make it too longwinded or complicated to read � people usually read visually.
� Do not try to be funny, desperate or attention-seeking � it puts many people off. At this stage, it�s best not to take any risk.
Opening Line: How You Introduce Yourself
The first sentence is important both from a search engine, as well as a customer point of view. Once your title has managed to bring a user this far, the job of the opening line is to keep them there. Consider the below tips:
1. Reiterate what the title already says but in meatier, fleshed out language that gives more substance to your advertisement. Use the stuff that you were dying to use in the title but could not accommodate.
2. Ensure use of all relevant keywords with the most important ones being placed at the beginning of the sentence.
3. Introduce your product or service as you would in an elevator pitch. (An elevator pitch is how you would describe your product to a person who you met in the elevator. It is meant to be informational, but succinct.)
4. Do a spellcheck and ensure that there are no grammatical errors. Titles can be incorrect by design, but repeating those errors in the first line show lack of writing skills and seriousness.
5. Avoid any slang, attempts at humor or desperation. You can be all of those things once you have received the payment.
Body Of The Text: What You�re All About And What You Have To Say
This is your advertisement copy � your opportunity to make a sales pitch outlining and underling all the wonderful reasons why the user should buy your product or service, and not some other. It should not stray away from the expectations built up by the title and opening line; it should substantiate them. The fact that the user has come this far shows that he/she has an actual want for the advertised product. The body copy should focus on proving why your product will be the best buy in the category. You should keep the following in mind:
� Make sure to offer competitive pricing; in case your pricing is above the market rate, be sure to explain why.
� Highlight any special or unique product or service features that are offered to help make the customer decide between similar products that they may have encountered.
� Keep the language polite without any attempt to talk down to the customer.
� Make sure you say what you have to in simple clear language without using complicated words. Use the minimum possible technical jargon.
In case of very high value or bid items, you may want to try a more dramatic approach of highlighting the `breath taking colors� which help creates some kind of imagery for the product. Most people like to touch and feel a product before paying money. If they cannot do that, it is your job as a seller to create that value through the power of verse.
Picture: Do You Look As Good As You Say You Do?
Last but not the least; remember to include as many high-quality product pictures that you can. These can be the make or break factor in online sales. Most people need to see an item before they make up their minds. It lends a great deal of credibility to your product description and gives a sense of assurance to the prospective customer. When taking the pictures:
� Use good lighting � bad lighting can often make a perfectly good product look dowdy or old.
� Photograph the logo clearly � people believe that if the logos are not shown, it is a fake.
� In case the picture does not represent the product in any way, be sure to specify the differences. Most people assume the photograph is an actual replica of the advertised item.
� Try to use contrasting backgrounds so that the product can be seen clearly. Fuzzy images make people think you are trying to hide something.
� You could try and get somebody to model a similar item and stand next to the item that you are selling if it is clothes or accessories.
� Use a good quality camera with a decent resolution. All other things being equal, the guy with the better picture wins.
Read other people�s product descriptions. Are they offering free shipping, better prices or just more credible language? Copying can sometimes be the best form of flattery � as they probably too copied from elsewhere. It is important though to let your product descriptions stand out and not be similar to anyone else�s. It may also be a good idea to track responses, as well as feedback, and tweak the language or details as required. If people are asking too many questions about a specific detail, mention it more clearly. If there is some misunderstanding, rewrite the relevant portion. Good luck selling!
This article talks about the four most important components of any product description and tips on maximizing their efficacy:
Users see the product title before they see the actual description and decide to click through or not depending on what they see. A good title should act like a hook for a potential customer. A checklist for choosing a good title is:
� Clearly state what is for sale?
� Add as many important features as the word limit allows.
� Play up unique features or selling points.
� Research and include relevant keywords towards the beginning of the title.
� Don�t make it too longwinded or complicated to read � people usually read visually.
� Do not try to be funny, desperate or attention-seeking � it puts many people off. At this stage, it�s best not to take any risk.
Opening Line: How You Introduce Yourself
The first sentence is important both from a search engine, as well as a customer point of view. Once your title has managed to bring a user this far, the job of the opening line is to keep them there. Consider the below tips:
1. Reiterate what the title already says but in meatier, fleshed out language that gives more substance to your advertisement. Use the stuff that you were dying to use in the title but could not accommodate.
2. Ensure use of all relevant keywords with the most important ones being placed at the beginning of the sentence.
3. Introduce your product or service as you would in an elevator pitch. (An elevator pitch is how you would describe your product to a person who you met in the elevator. It is meant to be informational, but succinct.)
4. Do a spellcheck and ensure that there are no grammatical errors. Titles can be incorrect by design, but repeating those errors in the first line show lack of writing skills and seriousness.
5. Avoid any slang, attempts at humor or desperation. You can be all of those things once you have received the payment.
Body Of The Text: What You�re All About And What You Have To Say
This is your advertisement copy � your opportunity to make a sales pitch outlining and underling all the wonderful reasons why the user should buy your product or service, and not some other. It should not stray away from the expectations built up by the title and opening line; it should substantiate them. The fact that the user has come this far shows that he/she has an actual want for the advertised product. The body copy should focus on proving why your product will be the best buy in the category. You should keep the following in mind:
� Make sure to offer competitive pricing; in case your pricing is above the market rate, be sure to explain why.
� Highlight any special or unique product or service features that are offered to help make the customer decide between similar products that they may have encountered.
� Keep the language polite without any attempt to talk down to the customer.
� Make sure you say what you have to in simple clear language without using complicated words. Use the minimum possible technical jargon.
In case of very high value or bid items, you may want to try a more dramatic approach of highlighting the `breath taking colors� which help creates some kind of imagery for the product. Most people like to touch and feel a product before paying money. If they cannot do that, it is your job as a seller to create that value through the power of verse.
Last but not the least; remember to include as many high-quality product pictures that you can. These can be the make or break factor in online sales. Most people need to see an item before they make up their minds. It lends a great deal of credibility to your product description and gives a sense of assurance to the prospective customer. When taking the pictures:
� Use good lighting � bad lighting can often make a perfectly good product look dowdy or old.
� Photograph the logo clearly � people believe that if the logos are not shown, it is a fake.
� In case the picture does not represent the product in any way, be sure to specify the differences. Most people assume the photograph is an actual replica of the advertised item.
� Try to use contrasting backgrounds so that the product can be seen clearly. Fuzzy images make people think you are trying to hide something.
� You could try and get somebody to model a similar item and stand next to the item that you are selling if it is clothes or accessories.
� Use a good quality camera with a decent resolution. All other things being equal, the guy with the better picture wins.
Read other people�s product descriptions. Are they offering free shipping, better prices or just more credible language? Copying can sometimes be the best form of flattery � as they probably too copied from elsewhere. It is important though to let your product descriptions stand out and not be similar to anyone else�s. It may also be a good idea to track responses, as well as feedback, and tweak the language or details as required. If people are asking too many questions about a specific detail, mention it more clearly. If there is some misunderstanding, rewrite the relevant portion. Good luck selling!
No comments:
Post a Comment