Product Content Writing: 7 Tips for Killer Product Description Writing with Examples
I am not going to go all about SEO. That’s something I don’t like for the most part.
When it comes to product writing, it could be easily misunderstood that if we put our product out there, and convince search engines with SEO, we can get our product right in front of the right people. That’s all!
Here’s where people forget, that writing product descriptions, summaries, overviews, or details, whatever you want to call it, (it completely depends on the platform you are working on and your game plan), needs to be optimized for your customers too.
Isn’t that obvious?
Yes, but with the development of search engine algorithms and the improvement of SEO techniques, and with the surge of GPTs this aspect of writing is largely overlooked.
Spending 95% of your time researching for your main keywords, and feeding it to GPT engines to write product details is becoming an improving trend in this era. And to add fuel to the fire, Instagram & TikTok “Get rich quick scheme” gurus made it worse by boasting this idea.
Of course, we are going to debunk these gurus in a whole separate post.
But for this post. Let’s see how to write Killer Product descriptions/overviews that speak stories to your customer.
Golden Key for Nailing Product Content Writings:
1) Who you are writing for?
Writing your content to your audience ensures that it resonates with their interests, needs, and preferences. Understanding their demographics, behaviors, and motivations, helps you create content that speaks narratives.
I know it is easy to say. Keep reading, We will get there!
In short, taking the time to research and understand your audience, enables you to create product content that resonates with them, spells engagement, and ultimately leads to conversions.
2) Nail that Product Title
This is something, not some huge brands choose to play around with! At times, you are product titles alone are enough to convert a searcher into your customer.
This is your first impression, nail it here and you are already halfway there. If you write your product title somewhat like XYZ Brand's Revolutionary New Washing Machine.
Unless you are trying to drop a joke, don’t even try to write product titles like this, because that is not even funny. Just what you can expect AI to write for you!
These are the 5 things that a great product title will have:
Clear Description - Should clearly and concisely explain what the product actually is!
A Keyword or two - Use relevant keywords that potential customers are likely to search for. Don’t be an easy target by making it very obvious!
Unique Selling Points - This will give you an edge over your customers. This should be present in your SEO elements like Meta Title & Meta Descriptions.
Brand Name (if relevant) - Not required if you are selling it in your own store.
Specifics (size, color, material, etc.) - Provide specific details such as size, color, or material to help customers make informed decisions. It is also best practice to include the number of variants.
Best Product Title Example: Logitech MX Master 3 Advanced Wireless Mouse - Graphite, 4000 DPI
3) Write Description That Wow!
This is where AI comes in handy. You don’t have to sit back and write the product explanations yourself, you can hire real people to write for you.
Yes, don’t think about using AI here in a hundred years. And it's not something you are going to hear from me in a thousand years.
This is the part where you are going to communicate your product to the customer. This is where customers want some empathy. Don’t just give it to the AI. It aims to satisfy you, not your customer. Read that once again!
Make sure to put yourself in the shoes of your target audience and what they will be doing while you are sitting before the laptop, about to write the product description. What a day in the life looks like for your customer. Use that, and how your product is going to make their life easy.
This is where a content writer who is best at storytelling can be a great addition.
In a nutshell, make sure your descriptions have these three things:
Focus on benefits over features
Address Pain points (This is where a thorough competitor analysis will pay off)
Use storytelling and sensory language
Looks very easy, right?
But unlike others, I am not going to satisfy you here and let you clueless while actually doing the job like those online gurus:)
Here is the breakdown with an Example:
2 in 1 snow brush with ice scraper
“WINTER IS COMING! Countdown for Christmas. It's obviously the best season of the year. Friends and family meet-ups, gifts, cards, and much more. So does the snowfall. Winter evenings could easily be the best time to make up memories until you wake up the next day only to find out that your car is covered in snow. What's the worst? Well, if the snow was a bit intense, you will have to go through one heck of a process to first scrape the snow and brush it off your car. What else? You may even end up damaging your car in the process. Looks like winter has other ideas too! That's why we are here with a solution to scrape and brush off the snow. That's two different processes, right? Nope. Yeah, you heard me right. We are here with something that's life saving for your car or your windows.”
This product description is effective for several reasons:
1. Engaging and Relatable Introduction
Example: "WINTER IS COMING! Countdown for Christmas. It's obviously the best season of the year. Friends and family meet-ups, gifts, cards, and much more. So does the snowfall."
