Episode Transcript
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Carrie Saunders (00:01):
Have you ever
felt stuck trying to write a
product or service descriptionthat actually makes people want
to buy, without sounding pushyor oversellsy?
Whether you sell physicalproducts, digital courses or
coaching programs, your productdescriptions can make or break
your sales.
A bland, feature-heavydescription can turn potential
buyers away, while awell-crafted one builds trust
(00:24):
and takes them into action.
In today's episode, I'mbreaking down how to create
high-converting product andservice descriptions for both
traditional e-commercebusinesses and course creators
or coaches, as the techniquesare the same for both.
You'll walk away with clear,actionable steps to craft
descriptions that connect withyour audience and drive sales
(00:44):
without feeling like a used carsalesperson.
So let's dive in.
Welcome to the e-commerce madeeasy podcast.
I'm your host, k Saunders.
When we started this business,all I had was a couch, a laptop
and a nine month old.
My main goal to help others.
Now, with over 20 years in thee-commerce building industry and
even more than that and webdevelopment, I have seen a lot.
(01:06):
I love breaking down the hardtech into easily understandable
bits to help others besuccessful in their online
business.
Whether you're a seasonede-commerce veteran or just
starting out, you've come to theright place, so sit back, relax
and let's dive into the worldof e-commerce together.
Welcome back to the show.
Today we are honing in on ourdescriptions of our products and
(01:27):
services, but before we jumpinto the do's and don'ts, I want
to talk about why yourdescriptions are so important,
and you may know some of thesepoints already, but let's go
through them in case there'ssomething new to you.
And I find when we hear thingsover and over again, it really
helps bring it in to ourexistence really, so that we can
act upon it.
So your product descriptionsare your silent salespeople.
(01:50):
Unlike a store employee, you'renot going to be there in person
to sell and your words have todo the heavy lifting for you.
So that's why it's superimportant that we make sure that
our words are on point when weare trying to sell our products
or services.
They act like our salespeople.
They also help customers seethe value of your product or
(02:12):
service.
People don't just buy productsand services, they buy solutions
and outcomes.
Especially in the modern day,they really are wanting the
solutions and the outcomes tothose products and services, so
that's what they're looking tobuy.
They also help influence searchengine optimization and
visibility.
A well-written descriptionisn't just persuasive, it also
(02:37):
helps you rank higher in searchengines.
This is something we haveworked with our clients on for
over 20 years.
That product or servicedescription is really key to
making yourself found online,because it's a great place for
you to not only speak to yourcustomer, but if you do it in a
manner with search engineoptimization in mind, you're
also going to speak to thesearch engines as well.
(02:58):
So, no matter what you sell, acompelling description makes all
the difference in whethersomebody clicks buy now or just
clicks away.
So there are three core elementsof a high converting product or
service description.
So the first element is we wantto speak to their desires, not
just to the features.
We've already alluded to this.
(03:19):
Some already Customers don'tanymore want to just know what
it is.
They want to know why itmatters to them.
They want to know why would Ineed this product?
That speaks to them first.
Features speak to them later,after you've got their attention
.
So instead of saying this coffeemug is 16 ounces and double
(03:39):
wall insulated, you're going towant to say something like start
your mornings with a sleek heat, retaining double-walled coffee
mug that keeps your coffee hotfor hours.
That speaks to what they want.
They want something that isgoing to keep their coffee hot
for hours.
Sleek could imply it'sbeautiful, it holds in their
(04:02):
hand.
Properly.
You use your own words herewhen you're making this up, but
you can see that we're talkingto the benefits of it instead of
the features of it.
Just being a 16 ounce doublewalls mug, right, and so for a
course, coach course or coachcreator example.
Instead of saying this courseincludes six modules and 10
(04:22):
workbooks, right, and we and wetend to do that even with more
words than that sometimes butinstead you could say something
like get a step-by-step systemthat helps you launch your
online course stress-free, withplug-and-play templates to guide
you.
You're hitting on a few keypoints there.
Okay, it's a step-by-stepsystem, nobody wants to be lost.
