How to Write Product Descriptions That Sell – Part 1

So when it comes to product descriptions you would think that descriptions that list the cold, hard facts about the product would result in the most sales right?

Well actually it’s counter intuitive. Why? Because people buy products based on emotion not only hard cold facts. Buying stuff is an emotionally driven process.

“What do handmade businesses and estate agents have in common?“

Okay let’s talk about estate agents. Now what do estate agents and selling houses have to do with my handmade business you may ask? A lot, because both are in the business of selling quite special and meaningful things to their customers.

The best estate agents who close the most sales do not tell prospective buyers about the exact dimensions of the master bedroom or how many KW of energy are needed to light the house in the winter months.

The most successful estate agents paint a picture of what life could be like in a house for the client. They take time to think about the clients needs and desires.

To sell successfully you must get your potential customers to picture themselves with your product

How do estate agents get potential buyers to imagine themselves living in a particular property?

Let’s take a young family. In this case while showing them around the house the estate agent might –

• Talk about the wood burning stove in the kitchen and the coziness that it creates on long winter nights.

• They might highlight the conservatory and how it could easily be converted into a spacious play room for the children.

• Understanding the need to relax and unwind with friends after a long day at work they might suggest that the basement would make an ideal den that could also house a pool table and a games area.

• There might be oodles of storage space that an estate agent could talk endlessly about which would appeal to a family with stacks of stuff that needs to be stored away.

Can you see what the estate agent is doing here? They are cleverly helping the clients to imagine their future lives in a particular house.

To sell successfully you must get your potential customer to picture themselves with your product and imagine how it will solve their problems and make their lives better and easier.

There are a number of steps that you can take to help you paint beautiful pictures for your customers with your product descriptions. The first step that we are going to talk about is how to identify your ideal customer.

Step 1 – Identify Your ideal Customer

This is a vital step and cannot be over emphasized. Before you start writing your product descriptions you have to be clear about “who” you are writing them for.

If you know who you are writing for then you can tailor your descriptions so that it will seem that you are writing specifically for that customer.

This will resonate with your customers and make it feel like you are speaking directly to them and truly engage them. The more you can engage with your customers the more effective you will be at selling your products to them.

“I often hear that same mantra about identifying the ideal customer but how do I find out who my ideal customer is easily without spending loads of time and money on this?”

Well there are a number of ways to think about your ideal customer that can help you to identify who they are without spending huge amounts of money on market research or mass interviewing and surveying people.

These are strategies that large companies often use. They usually are way out of the reach of small businesses. So there must be another way?

Cast your mind back to the beginning. You might have started out making products that you actually like to use just as a hobby. This is not as strange as it might sound.

!!You might be your ideal customer!!

Many crafters and makers start out by just making things for themselves as a hobby. Things that they enjoy using and looking at. Now if you make things that you like the odds are that there will be other people out there who also will like what you like and what you have made.

These people are potential customers right? Because if they have the same tastes as you and you make something they like then they might actually buy it from you. Makes sense right?

“In the beginning sometimes the easiest way to work out who your ideal customer is is simply to think about yourself as your ideal customer“

So in the beginning sometimes the easiest way to work out who your ideal customer is is simply to think about you as your ideal customer. Think about your own traits and characteristics because your customers might have the same traits and characteristics. Who are you?

Start by asking questions like

1. How old are you?

For this characteristic think in terms of age ranges. Are you 16-24 or 45-55?

Now your customer base might be quite varied in age and fall across the spectrum but think about the category where the majority of your customers might fall into.

Age can give an indicator of the milestones or stages in someone’s life that they may have reached.

Think back to when you were thirteen. The things that were relevant and important in your life are different compared to being were twenty-five.

Your priorities, aspirations and responsibilities change as time passes. What are your age related priorities and or concerns that might relate to the kinds of products you might want to buy?

2. What are your interests?

What books do you like to read? What music do you like to listen to? What are your favourite TV programmes. It might seem that this sort of knowledge will not relate to your crafting business but it will help you to find the voice that will speak most clearly to your customers.

I am sure that if you look closely at what you read, listen to and watch there is a language or way of speaking that is present in all of these areas. There will be a general tone.

Think about it. The sort of language that a Telegraph (conservative newspaper in UK) reading, classical music lover who lives in the countryside will be different from someone who reads The Vampire Diaries, listens to Nirvana and shops in urban outfitters.

The differences between these two people seem really obvious. But the best professional writers understand that different types of customers use specific types of language and they will write in the language that suits those specific customers.

Read the descriptions below. Both are about a rose perfume but they are written for two completely different types of customer.

