Looking to add some flare to your product description to bring in more sales? Lucky for you, you’re in the right place! After launching several businesses, selling courses, presets, clothes, and more, we definitely learned a thing or two on what a good product description needs to look like.
As a business owner, it’s important to know how to describe your product in a way that really connects with your customers in order to persuade them to purchase. They need to know all about the features your product has, and the benefits it can bring them - not just what they’re buying, but why they should buy it. And it doesn’t matter if you are selling a digital or physical product. A well-written product description is a must for any business. So, in this blog, you will learn how to describe the products you put all that hard work into creating so they can fly off your digital store shelf and into the hands of your ideal clients. Let’s get right into it!
1. A detailed description
First up, what is it that you’re selling? What is your product? It may seem completely obvious, but properly describing a product is something we’ve seen other businesses miss the mark on. Describing your product is a chance for you to turn those beautiful product images or the ins and outs of the service you provide into something your ideal clients know they need to have.
This is your chance to describe each and every feature and characteristic your product has. And remember to be specific. Make sure to include the measurements, size, or duration of your product if applicable somewhere in the description - and say why it matters. For example “our perfume bottle is 12cm in length, a perfect fit for your handbag”. If you're a course creator you might say “each video lesson is an hour in length, ideal for evenings and weekends if you're working full time”.
Features are super important, but describing the benefits is what’s really going to sell your product. For example, skincare brands may describe what vitamins and minerals are in their product, but what really sells it is the transformation - how people will feel after using it, whether that’s “rejuvenated”, “smoother skin” or “younger looking skin”. Remember, as much as your product description is about what your product is, it’s also about what your product can do for your customers.
This also applies when you have a digital product of course. Instead of just saying that you sell an ebook, try to describe it in detail: “a 40-page ebook, filled with delicious vegan recipes, grocery lists, and cooking tips, so that you can easily make them at home by yourself.”
And let's also not forget how a detailed description of your product will help you with SEO (search engine optimization) which will help you generate organic traffic and make your product more accessible to a wider audience.
2. The why behind your product
People love a good story. Don’t believe me? Just look at how many hours people spend watching Netflix series, reading fiction novels, or meeting up with friends to share stories. In fact, humans have been telling stories for thousands of years… and it’s the way in which we truly connect with one another. Everyone's life is a story and one of the mistakes big businesses make is losing that ability to connect to their customers via story, leaving you to guess what inspired their latest product. Don't be afraid to tell your story, your inspirations, your ambitions… because that's how your audience will relate to you. People want to know why you created this particular product, and why they should buy it.
3. The why behind your business
Not only do people want to know the why behind your product, but also behind your business. It’s always good practice to take some time and write a little bit about your small business because people that just come across your page won't know a single thing about you.
Now, you obviously don’t want to make your product description about yourself or your business. That’s what your about you page is for. But it can happen that your prospective customer directly lands on your product page and misses out on your story. So, if it makes sense for you, you could consider adding a little section about your business and sharing that USP with your audience. Include a snapshot of why you started your business, and what your mission is - but again, this should be very short and concise, maybe 1-2 sentences.
4. Eco-friendly features and benefits
You may have noticed over the past few years how many businesses have started describing their products as eco-friendly, from how they source the materials to build their product, to the packaging they use to house it. Phrases like eco-friendly, carbon neutral, environmentally friendly, recycled plastics, non-virgin plastics, cruelty-free and vegan are all used to convey the message of sustainability within your products.
But you don’t want to just be throwing buzzwords out there (this is known as green-washing). If your product is good for the environment, you want to tell your audience why they should buy it. Audiences like purchasing sustainable products because it helps them to make a difference. Essentially, it makes them feel good about themselves for making an ethical decision.
The feature in this case is also a benefit to the customer and remember, people talk! A percentage of your sales will come from word of mouth so it’s best to give your customer the knowledge of how your product is eco-friendly so they know how to relay the message to their friends. For many people right now, sustainability is a dealbreaker, and it’s only going to become more and more important. So if your product has any eco-friendly features, be sure to mention them. (And if it doesn’t, consider looking into that avenue!)
Btw, this might seem irrelevant for someone that has a digital product, since you don’t actually have economical benefits, but maybe if you, as a business decide to donate parts of your earnings to a charity or organization, you can definitely mention that! People love to help out for good causes!
5. Specific technical details
And now for the dull, the drab, and the dreary… get the technical details in. Now I know it's not exciting but it's expected, and it's important. You may have already mentioned some of this information when describing your product, but it’s important to also include the spec in bullet point format so that it can be easily found when people are skimming your copy.
Your customers find it helpful to know the material composition, the size, how to wash and clean it, and where to store it (if applicable). Answer all the questions they might be thinking of, and the ones they haven’t yet thought of. People want to get the most out of your product and it’s the mark of a good business that helps the customer do just that!
For example, for Mirah Maja, we show what our pieces are made of and how to take care of them. And for our photo presets and video filters (so-called LUTS), we explain with which programs they are compatible etc.
6. Uniqueness (from your other product descriptions)
If you’re wondering “does every product description need to be unique?”... the answer is YES. It may seem like a lot of extra effort, but even if you have products that are very similar, your product descriptions should be unique. Remember, any words or content you have on your site are an opportunity to appeal to the Google algorithm, so even purely from an SEO perspective, you should diversify your copy.
The algorithm’s ultimate goal is to help the user find what they’re searching for so if one of your products doesn’t make it, why would any of your others with the same product description? As far as Google is concerned, it's just the same product. To give your products a chance, take the time to make each product description unique. As a rule of thumb, aim for about 75% uniqueness.
7. Customer Reviews
Yes I know, a customer review is not going to be written by you and included in your product description. However, you should definitely add them underneath your product offer! Here it’s important that the reviews are about the specific item that you are trying to sell, not about your business in general. And if you have pictures or images from your customers even better - include them!
How often did you wish that you saw how a product actually looks like when a customer receives or uses it? Sometimes it’s hard to believe the picture-perfect images that businesses use - you can never be 100% sure if something might have been edited a bit or if the colors are really as they seem (btw, we always suggest editing your pictures as little as possible, because you don’t want to deceive your clients. This will just end in more return if you don’t show what you really offer).
8. Packaging design and presentation info
Lastly, if you have a physical product that you are selling, you might want to talk about your packaging! I agree that this seems weird since it has nothing to do with your actual product, but believe it or not, your packaging can actually have a great impact on whether or not someone ends up buying your product. But why is that? Now, I hate to bring up the pandemic but I promise, it’s relevant. During the pandemic, we saw such a big increase in e-commerce sales as people locked in their homes purchased products online for themselves or as gifts for others. Products purchased online were shipped directly to separated partners, family members, and friends. When people are buying something they’re not going to physically see themselves, they want to be confident that it’s going to arrive looking great. One way to ensure this is to put extra attention into your packaging and the presentation of your product.
Tell your audience about your beautiful boxes, premium packaging, and your gift wrapping. People want to know when they purchase a gift for someone if the packaging is worthy of being a gift - and packaging can make all the difference.
But it’s not just about gifts. Even when people are buying something special for themselves, they want to know what it will look like when it arrives. Opening beautifully-designed packaging can really elevate their experience of your product. So if there’s something unique or special about the way in which your product is presented, be sure to mention it!
And that’s it! The 8 things that each of your product descriptions should include.
I hope this helped and that you will be able to rock your sales with your new descriptions! Until next time,
