You’re looking over all your products and get the creeping feeling something’s not right. While the copy you have up there did its job in a pinch, you feel like it could be improved. The trouble is you’re not exactly a writer and aren’t sure what magic touch your copy needs to really stand out. Luckily you don’t have to be Charles Dickens to boost your descriptions. Here are a few tricks:
1. Clarify
One thing your product copy is hiding the benefits of your product in a tangle of words. The more confusing the description is, the less likely anyone will buy the item, even if they already know what it is. Try to think of ways to simplify the copy as much as you can.
Using fancy language is fun, but it may not get the point across like you think. For example, saying your product fixes a “ubiquitous” problem is cute, but most people will understand it better as “a common problem”.
2. Scannable
Go click around some other online stores. As you poked around, you didn’t just look at one product, did you? Of course not; you scanned the site to get an idea what they had and what they said about their products.
Your customers are doing the same thing to your site. If you have huge blocks of text under every product, you’re making their eyes hurt. They want to scan quickly and keep moving on until something strikes their fancy. Cut down all your descriptions as much as you can and make them snappy so people can quickly get the idea of what the item is about. If you must have longer descriptions, break them up and use bold letters to draw attention to what’s important.
3. Get Rid of the Jargon
While you may have lots of techies checking out your computer software store, that’s not your entire consumer base. So if you’re using tons of confusing jargon in the descriptions of your stuff, you’re confusing the heck out of the regular folks shopping there. It just sounds like bleeps and bloops to them.
You have to take the regular Joes and Janes into account. Naturally, though, you’ll want to consider your customers as a whole – maybe you only have techies coming to you. If that’s the case, then use all the jargon you want.
4. Sound More Casual
Another idea to boost your content copy is to write in a more casual manner. Try describing the items like you’re talking to a friend rather than a customer. How would that change everything? What would you focus on in this case? You’ll most likely figure out a unique angle simply by doing this exercise. See if the rest of your content could use this as well. What could be holding you back is a “stiffness”. Write like a human being, not a robot!
5. Change Their Life
Approach every item like it will change your customers’ lives. Even if it’s a snow globe, assume it’s the best snow globe ever made. Convince the public why they don’t just WANT this snow globe, they NEED it. This snow globe is just what they need for a new start!
Of course it’s not really true and the customer knows a snow globe won’t really change their life. However, when they go to buy a snow globe, they will remember yours simply because you convince them yours are the best out there. If you want to be big, you have to act big!