(04:43):
It helps you do what you'retrying to do launch your course
and it has plug-and-playtemplates to guide you.
So they have really greatexamples of templates to guide
you.
So we are speaking towardssaving them time and effort and
creating their online digitalcourse.
So we're talking to thebenefits more than the features
at first.
So we're talking to thebenefits more than the features
(05:04):
at first.
So, like I said, we want tostart with benefits and then we
can support them with featureslater.
Myself personally I like to seethe benefits first, but I am a
detailed person, so I do want tosee those features later.
But you've got to pique theirinterest first with those
benefits and then we want tomake sure it's easy to scan.
(05:26):
Nobody really reads anymore,especially on the internet.
I mean, yes, if you have a bookyou're going to read, but most
people skim almost everything weapproach.
Whether it's a road sign,whether it is ingredients on a
box or whether it's a productdescription, we skim it.
We don't read it until we areinterested in it and then we
might read it.
We don't read it until we areinterested in it and then we
(05:46):
might read it.
So your description needs to bevisually engaging as well.
We want to use bullet points forthe key benefits.
We want to keep paragraphsshort and digestible.
We also want to make sure thatwe're writing at about a third
to fifth grade, maybe seventhgrade level.
But we want to keep our wordsat a very simple manner so it's
(06:08):
easy to scan.
That's why we don't want to usebig words here.
We also want to bold orhighlight important words or
phrases so that their eyes, whenthey're scanning, it will drop
onto those words or phrases andread them as they're scanning,
because they're reading themreally fast, right, and really
draw them in to the other wordsaround it too.
So, for example, you can dowhat you'll get Six self-paced
(06:34):
video modules with actionablesteps Again, we're talking about
the benefits here.
Again, even though we saidthere's six modules in here, the
benefit is actionable steps,proven email templates to sell
your course effortlessly Again,benefits we're saving them time
by giving them email templates.
A private community of supportand accountability Again, we're
(06:55):
giving them benefits here.
They're going to be havingfeeling like they're not alone.
They're going to have supportand accountability with it.
So this structure works bothfor physical and digital
services.
The key is clear, scannable anda valuable, driven content.
And then we want to useemotional triggers and
storytelling.
People buy with emotions andthen justify with logic.
(07:16):
So, for example, on ane-commerce example instead of
this candle smells like vanilla.
We obviously wouldn't do quitethat simple, but sometimes we'll
all find descriptions that arekind of along those lines.
Then you can try.
Instead, create a cozy,comforting atmosphere in your
home with a warm, inviting senseof vanilla, perfect for
(07:37):
unwinding after a long day.
That evokes a lot more emotionthan just simply saying the
facts that the candle is vanilla.
That evokes a lot more emotionthan just simply saying the
facts that the candle is vanilla.
Maybe you say how many ouncesit is, whether it's in a glass
(08:00):
jar, you know.
Things like that aren't goingto speak to them nearly as much
as you know they're going torelax and unwind from a long day
with this beautiful, scentedvanilla candle.
So a course creator, a coach,example could be instead of.
This course teaches youmarketing and maybe you can add
some more features behind that.
Right?
Instead of saying somethinglike that, let's speak to their
emotions.
No-transcript.
Now, that really talks toemotions.
(08:21):
Nobody wants to spend all day onsocial media trying to sell
their products or services, andit is speaking to them and
helping them build confidence aswell around promoting their
business too.
A lot of us don't feelconfident in promoting our own
business, so it's speaking totheir emotions.
We want to use words that painta picture of the experience
(08:41):
your buyer will have to usewords that paint a picture of
the experience your buyer willhave.
This takes some skill and somepractice to do, but I challenge
you to try to start doing thattoday with one of your products
or one of your services.
We want to try to paint thatpicture of experience.
So then there's some commonmistakes to avoid and let's go
over those.
Next, so focusing we alluded tothis one already focusing too
(09:04):
much on specs and features.
Don't just list the details,explain why they make life
better, why they help the personout.
Save those features and specsfor later, down in the page or
on, maybe, a separate tab, ifyou have an e-commerce system
that has tabs available and youcan use features and specs as a
(09:24):
separate tab for those peoplewho really do want that part as
well.
