A good product description is crucial for online sales success. Whether you're selling through your own webshop or on a sales platform like bol.com. But what should be in a product description? And how do you write a good one? In this blog, we're sharing 7 important tips to give your online sales a boost.
#1 Play to the customer's emotions with your product description
Before we dive into how to start your product text, you need to understand this: a good product description plays to the customer's emotions. This simply means using the product text to highlight its emotional benefits.
In the case of a hammer with a sturdy handle, you're not focusing on the 'benefit': a large handle with a circumference of 3cm, but on the emotional benefit: thanks to the large 3cm handle, the hammer lies comfortably in your hand. The customer doesn't have to think about what a circumference of 3cm means for them. The customer already feels how good the hammer lies in their hand with the second sentence. And that's what you want!
#2 Start your product description with a catchy opening
Whether you have your own online webshop or you're offering your product on bol.com or Amazon, either way, your target audience has a short attention span, and every chance you miss to captivate the reader is a chance they'll lose interest and scroll on to the competition. A catchy opening sentence is an absolute must.
So, how do you write a good product description? By starting with a sentence or question that the reader can identify with. For example, address a pain point or annoyance that the potential customer might have, and then explain in the rest of the text how your product is the solution. Make sure your opening sentence is one that 'pulls' the customer into the text and is so engaging that they just have to keep reading.
Example sentence in a strong product description: Whether you're a talented handyman or all thumbs: you prefer working with smart, comfortable, and sturdy tools.
#3 Create a funnel with your product description
Have you 'pulled' the reader into your text with a catchy opening? Then you want to shape it so that after reading the text, they click the shop button directly. A good product description is built like a funnel.
With a catchy opening that also plays to the customer's emotions, you 'pull' the reader into your funnel. But a product description also needs to be practical - for the reader. This means your reader wants as many of their questions answered as possible in the product description. So, after a catchy opening, get to work on processing the answers to the questions the reader might have. But be careful: you process those answers in a smooth, flowing text.
Example sentence in a strong product description: With a weight of 7kg, the hammer provides maximum striking power without being too heavy in the hand.
Here, you're answering a question the customer might have: 'how heavy is the hammer?' and you're taking this opportunity to highlight an emotional benefit: 'maximum striking power, without being too heavy in the hand'.
#4 Break up the product text into paragraphs
While we might be willing to read a text in a book or on paper from start to finish, that's not the case with online texts. Know this. Don't expect the reader to want your product so badly that they'll take the time to read the text word for word. Play to this by making your product description easy to read.
Break up the text into short paragraphs of no more than 4 lines and use subheadings where possible. This way, you create optimally scannable text that allows your potential customer to find the information they're looking for as quickly as possible.
#5 Incorporate key points from the product description into a list
A good product text not only contains full paragraphs but also easier-to-scan information in a list. This is a great opportunity, as many e-commerce entrepreneurs often only include product properties like 'weighs 7 kg' or 'available in red, green, or yellow' in these lists.
A product description that generates revenue also focuses on the customer's emotions in a list. Link the practical product information, which should definitely be mentioned, to the (emotional) benefits that come with it. 'Available in red, green, and yellow: something for every handyman'
#6 A good product description takes SEO into account
With SEO, Search Engine Optimization, you make your product description attractive to search engines. Do you want your product to quickly rise to the top in Google or your product text to be high in the search results on bol.com? Then delve into the important keywords that customers use to search for a product like yours. Incorporate these keywords into your text.
Good to know: you don't have to limit yourself to individual keywords here.
#7 End your product description with a call to action
With a call to action, also known as a CTA, you tell the customer what their next step should be. In the e-commerce world, this often means a sentence like: Click 'add to cart' and receive the Handy Hammer at home tomorrow! Such a CTA might feel a bit superfluous or even childish. It's time to put that feeling aside.
As mentioned earlier in this blog, the attention span of your target audience while scrolling on the internet is minimal. This also means they appreciate guidance on what to do, so they don't have to think for themselves. A powerful call to action should not be missing from any product description.
So, how do you write a good product description?
- Use the product description to appeal to the customer's emotion
- Start your product description with a catchy opening
- Make a funnel out of your product description
- Break up the product text into paragraphs
- Incorporate key points from the product description into a list
- A good product description takes SEO into account
- End your product description with a call to action
After reading the above text, you have the important knowledge to write a converting product text. But to be truly successful as an e-commerce entrepreneur, more aspects are crucial. At Boloo, we know the formula for successful online sales from A to Z. Take advantage of a complete course on successful entrepreneurship on bol.com. With the right knowledge, you can set up a killer business.
