How to describe an online store product

I continue the stories about how to put the letters into words and sentences. Now practice on the goods on the site.



The first thing to understand is that the optimal sales strategy is not to promote one particular product by all means, but to limit its audience to the utmost. This means that if you try to describe the product as the best-in-the-world-for-all-and-all, you simply won’t buy it.

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The task of the store is not to sell one product, but to sell as many products as a whole as possible. To do this, it is necessary to separate them very precisely, objectively and with knowledge of the question according to what and for whom they are needed. Each product assortment line should clearly focus on one task and one audience.



But this is too obvious and correct, so nobody does this.



The second lyrical digression. In retail, the best test of your model is to open exactly the door-to-door with a competitor and see who will crowd out whom. In 98% of cases, the one whose sellers do not lie and know the product better wins. In the online store, the result is simple: according to the description, you need to understand that the goods were held in their hands when they were described. Accordingly - no “water”, common phrases. Immediately, the essence, direct references to the properties of the goods. Understanding that a person knows what he is talking about - it immediately appears when reading practical descriptions and disappears in any “marketing snotty” block.



That is, the whole text, every paragraph and every sentence - everything should be concrete and interesting at once. Based on facts.

The optimal product card (one of the options)

1. Title showing the essence of the goods. This is the first and most important point of differentiation. The headline either means the main benefit (“Robot vacuum cleaner: you come home, but it's clear there”), or accurately differentiates the product (“The cheapest electric kettle”), or indicates the audience (“Washing machine for houses with old wiring”), or turns the world over (“Our director has 9 such used spare parts in a Mercedes”). If you read any text on how to make loud and catchy headlines, and there were words-baits - please crumple up the printout, rub between your hands to the desired softness and take to the toilet. Such headlines are an obvious “spam marker” that only scares the buyer.
2. The first phrase should be introduced immediately to the point, or it should be interesting enough to lead to the second phrase. Then the second phrase should be about the essence. The entire first paragraph (3-5 sentences) you devote to a short review of the goods. For example - this is an electric kettle for half a kilowatt, good where the light flashes when you turn on the normal one. Cool to take on the road, there is still a bag in the set. That is, in the first paragraph, you list the most important differences of the product from others in the same line, in fact. That the person was oriented at once.
3. Now is the time for details. Describe everything else that needs to be described. Characteristics (necessarily explaining what each means, and not a list), for which the product is best used (tasks) and for whom the product is needed. For what and for whom are different things. For example, synthesizers can be used to learn to play the piano or, in fact, performances in a cafe. A synthesizer with adjustable sound is an awesome choice for caring parents. Because in the morning when the daughter is studying, the neighbors will not break with an ax. The sound is reduced.
4. After the reader has already recognized himself three times (in the first paragraph, in “for what” and in “to”), it is time for the FAQ. Check comments on this product or the whole class, highlight the most frequent questions. Answer them.
5. Explain in detail the difference with other products line.
6. Bring social proof - as a rule, this is a photo of people during the use of the product and review. This is already done by the content manager, not the writer.
7. Be sure to indicate in what form the goods arrive (what kind of packaging) and list the full composition. This applies to both technology and clothing, and even yogurt. If the composition is more than two points ("box, product"), then describe each component - why it is needed. So a person seems to hold the goods in his hands and examines it. Describing everything point by point with short phrases (1-2 sentences), you once again make sure that everything is in order and collect an image of the goods in your head. Do not forget that the description will hang on the site for 2-3-5 years, so do not use superlatives for electronics. "The fastest processor" will be in 10 more cameras and laptops after yours. Minimum. Another thing about the composition is to say about the warranty and certification, if any. Rostest is important for electronics, for pharmacy and food - compliance with various strict norms of regulators.

Naturally, this is only one of the options, and you can change the structure and flow as you like.

Format

It is optimal to break the description into paragraphs of 3-7 sentences and devote each individual paragraph to a single aspect. It is very good to make paragraph headings reveal the essence of what is there. No snot. Without "yellowness".

Story

This whole product card structure can be successfully replaced by the story about the product. As a rule, vivid and life stories are given by practitioners - sellers at point of sale or a business owner who has been given two beers and a voice recorder. With a network order, this trick does not roll.



The story is good because there are so many cool details in it that it is immediately clear that he knows both the pros and the goods like the back of his hand. This is always credible.

Removal of information

When ordering online, the main source of information for the copywriter is either the customer’s story about the position (you need to point out differences from other line items and tell who it takes), or forums, discussions and feedback on this topic for this and similar products. It is also very important to carefully consider the photos - often directly on them you can build a description of different aesthetic pieces. The third important source is documents like instructions or “combat lists”, which can be found either at the customer or on the web.



Please note that many of the things that a customer needs are often not indicated in the instructions. For example, our mosigrovy radio-controlled helicopters did not have many things, and even the supplier did not know them - I had to clarify. A helicopter arrives on sale, and there is a type of battery, there is a flight time, but there is no remote range, there is no charge from zero to full charge, there is no flight speed, and so on. We tested each, there was no other option. Because these questions were asked by buyers.

Photos by text

Often the best description is the comic. If you can not explain in words, but show on the photo or scheme - it is better to use this opportunity. Do not forget that the pictures may become as much a full part of the description as the letters. So do not hesitate to insert them (of course, the pictures must be from the customer). Good practice, if the customer supports it - write directly in the description of what and how you need to complete it. However, when online bulk orders, as a rule, this will not be done, so discuss in advance.

Pyramid

At the top of the text is the most important group. In fact, the first paragraph may be a brief description of the product. Further, the essence is gradually revealed more and more. This is a pyramidal text construction principle, considering that the reader can stop reading at any time. At this point, he should have an idea about the product.



Parallel or sequential construction principles (when all blocks are equally important for understanding) are good for expensive products, or pages with very high readability. As a rule, it is the “pyramid” that plays on the first principle of working with a commodity card - an extremely quick choice by the buyer from a dozen of the necessary ones.

Stop viewing

Well, do not forget that when something is unclear to the buyer, he becomes confused or cannot figure it out in 5-6 seconds, he does not continue to try to pick further. It closes the tab and goes where it is simpler and clearer. Where more details. Where a review answers his questions. For example, to your competitor's site. Always remember that your site is rarely viewed as the only one - usually a person has 3-4 more results of the context and search results, and he first switches between them to decide what to read.

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