Effectively selling products requires intelligence in writing product descriptions. Every description that targets a customer precisely according to their interests is nothing but a long-term investment in creating loyalty and increasing profits, which is what we present to you in the following lines.

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Do you know what Product Description means?

You might be wondering now, is a product description really important? Or is it just a minor technical procedure? The numbers say - according to an e-commerce study conducted by Nielsen Norman Group - that 20% of failed purchases are due to a lack of relevant information in the product description, meaning the product was not well described! This gives a clear indication of how important it is to describe your product accurately and intelligently so that the customer transitions in the buying journey from mere passive interest to making a direct purchase decision.

Concept of Product Description

Today, we live in the heart of a massive technological openness. Many businesses have moved from traditional reality to intangible digital reality, led by commerce, which has transcended the traditional to become rapidly spreading and circulating e-commerce among a very wide segment of users and beneficiaries. Consequently, it has become necessary for us to master speaking the language of the majority, making products on digital shelves interesting and motivating to acquire through images and language.

A product description is the marketing copy that explains what a product is and why it's worth buying. The purpose of a product description is to provide customers with important and effective information about the key features and benefits of the product so that they end up purchasing with conviction.

A persuasive product description will pay you back double later

Writing product descriptions is more than just arranging a few words and sentences about the products you sell in your online store. A good product description guides shoppers towards what they actually need, and based on the level of "persuasion," they convert from a potential customer to a satisfied and happy buyer. This leads to sustainable purchases, conversions, and builds loyalty, which in turn builds a fleet of brand ambassadors who spread their recommendations about the product and the online store—and that is a winning investment.

Learn to write a product description for your online store

If you are one of those who have never written a product description before, this article is specifically directed to you. To make the writing process easier, clearer, and simpler, we have broken it down into three main steps, from which branch several practical tips that will make your descriptive experience more efficient and professional. Get a pen and paper ready and start the product description writing journey with us!     

Tips for writing product descriptions

1-Building a knowledge base

The type of experience your customer is looking for. An online shopper feels multiple doubts about a product they cannot touch and experience directly and personally. To solve this problem, you must describe the product clearly by including simplified, detailed information that helps them touch the product emotionally - in their imagination. The more you know "who is the potential buyer?" the more accurate the product description will be, because it will answer their question: "Why do I need this product?"

• Describe the product attractively by addressing the questions rotating in the buyer's head, such as: "Do your pens let you down in crucial times? Are you looking for a pen that writes with creativity and ease?"

• Build a direct bridge between you and your customer; use the second-person pronouns "you, your."

• Present relevant information sequentially and clearly without requiring the buyer to click "read more."

• Add dynamic photos showing the product in use and from multiple angles.

• Video is an extremely persuasive visual tool; make their visual experience complete and surround them with reassuring affirmations.

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Keep in mind that there are those visiting your online store for the first time. To convince them of the product, you must convince them of the brand's reliability. How? By focusing on the "emotional" aspect:

• Clarify your competitive value while describing the product, and take care to touch the human, emotional side. Example: Since 2012, we have been providing the finest types of fruits, handpicked from our organic farms cared for by our family.

• Display customer star ratings, as they quickly give a good impression.

• Enhance the description with multiple images of the product, showing it in large, vivid, and bright photos.

But if your brand is already trusted and heavily circulated, focus on "information."

• Describe the most important features you believe are crucial to the target customer, including dimensions, functions, usage suggestions, materials, colors, scents, etc.

• Compare; this advice might be unusual, but we invite you to place diagrams showing how superior the product is compared to its counterparts. This can include warranties, competitive advantages, compatibility with other complementary products, and more.

2-Investing in emotions     

3-Mental triggers

The human brain is effectively wired to respond automatically to certain things, like chewing food. You put food in your mouth, and it immediately responds by chewing without needing to think "please start chewing now." This is a way to clear space for thinking about more complex solutions in aspects that require conscious presence, otherwise, we would suffer from mental exhaustion. This also applies to our daily decisions: our subconscious mind is primed and triggered for automatic response, which is why we tend to choose some products over others. Since subconscious cues move us, it is smart to leverage them to motivate customers to make buying decisions through gentle prompting while writing a product description. Some of these triggers include:

• Reason and motive: Emotions drive us, but we still search for convincing justifications for our decisions. Therefore, you can enhance your description by slipping in a persuasive motive that moves the buyer from point (A), representing their presence in an undesirable situation, to point (Z), which offers them a solution to the problem they face. 

