NewsBeat

February 2023 NewsBeat 10 By BILL WIDMER 6 key tips to great product descriptions I f you own an e-commerce website, your product descriptions are a low-hanging fruit to help you make more sales. A great product description tells a story: The story of who your product is for and how your product can help them get what they want. Because when it comes to sales, it's not about what your product does. It's about how your product helps your customers achieve the life they imagine in their heads. But what does that mean? And how do you get more people to click "Buy now" af- ter reading your product descriptions? Let's set the scene with a few great examples. One of my favorite examples of a stellar product description is Thursday Boot Co.'s President Lace-Up Boot. Let's take a look: There are a few key things here that make this description so good: It knows its audience: Men who want a boot that looks good, stands up to hard use, and doesn't require constant cleaning and caring. It makes you a part of its story and mis- sion: making the highest-quality boots that are priced fairly and ethically. It highlights the quality of the materi- als—Kevlar laces and USA-grown tier 1 cattle hides. Here's another product description ex- ample from Solo Stove's smokeless fire pit: Just like Thursday Boot Co., Solo Stove does a great job of knowing its audience. Anyone who's sat around a fire knows what teary eyes and smelly clothes feel like. Notice how its actual "product descrip- tion" is only two short sentences. It cuts straight to what the product is with zero fluff above the fold, then goes into explain- ing the features in more detail beneath the product images and specs. Solo Stove also does a great job of using video to enhance its product descriptions. Lastly, let's look at one of my favorite products of all time: chocolate. Endangered Species Chocolate is my favorite chocolate brand. The chocolate is decadent, delicious, and, best of all, the brand gives 10% of its profit to help save endangered species. Why am I telling you this? Aside from wanting to convince you to enlighten your palate, I'm hoping you'll see these are all points that help the brand write delicious product descriptions that convert. It uses its descriptions to describe the experience you will have when you buy one of the bars. This helps you to imagine the taste in your mouth. And if you can imag- ine it, you're one step closer to making that experience a reality and clicking the "buy" button. This is the power of using words to help your customers visualize themselves owning, using, or consuming your product. If they can see it in their minds, they are much more likely to buy. By studying other brands' copywriting, you can improve your own. Ready to start writing? Here are six tips for crafting the best product descriptions possible: 1. Above all else, know your audience Convincing someone to buy something without understanding their needs, wants, and desires is difficult, to say the least. If you want your descriptions to be as effec- tive as possible, you need to know your audience well. Specifically, you need to know the an- swers to the following questions: What are the characteristics of the target segment or of an ideal customer? (Age, gender, interests, personality, life situation, etc.). What pain point does my product help them solve? What lifestyle does it help them live? If we look at the three examples I gave above, we can answer these questions. President Lace-Up Boot: Male, likely aged 25–45, cares about his appearance but also needs a boot that can function, hold up, and look good. It helps the wearer have practical foot- wear that looks good, feels good, and doesn't break the bank. Solo Stove: Multiple age ranges and genders, but likely a family-oriented person aged 30–45

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