Table of content:
What is a product description?
Should you write your own product description?
How to write a compelling product description?
Collect information on your product
Even more tips for compelling product description
Before we tackle the topic of writing product descriptions, let’s just quickly see what dropshipping actually is. It is a retail method where a store doesn’t keep the products it sells in stock. What the store does is buying the product from a third party and shipping it directly to customers. There are 4 steps that sum up dropshipping very nicely.
Dropshipping defined
Source: Shopify
- Your customer places an order from your online store
- Your store automatically sends the order to your dropshipping supplier
- Your dropshipping supplier prepares your customer’s order
- Your dropshipping supplier ships the order directly to your customer
It is also worth mentioning that the seller doesn’t stock or own inventory nor they deal with the product directly.
After this short intro, let’s jump to our main topic here: writing product descriptions for dropshipping stores.
What is a product description?
A product description is a text, a so-called copy, which describes the features and benefits of a certain product. The main purpose of it is to make a customer engaged enough to buy a product. This sounds quite simple and straightforward, but there is a world of difference between just writing a description and producing high-quality content. Actually, it is truly unbelievable how little attention is paid to high-quality product descriptions. What most companies do is just copy/paste descriptions from the competitors’ sites. Stay with us through the next few lines and you’ll see for yourself why this might not be a very good idea.
Should you write your own product description?
Write your own description
Source: Unsplash – Andreea Maria Juganaru
There isn’t a universal answer to this question. Same as with anything else, it would highly depend on a type of website, industry, type of products. If you want to play it safe, try A/B split tests to see which version converts better. If, however, your page would benefit from a product description, then make sure you do it well. I mean really, really well.
Why is writing a good product description so important?
As we mentioned earlier, this is the way to convert your customers and make them want to buy your products immediately. You need to make your copy compelling. You need to show your customers what makes your product special, what its key features are, what pain points it solves, why they would benefit from buying your product. The better you do this, the higher the chance for conversion.
It goes without saying that the easiest way would be just to copy your competitor’s product description. It saves time and effort. However, by doing so, you are providing your potential customers only with a physical description of a product. There is nothing there that makes it special or makes it stand out. And you need that, you need it to be unique and targeted at your audience. So how should you do it?
How to write a compelling product description?
Source: Oberlo
Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of compelling product descriptions.
From a technical point of view, your descriptions should be optimized (SEO) so that they rank high on Google. How about some other ingredients to make your description stand out?
Collect information on your product
Check the product page of your supplier and find all the necessary information you need. After that check some online shopping platforms to see what descriptions they have for the same products. They could give you insight into what you might have missed, or they might just serve as a guideline for you to see which direction to take. I probably can’t emphasize this enough:’ Don’t just copy/paste.’ It is ok to look into all the resources, competitors’ sites, but use your own voice, the voice that is targeted towards your audience, the voice that your audience will recognize and appreciate.
Benefits of the product
We’ve already mentioned that pointing out the benefits of your products is one of the key things you need to do. The benefits are the ones that provide solutions or a fix to your customers’ pain points. The benefits could be multifold: from time-saving, money-saving to being easy to use or practical, etc. They are the ones to attract, engage and convert.
Compelling words
As already mentioned, your descriptions should go far beyond mere features description. Features are relevant, no doubt about that, but they are just informative, they don’t immediately make your potential clients compelled to buy your product. Depending on the type of your product, the description will change, but the key thing is to ask yourself questions we mentioned a few lines above. What can also help is knowing which words might boost your copy and which wouldn’t really impress your audience? According to David Ogilvy, the 20 most influential words include:
- Suddenly
- Now
- Announcing
- Introducing
- Amazing
- Sensational
- Revolutionary
- Miracle
- Magic
- Quick
- Hurry
- and more.
It may come as a surprise to you but the following words should be on the blacklist, at least according to Unbounce.
The words below are meaningless filler:
- Market-leading – Which market are you leading? And do your customers care?
- Best-in-class – Unless you have research to prove why you’re the best, you better scrap this phrase.