Example | Do you suffer from pigmentation around the eyes and are looking for a solution without a painful cosmetic procedure? Our products are medically recommended because they contain natural ingredients that contribute to boosting collagen and reducing pigmentation caused by skin thinning.

• Scarcity: Our minds—again—are hardwired to link the difficulty of obtaining something with its high value. Several global stores play on this chord, so you find a product with limited quantity, and the remaining number rapidly decreases before your eyes: "Only one room left," "3 pieces left of this product." Some sites even add a feature showing the number of people viewing the page with you, making securing the product an urgent need for fear of it running out. You can benefit from this trigger by adding it to your product description.

Example | This product is handcrafted with high skill, and quantities are limited. Hurry and secure your unique handmade piece before stock runs out.

• Reciprocity: Not all products are tangible and physical; there are many stores that sell digital products, such as workshops, consultations, and courses. You can motivate customers to buy by prompting them with the mutual benefit value when writing product descriptions and pricing products, which is primarily a sustainability mechanism that inspires appreciation and loyalty.

Example | By completing this course, you will be prepared to improve your team's performance and provide customer service of outstanding quality standards.

• Urgency and Necessity: Do you remember the product you found at an unbelievable price and wanted to buy despite not needing it? It was a golden opportunity that you feared you would regret missing, right? 

In fact, it is a motivation mechanism similar to scarcity triggering, but it is not related to quantity, but to limited time. The less time remaining, the greater the need to acquire the item.

The most important product types to start in e-commerce

Example | The product is seasonal, available only in November of every year due to the scarcity of its ingredients.

Intent and Purpose

Often, brands sell products with specific functions, only for users to discover—through usage—that they have amazing results outside of their core function. For example, a medical cream meant for moisturizing the skin might see its active ingredient contribute to evening out the skin tone. Observing these results by looking at user recommendations can be added to the product description, as studies indicate that buyers are motivated to buy the unexpected—what happened by chance or unintentionally—more than what was deliberate, because it suggests that there are more surprises yet to be discovered.

Nostalgia

People tend to connect with their childhood memories and homeland, so a product can be described by reinforcing this emotional feeling of reconnecting with places, people, and time. Indicate that the product is locally made—"made by Saudi hands," for example. A local restaurant store described its product as "home fries"—and although it is a very common and popular dish, the sentimental value took it to another level, and it was indeed prepared simply, just as mothers make them at home.

And this is not just about the emotional side; it is also linked to human empathy and appreciation for the effort put into products made by hand rather than machines. The company Etsy, specializing in the handmade marketplace, announced that its user base exceeded 82 million, with sales estimated at $11 billion worldwide in 2022. Despite the invasion of digitization and innovation, nostalgia for the traditional still controls humans.

Pros and cons of both online stores and physical stores

1-Writing a persuasive description

Here is a quick checklist of golden tips you can return to every time you want to develop a new product and write a product description:

• Write detailed information about the product that answers the question, "Why should I get it?"

• Keep sentences short and direct because you have less than a minute to catch a potential customer's eye.

• Focus on benefits, not just features of the product.

• Choose your words artfully and smartly; replace "great" with "amazing." Be creative.

• Prove "Why are you the best?" by mentioning your competitive edge in the product, your field experience, and your market leadership.

• Tell the story of the product, because human connection is always powerful and unforgettable.

• Be honest about the product's promises; do not mention an astronomical feature that your product does not provide.

• Pay attention to text formatting, use bullet points, and clean, organized structure.

• Keywords have magic in attracting a segment of fresh buyers; do not ignore them.

• Authenticity is a unique value; we all know that KFC and Krispy Kreme are nothing but inherited recipes.

In conclusion, we remind you that 82% of buyers believe that an excellent description is important in the buying decision process. Now, you are ready enough to write an amazing description.

We wish you a descriptive experience that generates profits for you, our dear merchant.