Effectiveness: The explanation starts with an engaging hook that evokes the excitement of the winter season and the holiday spirit, which captures the reader's attention and creates a positive emotional connection.
2. Highlighting a Common Problem
Example: "Winter evenings could easily be the best time to make up memories until you wake up the next day only to find out that your car is covered in snow."
Effectiveness: By describing a common winter problem (snow-covered car), the description resonates with the reader's personal experiences, making the product relevant to their needs.
3. Describing the Hassle
Example: "What's the worst? Well, if the snow was a bit intense, you will have to go through one heck of a process to first scrape the snow and brush it off your car."
Effectiveness: It vividly outlines the hassle involved in removing snow, emphasizing the inconvenience and potential for damage, which heightens the reader's interest in finding a solution.
4. Presenting the Solution
Example: "That's why we are here with a solution to scrape and brush off the snow. That's two different processes, right? Nope. Yeah, you heard me right. We are here with something that's life-saving for your car or your windows."
Effectiveness: The description introduces the product as a comprehensive solution, building curiosity and anticipation. By clarifying that it combines scraping and brushing into one tool, it promises convenience and efficiency, which are strong selling points.
5. Creating Urgency and Value
Example: "Looks like winter has other ideas too!"
Effectiveness: This creates a sense of urgency, implying that winter challenges are inevitable and the product is necessary to tackle them effectively. The phrase "life-saving” for your car or your windows" adds value by emphasizing the product's importance in protecting the reader's belongings.
Try to write something like this yourself! Hope this helps you understand what understanding your target audience means!
4) Show, Don’t Just Tell
Back in my very first e-commerce company, I and my graphic designer worked on this product (I can’t disclose the company and the product name), and we were asked to work on that product multiple times. Yeah, I was the one who would give creative input to the graphic designer (yeah, as a content writer). That was a terrible experience. Because the marketing team wanted changes quite often, I even memorized the ASIN number for that product.
But later in the inter-team meeting, they told us that just testing multiple main images for that product produced drastic changes in sales, that this product went from 50-100 sales per month to 1000 sales per month. We were both blown off. We couldn’t believe that.
Yeah, that’s the impact a good product image can have on your overall sales.
Of course, you don’t have to climb a mountain to take shots like this!
Not like this! Because are not sure what really is the product!
Something like this!
5) Keep it Easy to Read!
It goes hand in hand with a well-written product description. People hardly land on product pages to read paragraphs. People who want to shop online are lazy. So, don’t overwhelm them with really long paragraphs and essays.
Even while scrolling through social media, you won't choose to read the paragraph guy in the comments section, even for the memes you don’t understand. So, don’t go clumsy here. Write a maximum of two paragraphs and communicate your point precisely. If you are writing a bullet point, keep it under two lines.
Also, while you are selling on your own website. Don’t go with some random free theme. That doesn’t mean that free themes are no good. Make sure whatever theme you are going with better aligns with your business goals, and gives off the feeling that you want in your customer!
6) Sprinkle Some SEO Magic:
Even though I have major SEO experience, and have some good results to my name. I am not a big fan of SEO, as I become more of a technical person than a writer. And you don’t have much freedom with content when you are writing for search engines. Also, no writer will enjoy writing Meta titles, Meta descriptions, and alt tags!
But you can’t expect people to get to your product page without SEO. Yeah so, do some keyword research or outsource it. Have one main keyword, and another keyword. Don’t exceed a maximum of three keywords. Because as you know, Google is not a fan of SEO. So, Google won’t boost your website. Don’t make it obvious by stuffing more keywords.
Instead, what you can do is look for semantic variants of one main keyword. If you don’t know how to do it, I used semantic variants all through this article too. Good luck, finding those! :)
7) Keep it Fresh!
Finally, as technology evolves and trends change, outdated content may become irrelevant or inaccurate. Updating content ensures that it remains current and aligned with the latest developments.
Search engines favor fresh and updated product content, leading to improved search rankings. Regular updates signal to search engines that the website is active and valuable to users, boosting its visibility. So, writing product descriptions is not a one-time thing. You need to continuously update the content.
Conclusion
Product content writing is not a task but a process. So, treat it like one! Just as products evolve and adapt to meet changing market demands, so too should their accompanying content. Don’t just set a timer and try to finish it before the clock rings. Sitting back, doing some research, and coming up with a game plan a keys to writing effective product content and summaries that speak!
So, that’s all for now! I try to post every day, and if you like this blog, don’t forget to clap, comment, and subscribe to my newsletter (It’s free)!