- World-class – Are you really among the best in the world? Like Usain Bolt?
- State-of-the-art and cutting-edge – Do you mean you’re not behind the times?
- Industry-standard and first-rate – Does anyone ever claim to deliver goods or services that are below industry standards or second-rate? Well?
These words sound powerful, but if there is nothing to support them, they are counter-productive. One important thing to bear in mind is that your copy needs to be transparent and honest. That is the only way to build customer loyalty and trust. Be open and honest about possible shortcomings of your product. Don’t shy away from negative reviews and feedback. They are great indicators if the product is fit or not. Your audience is your best tester.
Mention those flows so potential clients know what to expect. At the same time, don’t forget to emphasize the strengths of your product.
Easy to read
Let’s get one thing straight-you aren’t writing a study or PhD thesis here. Use engaging, informal language, be natural. Don’t write an essay on your product. You should mention what is unique about your product, how it can help, remember? And this could be done in a few sentences. If for some reason you need a bit longer description, think about using bullet points or numbered lists. I know what I am about to say sounds contradictory, but try to tell a story. That doesn’t mean a two-page description, but any detail, information, benefit that make your product interesting to potential customers. You need to make them curious and ‘hungry’ about your product.
Product description format
A few lines ago we mentioned that it is important to have your voice when describing products. Having the same description format can definitely help. It gives the feeling of consistency and many customers like that. Obviously, it doesn’t mean you need to keep the format forever, you most probably wouldn’t, but it might come in handy initially.
Know thy audience
Although this is a crucial and most important step in the product description, I saved it for the end of this list because it sums up all the steps. Your audience is the most important. Whatever type of product you sell, it is for your customers. Thus, your copy needs to ‘hit’ them in the right spot. It needs to trigger their curiosity, emotions, needs and provide a solution. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. You need to engage with your audience, follow the reviews, see the benefits, shortcomings of a product and take everything into account in order to provide that ultimate product description.
We agree with guys from Dropshiplifestyle when it comes to tips for product description. If we could recap these, it might look like this:
- Research to find out what buyers are saying.
- Work with what you have.
- Turn features into benefits.
- Add an authentic touch
It also doesn’t hurt to mention that you don’t need to do this for all the products you have ( especially if you have hundreds of them). You need to focus on a few products that are already top-selling. In other words, these descriptions already proved to be useful so why change them? Just tweak them a bit for a new product and voila! If you are only starting with product descriptions then, as mentioned, you will definitely need a lot of time and effort, but in time and if done right, it would all lead to the voila moment just mentioned.
Even more tips for compelling product description
I personally wouldn’t feel nice to finish up this article without providing a few more practical tips on product description.
VISUAL CONTENT
Remember that we talked a lot about producing engaging and interesting content?
Well, one of the better ways to do it is to use emojis and gifs which show all the benefits in a more interesting way. You could even use a short video. Moreover, if you really want to make certain points stand out, just bold them. Previously, I mentioned bullet points which could also be quite useful and eye-pleasing.
SENSORY WORDS AND HOOKS
Try using catchy hooking titles or opening lines e.g. Why choose XYZ? 80% of customers already bought two or more? Limited time only, etc.
Referring back to compelling words, depending on the type of product that you are selling don’t hesitate to use sensory words: flirt with your audience and seduce them. Sensory words in general are known to trigger brain activity. They trigger imagination and senses. Try using words like velvety, smooth, crisp, crunchy if they fit the product you are selling.
Conclusion
Source: Unsplash – AbsoluteVision
A high-quality product description takes time and effort, but it is definitely worth it. It is really a must if you care about higher sales rates and conversions. By showing customers how passionate and enthusiastic you are about your product you will make them more engaged and interested. Seduce them. Don’t be afraid to be original and unique. It is very well recommended. Plain copy/paste won’t do it ( hopefully by now it is clear why).
Writing a good product description isn’t an easy road and it will require a lot of testing, patience, and trial and error, but once you’ve mastered it, it will open a whole new dimension for you. I think I can safely say that you’d love it.