Rose Perfume Sample Description 1 – For the understated customer

English Rose

“Take a stroll through an English rose garden. The delicious blooms abound in their full splendour filling the summer air with their sweet bouquets. Grace your pulse points with this delicate fragrance, light although lasting. Featuring a subtle yet rich floral base with hints of citrus and Darjeeling tea in the higher notes. A pleasing fragrance for everyday wear with a little something extra.”

Now compare the previous description with the description below.

Rose Perfume Sample Description 2 – For the flamboyant customer

Rose Riot

“Prepare to turn heads with this rocking rose perfume. The deep floral exotic base notes are almost intoxicating. A perfect blend of oriental musk and knock-out Turkish rose oil this perfume is not for the faint heated. Splash it on and get ready to paint the town rose all night long.“

They are quite different right? They were both written with a female customer in mind but these women are probably very different people.

3. Where do you live?

Do you live in the countryside? If so then some of your ingredients or materials might be locally sourced or inspired by your local area. Think about all of the great things that your local area has to offer.

Do you like gardening or the outdoors? The way you describe your product might take that into account. You might have a moisturizer that works well for your chapped hands after you have finished working outdoors.

Your customers might also be looking for a product that solves the same problem. Make it clear in your descriptions.

If you live in an Urban setting is there a local scene or vibe that defines it? Do you live in a very arty creative place? Is there a particular music scene that is very prominent in your local area?

This information might provide fantastic inspiration for your products and descriptions. You might even be an active part of your local scene and it might be a big influence on how you think and feel about the world. Your customers might have similar interests.

4. What things are important to you?

Many of the things that we hold dear in our lives are more common that we think. It is amazing how many cat lovers there are on Instagram. There are endless reels and stories about cats and their adventures because they are so cute and adorable.

Many more people have pets in general now and pets are really important members of the family. So you might want mention if your product is pet friendly or precautions to be taken around pets.

What current issues are really important to you? Is it important that products use ethically sourced ingredients or are sustainable? If they are important issues to you then chances are they might be important to your customer.

Is it important that your products do not contain ingredients from animals? Conversely some people are really into using animal fats in their cosmetics because of their moisturizing properties and because using all of the animal (not only the meat) is considered sustainable by some.

Now let’s write an engaging product description for a mint and lavender soap

Okay so we have asked a lot questions and have gathered lots of useful information.

So now we can gather some ideas that have been generated from our earlier brains storming exercise.

• Okay so theoretically my ideal customer would be about mid 30s, be a mother, run a household and be working. So this is a very busy woman with a lot to do. Perhaps she really values a boost in the morning to help her with her demanding day.

• She has a dog and a cat.

• She cares about ethical issues, the environment and sustainability.

• She lives just outside a city in a town which is semi rural.

• She prefers natural cosmetics with locally sourced ingredients if possible.

Okay so let’s use all of the that information to write a quick description for a mint and lavender soap.

Description example for a lavender mint soap

“Our Lavender mint soap has a crisp yet floral fragrance to delight and awaken the senses. Packed with skin loving oils and butters this soap will leave you smelling fresh and feeling moisturised all day long. Added sustainable coconut oil helps to create a bubbly and generous lather that is even great for your hair but not stripping. Lavender mint soap is lovingly crafted with ethically sourced and organic Shea butter and topped with local lavender buds from Petal Farm.

Pet friendly – no chemicals

Packaged in a pretty reusable recycled Kraft gift box.

Weight – 140g ”

See how much easier and focused the writing process is if you have a clear idea in your mind about who you are writing for?

What if I am not my ideal customer? How can I find out about who they are and what is important to them?

It is perfectly acceptable if you are making your products for customers who are not like you and have different interests and concerns. However this does not stop you from identifying who your ideal customer is.

You just follow the same process that I have outlined above but this time you are going to have to do a little outside investigation.

Instead of asking yourself these questions you could find someone that you know who fits your ideal customer profile and just ask them the same questions instead.

You might make aprons for bakers but have never baked a thing in your life but I am pretty sure you can find someone who likes to bake and you could ask them a few questions about themselves.

If you already have a customer base and just want to improve your product descriptions you could interview at least one of your customers to find out more about them. This could be an informal chat over the phone.

You could send them an email asking them a few questions. If this proves a bit challenging them offer an incentive like a coupon code for completing a short questionnaire.

Another fantastic way of getting to know more about your customers and what is important to them is simply to think of all the questions and queries that you have had in the past. Customers will often tell you exactly what they want simply with feedback or inquiries.

If one customer asked the question then it is likely that other customers might be thinking about the same things. Use the answers to these questions in your product descriptions to make them more meaningful to your customers.

Can you see how easy it is to start writing more meaningful descriptions for your customers just by thinking about who they are and what is important to them?

I hope this first step has helped you on your way to writing better product descriptions. We always welcome feedback so please drop us a line and let us know what you think.

info@micamoma.com