The Great Conversion: Using Product Descriptions to Increase Sales

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what are words worth? For ecommerce merchants, a lot – especially when you’re hoping to entice buyers to try your products. Product descriptions are a useful tool, obviously, but when presented correctly, they can make a difference between a sales conversion and the departure of a lookie-loo who will move on to something more palatable.

Yet product descriptions have positives and negatives; parameters, if you will. We’ll address some of the objectives you should embrace if you hope to turn words into sales.

What is a good product description? Despite the term “description,” it’s not always wise to use valuable text space merely describing an item. Through photos and bullets, customers typically have that information already. What you need to do is create a narrative that infuses a need for your buyer to experience the product in her or his life. Most everyone is swayed by persuasive writing, and striking a balance between personalizing a product and making it sound way too personal is a must.

Keep these tips in mind when you generate product descriptions:
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• Imagine the demographic of your ideal buyer, and keep it in mind as you narrate a story with the product and your customer in mind.
  
  
• Play up the benefits of each product without overselling. In other words, call out reasons you chose to stock that item in the first place.
  
  
• Always craft suggested use copy, which gives potential buyers an idea of how the item will enrich their lives – be it a clothing item, electronic device, or home goods product.
  
  
• Use sensory words, but sparingly. Describing a blanket as “soft to the touch” is a fabulous selling point, if indeed the blanket is, well, soft to the touch. These romantic narratives are enticing and often work quite well.
  
  
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a thing in the 21st Century, so always incorporate it, but gently. Select phrases and terms that produce hits among those Googling for a particular product. It’s a common way to generate business, though not the only way.
  
  
• If your web-based description is scannable, it personalizes the shopper’s experience by offering up simple-to-read copy.
  
  
• Make your web design reader-friendly and attractive. Chances are, buyers will turn away from a page that is cluttered, designed poorly, or difficult to navigate.
  
  

Here is a not-so-secret tip for avoiding buyer burnout: don’t choose overused and oversold terms. Every buyer hopes to land something with “excellent quality.” This has the effect of suggesting that you put no thought into your inventory and are short-selling its attributes.


Above all, be honest. Don’t promise the moon. Avoid committing to a long life of use if you are not sure of a product’s actual shelf life. There are ways to get around that without implying that you’re peddling inferior inventory. Simply stay away from descriptions playing up a steller level of sturdiness or wearability unless the product is well known for those, and especially if there is a warranty involved.


Making product descriptions bring your products to life takes a bit of practice, and you may want to farm out that service to professional writers. But if that’s not in your budget, do yourself a favor and scan the web for an array of sellers who get it right. Don’t be afraid to emulate their tactics, without word-for-word reproducing of their copy. Soon you will get the hang of it.

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