How To Write Persuasive, Product Descriptions that Sell

Have you ever encountered a product online and couldn’t just resist buying it because of how it was advertised? That’s what product description is all about!

Product descriptions give customers the primary information they need about the products they want. They can either make people interested in your products or go to your competitors. According to statistics, an accurate and well-written product description can increase conversion rates by 78%.

Writing product descriptions that sell isn’t just about highlighting benefits and features; it’s about connecting with your customers, understanding their needs, and showing them how your product can solve their problems.

In this article, we will look at some practical tips for writing persuasive product descriptions that highlight your product’s benefits while increasing sales.

The difference between a good and bad product description

Product descriptions aren’t about the number of words used but how well they communicate the benefits of your products to your customers. Most product descriptions only discuss a product’s features and do not explain how that product can solve customers’ problems, which is one factor that differentiates a good product description from a bad one.

A good product description can make the difference between getting that order and losing the customer’s interest. It can entice someone to buy or leave the site immediately simply because it didn’t tell them what they wanted to hear. The idea is to tell your target audience what the product does and how it can benefit them.

A good e-commerce product description should be:

  • Clear and concise: Keep it short by highlighting the critical benefits and features.
  • Informative: Ensure your customers can learn about your product and ways it can be useful to them.
  • Ability to solve problems: You should write your product descriptions to address the issues that your customers are facing.
  • Readable: Use bullet points, short paragraphs, headings and good font size to ensure they’re readable
  • Stylish: Add a bit of humour to spark your customers’ emotions.

How to write product descriptions that sell

1. Define your target audience

Your target audience should always be your priority when writing your product description. Writing descriptions for everyone is a bad business strategy; you’ll lose all your customers. Focus on your customers who would want your product. Find out their problems, their demography (location, age, gender, language, etc.), and the products they are looking for. This will give you an indication of which words will sell better for your target audience.

Once you’ve figured out your audience, write your product descriptions tailored to them. This can be very important in converting them. Use clear and understandable language to simplify the description and keep them reading.

2. Utilize features and benefits

Customers want to know about your product’s features but are more interested in how they will benefit them. They want to know how using your product will improve their lives or solve their problems.

Therefore, emphasizing the benefits of each feature is essential when writing a product description that addresses any doubt about the usefulness of your products.

When writing about your product’s benefits, ensure your words are convincing. Let your customers know how it can solve their problems, and then you can discuss the features as a backup to show them how authentic your claims are.

Refrain from exhausting yourself by writing about the benefits of every single feature. Pour more energy into expanding on the most outstanding features, as this is where customers will be focused.

3. Make your descriptions easy to scan

Most people find it difficult to read long texts online because of their short attention spans; they get bored after some time and abandon them. You need to find a way to outline the important details first, as users are likely to stop reading after a few lines.

Highlighting benefits using bullet points is a good way to make your product descriptions scannable and persuasive. This will make the description easy to read, attracting more customers and boosting conversions.

Other ways to make your product description easy to scan are:

  • Using clear headers for each section
  • Employing good spacing
  • Increasing font size
  • Using high-quality images

4. Use sensory words to boost persuasiveness

Sensory words make potential customers feel your product as they read your product description, making them effective advertising choices. They arouse feelings of urgency or an emotional reaction. By using sensory words in your product description, you can help your readers visualize your product vividly and persuasively and increase their sense of connection to it.

There’s a common misconception that sensory words apply only to food products, which is inaccurate. You can also use them while writing descriptions for other products. These words include now, unique, announcing, hurry, sensational, etc.

By incorporating words like these into your product descriptions, you can make your product descriptions stand out.

5. Optimize your product description for search engines

The first thing you need to do before writing your product description is to research the keywords people use when they search for similar products you offer. Several tools are available to help you find popular and important keywords, including Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, and SEMrush.

Your product description’s title and headings should be clear and scannable. They should also include relevant keywords because they are the first things search engines and readers see when they come across them. Your title should be persuasive and convey the benefits of your product.

According to Shopify, these are key places to add keywords—page titles, meta descriptions, ALT tags and product descriptions.

Combining long-tail and short-tail keywords in your copy is an effective way to address a variety of search scenarios while avoiding keyword stuffing.

6. Provide social proof

Customer testimonials are a great resource that marketers frequently ignore. A good review can turn a poor product description into a persuasive one. Incorporating customer testimonials and reviews enhances the power of word-of-mouth marketing. Positive feedback and endorsements help to increase credibility and trust. A minimum of one customer review on a product page increases conversion rates by 354%.

When creating your product page, include a testimonials section with a sample of your top reviews. You can go further by including pictures of your customers in their reviews to reassure potential customers that your product is trustworthy. 

Including positive and negative reviews on your product page increases the transparency and genuineness of your brand. It shows potential customers that you value and respond to customer feedback.

7. Track your success

Once you’ve updated your product descriptions, monitor their progress to see if they are converting more. To do this, you need to set a specific sales goal and track metrics that show which descriptions are working and which need further improvement.

Some key performance indicators (KPIs) to track the performance of your product descriptions include conversion rate, average order value, cart abandonment rate, and bounce rate.bYou can also run A/B tests on your product descriptions to see which appeals to your target audience and converts better. 

So, go forth and write descriptions that tantalize and sell! By following these tips, you can craft compelling product descriptions that inform your customers and entice them to add your products to their carts and hit that purchase button. Remember, strong product descriptions are a powerful tool in your e-commerce arsenal, and with a bit of creativity and planning, you can use them to turn casual browsers into loyal customers.