Product descriptions are crucial for successful dropshipping sales, as they provide potential customers with an understanding of the product they are considering purchasing. In fact, 50% of buyers return items because they don’t match the online product description.
Instructions for writing product descriptions in Dropshipping
Target Your Audience
Identify your customer base and tailor your product descriptions to connect with them. Avoid the mistake of trying to write for everyone. Narrowing your focus helps you create more persuasive content.
Example (for a clothing retailer targeting young adults): If your target customers are mostly young people, infuse your descriptions with a humorous and dynamic tone.
The biggest mistake you can make here is trying to write for everyone.
Narrowing your audience will help you write more persuasively. If you write for everyone, in the end you won’t sell to anyone, because your product won’t connect with the people who need to read it, no matter how good it is.
Below is an example from a clothing retailer. Their target audience is mostly young people, so their tone is somewhat humorous and dynamic.
So how can you do this for your products? Think about what kinds of words your target audience uses, what their “frustrations” or “pains” are, and what questions they might need answers to. How do you talk to them in real life?
Asking these questions will help you cut through the general, meaningless phrases and get straight to the important stuff!
Focus on Benefits, Not Just Features
You need to describe your product including a list of its features.But this shouldn’t be your sole focus. Not only does a list of features not give customers any idea of why they should buy your product, it’s also boring.
Imagine if Apple simply listed all the technical features of the iPhone. Super Retina XDR screen, A13 Bionic Chip, PMU,…! If you are not a tech savvy person, do you understand how “good” these features are?
Instead, Apple touts the benefits these features will bring to its customers – five hours of extra battery life, for example. (Everyone understands this).
For example, if you’re selling clothing, emphasize how comfortable the fabric is; If you’re selling food or drinks, highlight the health benefits; If you’re selling children’s toys, explain how safe and durable they are.
This gives shoppers a clear reason why they should click the “Buy” button – by focusing on the benefits, you are convincing people that their lives will be better if they buy the product your!
Tell a Product Story
Help customers understand the product through a narrative. Showcase how the product fits into an ideal customer’s daily life.
Example (for a smoothie blender): Share images of an ideal customer’s daily routine and demonstrate how your blender fits seamlessly into that lifestyle.
It can be as simple as taking photos of your ideal customer’s daily life, and then showing them how your product fits into that scene.
Make it Easy to Read
Not all shoppers will read every word of your product descriptions. Use bullet points, visual icons, and concise information to convey your message quickly.
Example: Utilize whitespace, larger font sizes, and short paragraphs for easy skimming. Capture attention effectively.
Use Persuasive Language
- Make the most of white space to place key points
- Use a larger font size
- Try short one-line paragraphs
Example:
This presentation is super simple, doesn’t leave out important details, but is also quick and easy to skim. You don’t have to spend much time looking through this product description to understand the key benefits and features.
Specific
Take a look at the product description I’ve written for a pair of shoes:
“These shoes boast exceptional quality; they are simply outstanding products that not only look truly impressive but are also the best shoes on the market today. We believe they are beautiful and fantastic shoes, so you should get them today.
Would you buy shoes described like this? Probably not. That’s because it makes a lot of claims without providing evidence.
Don’t fall into this trap!
Instead of writing a product description like the one above, you should be as specific and detailed as possible. Avoid delving into generic statements like ‘This is an excellent quality product.’ Show customers why it is of excellent quality and prove it through your explanation of its features and benefits.
The example below delves into the specifics of describing a wingback chair. Instead of saying it’s a special shape, this description goes into details about the stitching, buttons, springs, etc.
Persuasive
Use words that create a feeling
While you want to avoid empty descriptors like “Cool,” feeling words help people imagine what the product is like in real life. Use words that evoke sound, smell, touch and taste to appeal to your customers – for example: soft, smooth, crispy, light, bright, crispy and warm.
Feeling words like these can be crucial to bringing your product to life and making your customers feel as if they must have it. You can check out the product below.
Use strong words
Powerful words are like levers in product descriptions to excite, motivate and inspire customers, encouraging them to take action. However, you should not overuse it because it will cause these “magic” words to lose their effect.
