The titles of eCommerce listings are crucial to selling your item – this may sound obvious, but titles are often overlooked in the online marketing world! Titles should clearly and quickly convey what you are selling and allow potential buyers to single out your product from the competition – which may number in the dozens or the hundreds of thousands!
Shoppers will typically navigate to find your product through visual searches, search engine tools, or category browsing. A good title will make even the most skeptical of customers curious about your product. Showcase the benefits of your product, talk about its features, and convince them to buy it. A good title will make your product stand out from the crowd – so putting the time and effort involved in writing a good title will show returns in the end!
Moreover, the product descriptions of eCommerce listings are of great importance in achieving sales. “One study found that 20% of purchase failures are a direct result of unclear, uninformative or missing product information. You should have something to say about your product – so say it! Certain words work well in product descriptions, whilst others will turn away your potential buyer. It’s worth taking the time to learn how to write product descriptions clearly and concisely,” says Laura Moran, a marketer at Britstudent and Writemyx.
Writing listings isn’t always as easy as it seems – many vendors online make the same mistakes, time and time again! To prevent yourself from falling into the trap of writing listings that ignore what the consumer is looking for, we’ve compiled this handy article with tips for writing the best eCommerce listings – listings that will actually sell. Start today, and turn your eCommerce sales around by writing descriptive, vivid listings that convince the buyer to purchase your product!
Write a title that will spark interest. There are so many eCommerce listings out there, especially on sites like Amazon and eBay, consumers can quickly become bored searching through products that all seem exactly the same. You need to make your headline stand out from the rest by quickly and concisely conveying exactly what you are selling. That sounds obvious – but many titles lack that ‘je ne sais quoi’ that gets your product noticed!
Your product title and description need to be convincing. This is where you sell your product – in the description. List all of the features but also focus on the benefits. Describe exactly what your product will do for the buyer and paint an image where they can see themselves using your product. Use words that are persuasive, vivid, and expressive. Adjectives like ‘luxurious’ should be used in place of weaker words like ‘nice’, and rather than calling your product affordable or cheap, call it ‘cost-effective’ or ‘value for money’.
According to a recent study, certain words are more persuasive than others and can influence your buyers the most successfully. These include words like ‘suddenly’, ‘announcing’, ‘introducing’, ‘sensational’, ‘revolutionary’ and ‘miracle’. Persuasive vocabulary is there to help your sales – use it!
40 to 80 characters are best for product descriptions – keep it to the point, and don’t exhaust the reader. Try to reduce fluff words and long wording and phrases that will just annoy your reader and don’t add any extra value to your point. For Amazon listing, you should keep below 200 characters. The platform allows for 250 characters but the additional characters get suppressed.
A listing and title can be the most convincing text in the world – but none of this matters if the design is flawed. Make sure your listing is easy to read online – format your listing correctly so readers know where the headlines are and where the subheadings are. Headings should be 16 to 20-point font size, so they stand out. Your text should be no less than 11 or 12 font size. Avoid using too much color or gimmicky fonts like comic sans. This leaves your listing looking unprofessional.
Use bullet points, so your listing is easily scannable. In the age of information, few of your customers really have time to read everything online – so they love to be able to skim information quickly, getting the important details first. Bullet points provide a clear, concise format to display key information points before getting into the details.
Lastly, use visuals – a picture is, after all, worth a thousand words!
Do you know who buys your products? You should.
You need to define your buyer personas before writing your descriptions – that means learning who is going to be buying your product, and why. You can then write descriptions that suit them.
Take the example of a new hair product, like a leave-in conditioner. Whilst it’s not the most bizarre product on the market, it might be new to some people. If you’ve never used a leave-in conditioner before, you might not know how to use it properly. So, you need to describe exactly what is included in the product and give details about how to use it, and why the product is beneficial. In this case, the buyer persona is probably ‘a person with long or thick hair who may or may not know leave-in conditioner exists or how to use it.’ If you target specific groups of buyers with your product, think of them when writing your product title and description.
You also need to understand more generally, buyer behavior. Market research has shown again and again that buyer behavior plays a hugely important role in when, what, and why they buy. This includes learning about why buyers are buying more online and internationally, what they are buying (usually electronic goods and accessories more than clothes) and how often they buy online. Once you understand the psychology of sales, you can write listings that speak to your customers and connect with them!
The feeling and mood your products evoke are more important than you might believe in convincing them to buy. Do you know what it is that drives your customer to make a purchase? It’s not as simple as just seeing a product and deciding they need it! A lot of other important psychological factors are at play in the customer journey. People are statistically more likely to buy a product when they feel an emotion; a positive feeling that makes them feel good about themselves will instill a desire to purchase the product and capture that emotion.
For example, a dress described as ‘sensational’, ‘new’, and ‘elegant’ can instill the buyer with a desire to purchase this dress to capture that elegant feeling, especially given that it sells itself as ‘deceptively simple’ – this explains the pricey tag!
Likewise, an emotion-based on unhappiness also sells – if a product is particularly trendy, the ‘fear of missing out’ (FOMO) strategy is very successful, as buyers will buy your product simply to ensure they don’t miss out on it! This also works well if the product is a great deal – nobody likes missing a deal!
“Being on brand simply means reflecting your company’s tone of voice. If you are an affordable fashion website, for example, you might want to strike a more casual tone and speak about parties and good vibes. A more professional brand will have a less conversational tone and speak more seriously – for example, a high-end fashion retailer will speak about ‘quality’ and ‘luxury’, their product being ‘exceptional’ and ‘iconic’,” notes Brooke Swan, a tech writer at Australia2Write and Next Coursework.
Whatever your tone, just stick to it in your listings – that way buyers develop an idea of who you are, and what you are selling.
As well as connecting emotionally to products, buyers also want products that will solve their problems. If your product meets any particular buyer concerns, then they will know it’s the right one for them. For example, a hair product might discuss the problems of the hair type it is intended for, and how it will solve these problems. Likewise, a new electronic gadget might meet buyers’ concerns and so, convince them to buy it. By listing all your product features and benefits in the listing, with particular emphasis on the advantages these bring to consumers when they buy, you’re increasing sales. This is because customers want products to solve their problems and provide them with solutions!
Generally, customers rely on well-known and trustworthy brands. If your brand is new, then you’ll need to build up your reputation – one way to build this authority is by including accurate product information and verified facts. Reviews and testimonials from other customers can also help potential customers feel more confident buying your product. If you are consistently helpful and reliable, and make sure your listing reflects this, you’ll have more conversions to sales!
There is plenty of evidence out there that placing keywords in product titles and descriptions can increase SEO (search engine optimization). Especially when included in the bullet points, keywords laced throughout your listing can increase your product’s place in search engine rankings. Don’t leave them out!
Content marketing guru at Mailmunch. I’m passionate about writing content that resonates with people. Live simply, give generously, stay happy.
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