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Your product descriptions are the single most important piece of your product listing. Even more important than the photos of your product.
Sound crazy?
Most Sellers on Amazon and Ebay Miss this Important Point
Most product descriptions are done so poorly, they actually hurt sales. You’ve probably come across some, there’s something in the description that makes you doubt, or the description is only one sentence long.
Surely, this product that a buyer is going to take a risk on is worth more than a one-sentence product description…unless the seller doesn’t care, unless the product really isn’t what the picture says it is…
Even when the product description is filled out to the maximum, even when using the Enhanced Branded Content on Amazon or Videos in your Ebay listings, most seller still forget one important thing, the thing that turns off the brains of potential buyers.
The death knell of a listing page: When it’s all about the product instead of about the buyer.
Tape it to your forehead, spray paint it on your wall.
When your product description is about the product instead of about the buyer, you bore the buyer.
Bored buyers leave the page.
Bored buyers skim and miss important details.
Bored buyers, even when making a purchase tend to make more returns.
All because they don’t care to read the product description.
Your product descriptions don’t need the ALL CAPS and !!! points to get attention either. That’s just annoying. ISN’T IT ANNOYING???
You Want Product Descriptions that Sell
At least, I assume you do.
Maybe you want product descriptions that sing, but that’s another article.
The great thing is that you don’t have to get all crazy sale-zy like: This is a one-in-a-million, act now or else…
No, all you need to do is show what’s in it for the customer.
You may have heard it called features vs benefits (more on that in a second), but it’s more than that.
It’s science.
Based in Science – The Science of Persuasion
Take a quick look at the video below about the secrets and Science of Persuasion.
Hint, click the gear icon and select speed to speed up the video if you want to save time.
It’s about the Customer, but there are Different Ways to Show it.
But if it’s all about the buyer, then doesn’t my product description becomes silly?
You mean like: Imagine yourself kayaking down the Grand Canyon, not having to waste time, energy, or even take your eyes off the river when you wear our drink holding watercraft helmet.
(No offense if that really is your product).
Sure that’s about the customer, it talks about some of the benefits vs just the features, but it’s incomplete without the science of persuasion.
A Quickie on Features vs Benefits in your Product Descriptions
Feature: Our helmet securely holds your sodas and the drinking tube is made from silicone.
Benefits:
- Never lose your sodas while on the water with the reinforced security strap
- Helps you keep your eyes on the river rather than on your drinks, making for a safer ride.
- Makes for easy access to your drinks during your rafting adventure.
- Will take a beating and you don’t have to worry about it because of the reinforced silicone design which won’t crack under heat or cold.
Man, I really want this product. 🙂
Seriously though, the benefits use the same product features, but describes them in a way that’s useful for the buyer.
And if the buyer can see that’s it’s useful to them, they’ll be more incline to buy–especially this product.
Now Add Science
You know now how to focus your product description so it means something to the potential buyer–a what’s-in-it-for-them type of thing.
But now the magic happens…with science.
From the video above you learned about the principles of persuasion, and wouldn’t you like to persuade more buyers to take action and buy?
Maybe you don’t, that’s why I ask.
But let’s say you do.
Using Cialdini’s 6 Principles of Influence, you can Ethically Boost Your Sales like No Other Method
By including elements related to the six keys of influence, you can power up your product descriptions so that they become almost irresistible.
The principles of persuasion that will level-up your product descriptions are:
- Reciprocity
- Consistency
- Social Proof
- Authority
- Liking
- Scarcity
From the video (you watched it right?), you’ve been given a little intro.
Let’s dive into a few that will convert your descriptions into machines of persuasion.
Social Proof in your Product Listings
This is so important, and is already built in on Amazon with Product Reviews.
Encourage your customers to leave product reviews!!!
But you can’t force them to do it, but there is a way to get social proof into your product descriptions. Remember social proof is like proof from society, from lots of people.
Identify what about your product shows that lots of people like it.
You may have seen on McDonald’s signs and billboards “Billions Served”
That’s the Mac daddy of social proof, but it’s so huge, it’s almost unfathomable.
Something like, “in use by more than 10,000 doctors,” provides a whole lot of social proof. You need to be careful of your claims, but think about your product and how you can show social proof.
No proof because your product is new?
You can still use this principle. Think of our river-rafting drink-holding-helmet.
More than 1 million people raft each year, with countless rafters losing their soda cans to the river without proper
Totally making this one up as we go, but you get the picture. Social proof. Tons of people go down the rivers, tons of them lose their drinks, but now you can save yours and look great, etc. etc.
With some thought, you’ll be able to come up with something way better than my little example. Point is, there’s lots you can do.
Authority in your Product Descriptions
“#1 Doctor Recommended Brand”
Ever see that? That’s authority ringing in your ears, but it’s pretty weak.
“#1 Recommended Tooth Brush by the ADA”
That’s more powerful because it tells exactly what the authority is that’s recommending the product.
Now, your authority doesn’t have to be a national organization. It could be someone respected in the field related to your product that would lend authority to your product. Make sure to get permission to use any quotes or endorsements.
Lot’s more you can do
This is just a quick sampling, there’s so much more you can add to your product descriptions. Follow the guidelines for the marketplaces you sell in, but there’s so much more you can do than just listing product features. Hopefully, this helps.