Here are some powerful words you can use in your product descriptions:
New – new products are always more attractive than old products
Because – explaining why is always extremely effective
Fast – this creates urgency in shoppers
Now – this shows customers how new and current your product is, while also inspiring action
Make your product descriptions unique and choose powerful words that feel natural instead of forced. See the example below
Answering Questions
Prepare thoughtful answers to potential questions that people might have about your product. This can be challenging because you know your product inside out, so put yourself in their shoes. Ask yourself:
Does the product image show the back of the item? If not, can this be described to help customers know exactly what they are getting?
What materials is the product made from? Can these materials cause any issues, such as allergies or discoloration?
Are there instructions on how to use the product?
How much does the product weigh?
Can the product look different from the image when purchased?
If there’s any part of the product that is not visible in the images, clarify it in the description. For example, if you’re selling furniture, make sure to include the weight of the items, or mention that handmade items may look different from the ones in the picture.
As you start selling, use feedback from your customers to enhance your Dropshipping product descriptions in the future. Utilize reasons for returns and frequently asked questions to understand precisely what people want to know!
Telling Behind-the-Scenes Stories About Your Product
In the previous section, I discussed the idea of creating a story around your product to stimulate the imagination of potential buyers. Another approach you can take, which might be a bit easier, is to share behind-the-scenes stories about your product.
Don’t make it all about you – people still want to hear how this product will benefit them – but you might find that sharing a behind-the-scenes story helps people connect with your brand.
Take a look at the example below to see how this can be implemented:
Instead of being just another jewelry store, its mission is to support individuals escaping homelessness by creating employment opportunities for them. This is clearly reflected in the product description – “Buying creates jobs! Help buyers feel a sense of purpose in their decision.”
This approach gives a human touch to your brand, making it more relatable and showing that there’s more to your business than just selling products. Sharing the behind-the-scenes narrative creates an emotional connection and can resonate with customers who want to make a meaningful impact through their purchases.
Leveraging the Power of Social Proof
The viral effect is a social phenomenon in which people are more likely to do something if they see that others are doing it. That’s why 92% of online shoppers read product reviews before making a purchase.
Utilizing the viral effect is a crucial part of convincing people to buy your product. Product reviews are deemed more trustworthy than product descriptions by 12 times, so you need to harness the viral effect to make buyers trust your brand.
You can do this by:
- Rating and Reviews: Showcase the ratings and reviews of your product.
- Customer Feedback: Include positive feedback from customers.
- Number of Viewers: Indicate how many others are currently viewing the product.
- Number of Purchases: Highlight the quantity sold to create a sense of popularity.
- Expert Endorsement: Feature a review or recommendation from an expert.
- Social Media Shares: Display the product’s popularity on social media.
You can even incorporate the viral effect into your product descriptions using phrases like “our best-selling product” – anything that emphasizes the fact that other buyers are loving your products.
Amazon’s customer reviews are a prime example of this strategy in action. By displaying ratings, reviews, and the number of people who have purchased a product, Amazon leverages the viral effect to boost consumer confidence and drive more sales.
Example:
Easy to understand
My final advice, after all the information above, is to remember to keep things simple and straightforward.
Here are some ways you can avoid creating lengthy product descriptions:
- Use a combination of prose and bullet points
- Separate information into tabs so shoppers can choose what they want to read
- Use symbols to wrap text
- Write a concise description
Things to avoid when writing product descriptions in Dropshipping
I have mentioned things you should do. What about things you should absolutely never do? Here are five things to avoid.
The word “adventure”
These are the words below:
Expensive
Are you sure?
You want to avoid anything that makes shoppers pause and question their purchase.
Keyword stuffing
A good way to get your products noticed is to write your descriptions SEO-friendly. One way to do this is to use keywords in your description that are relevant to the product.
A big mistake people often make is keyword stuffing, where you cram a lot of high search volume phrases into your Dropshipping product description. Google has now penalized the practice of keyword stuffing, as it leads to content that provides no value to visitors.
Use passive sentences
The passive voice seems longer and more complicated than necessary.
Use active sentences that are clear, concise, easy to understand, and inspire action.
Simple description
This type of description is quick, easy and…empty. Unless you’re a big brand, that’s okay
