You’ve put all the work into researching your customer, creating the best product you can, finding a supplier and now you’re almost there.  The next thing to think about, now you’ve done all of this hard work, is to create a product listing that really sells your product.

These tips apply to anywhere you’d sell your product online.  Amazon product listings are slightly different and I’ve covered those in a separate post.

Here are my top tips for writing a product listing that sells!

Know who your customer is

First things first.  Hopefully by now you’ve done a lot of research and you have a really clear idea of who you’re writing your product description for.

If you haven’t done this already, it’s a good time to jot down the problems or concerns your customer has and how your product will help with this.  How will it improve their life?

If you’re just getting started, this post on customer and market research is a must read.

Talk about benefits – not features

It’s easy to fall into the trap of listing out all the things your product has and does – but if you know who your customer is, and how your product can help them, it’s much easier to talk about the benefits.  

This is much more compelling for a customer, as you’re telling them how purchasing this product will improve their life in some way.

For example, my bamboo hooded towels are bigger than most on the market and a really high quality.  They last from newborn right up until 4-5 years of age. The advantage here is that Mum only has to buy one towel and it’ll last for years, can be handed down to other children, etc.

Here’s what I actually say:

A larger size (90 cm x 90 cm) makes this towel perfect from newborn to toddler (up to 4-5 years), with plenty of room for growth. The size, and quality, means this towel will be used for years to come and will be in great condition when you’re ready to pass it on.

Rather than just stating the size, my description tells my customers that I understand a problem they might have (buying things for their baby that just don’t last) and how my product solves this.

Share a bit of yourself

If you’ve created your own product and it means something to you, then tell people that.   Whether it’s ‘I saw this gap in the market’ or ‘I had this problem and came up with this solution’ people want to hear your story. Make sure you include it.

For example, I share that I created my products when I had my second baby and realised that very few things I bought first time round were up to being used again.

What inspired you?  I promise, people buy from people and they’ll find your story interesting.  It’s another way to make you, and your product, unique (particularly if you’re selling a product that’s direct competitors.)  Remember, there’s only one you!

Tell your product’s story

If you don’t feel there’s a story behind you and your product,  then tell a story about an aspect of your product.  Maybe it has an unusual ingredient or component. What is it that makes it special?

In my product descriptions, for example, I talk a lot about the natural properties of bamboo.  This is a key element of both my products and my brand.  I passionately believe it’s the best fabric choice for babies and children and I want to talk and share why I believe this.

It’s not only a selling point, it’s also interesting!

Include relevant keywords (if this makes sense)

If you want your product to be found, it’s a good idea to include relevant keywords. These might vary across the marketplaces you list your product on and I suggest slightly tweaking your product description for each.

For example, a keyword used on Etsy *might* be different to the keyword that will drive most traffic to your website via Google search.  And Amazon is a whole different story!  

In general, they won’t vary that much, but you might want to make some tweaks.

You can use free tools such as Google Keyword Planner to look into potential keywords. 

The main thing to remember is that when you use them in your listing, you ensure you’re not just ‘keyword stuffing’ and that what you’re writing actually makes sense!

Get some great images

Good text is great.  You also need some great images to go with it!  You can find more about hiring a professional photographer and taking your own product photography.

If you have some budget, graphics are also a great way to highlight aspects of your product.  You can see some great examples of these on Amazon product listings in particular.

If you have a good idea of what you’d like, and can perhaps even sketch them / mock up something rough, it shouldn’t be too expensive to find someone to create them for you, on a freelancing site such a Fiverr, or People Per Hour.

How do you actually write it?

If you’re unsure of how to start, I’d suggest a good structure is:

• A title (containing your keywords)
• One paragraph of text giving an overview of the product and what it is / who it’s for
• 3-5 bullet points outlining the benefits

Remember to be really clear on what it is, who it’s for and how it’ll make their lives better.  It can help to have that in front of you when you sit down to write it.

Obviously you don’t want to make bold claims that might not be true, or write anything misleading – but remember the goal of your product listing is to sell your product.

Sense Check

Read through your listing and, as well as checking for typos and spelling mistakes, check that it sounds natural and conversational.  (As opposed to dry and boring!) My top tip for this – read it aloud! (You can do it alone if it makes you feel better.) If it doesn’t sound natural, or you feel uncomfortable saying any of it, make some edits before you publish.

Get some help if you need it

If this still feels like way too much I’m here to help.  I offer a product description writing service, or I can edit a description you’ve already written.