We also want to avoid usingjargon or industry lingo.
We want to speak in ouraudience's language and, like I
said earlier, we want to usewords that are very simple.
We want to use somewhere aroundthird and fifth grade level
words when we're writing ourproducts and descriptions,
(09:46):
because we want to make themscannable and easily, to easily
relate, and then we don't wantto make our product descriptions
too long or too short.
This is going to help you notonly for capturing enough
emotion and attention of yourpotential customer, but it's
also going to help you withsearch engine optimization, if
you have it, the right amount oflength.
We want to aim for about 100 to300 words that highlights the
(10:10):
benefits and features and has acall to action.
So having enough meat behind itI want to say having enough
words behind it is going to helpyou for search engine
optimization, because then thepage isn't thin and that is one
of the words that they will useto describe it.
So a thin page doesn't havevery many words for them to
(10:31):
determine what's reallyimportant on that page.
And then we also want to makesure we're not skipping a call
to action.
It's always guide them to thenext step, whether it's a buy
now, enroll today or start yourfree trial.
Something very clear and direct, and make sure you always have
it there.
All right.
So let's go over some actualsteps to improve your product or
(10:51):
service descriptions.
Today I want you to pick one ofyour products or services and
work on it.
You could either pick the onethat you think is going to be
the easiest to adjust or the onethat's most important to adjust
.
You're the best guide as towhich one's the best one for you
.
To start with, because we allour brains work differently.
(11:12):
Some of us need to pick theeasiest one to practice on.
Some of us just want to jumpright in and work on that one.
That's the most important,brings us the best revenue and
return on the product.
So first off, pick one and let'swork on it.
So first, let's rewind it usingtoday's formula.
I want you to see how you canadjust it.
(11:34):
Lead with benefits.
You can even ask chat GPT togive you a hand here.
You can say that they are thebest you know product
description writer out therehere's the current product
description you have and thatyou want them to adjust the
wording so that it talks to thebenefits of the consumer instead
(11:55):
of the features.
And I bet it's going to giveyou a pretty good rough draft
that you're going to be ablethen further refine from there.
So if you get stuck, feel freeto ask chat GPT.
It's pretty great I've havefound at revising what you
already have, the ideas youalready have.
And then I want you to make itscannable.
Add in those bullet pointswhere necessary, add in bolded
(12:18):
text to highlight some keybenefits and then work on using
emotional triggers.
You can also ask ChatGPT tohelp you with this as well, if
you get stuck.
So have it.
Work on some emotional triggersNow, and these are not
emotional triggers to trickanybody.
These are emotional triggers tohelp them visualize what it's
like using your product orservice.
(12:39):
And it's a benefit to thembecause then they're going to
get a better sense of what'sactually going to do for them.
We're not trying to trick themor manipulate them, we're just
trying to help them visualizewhat it's like to have your
product or service.
And then, finally, I want youto add a clear call to action.
Make sure it's clear, notclever, like we talk about in
(13:01):
the podcast a lot.
Let me go over those fourbullet points real quick again,
just so we get those in our head, because I did a little
explaining with each one of them.
So first, rewrite it by leadingwith benefits, make it
scannable, use emotionaltriggers and have a clear call
to action on the page.
Could have it multiple placesif it's long, and test and tweak
(13:22):
it.
See how your audience respondsto it.
Nothing's ever perfect or set instone, especially on the
internet.
We're always needing to refineour products, our services, our
descriptions.
So pick that one product orservice that you want to work on
today and I challenge you toset a date on when you're going
to work on it if you don't dothe actual work today.
(13:43):
But today, after listening tothis, I want you to pick one and
then pick a date on when you'regoing to actually work on that
and improve your productdescription and see how well it
really helps your business boom.
All right, so that's all wehave for this week's episode of
the e-commerce made easy podcast.
I hope you totally enjoyed itand I hope it helps you bring
(14:05):
your product descriptions betteron point and better speaking to
your customers and with yourcustomers.
If you think this episode washelpful, or our podcast in
general, we would love it ifyou'd share it with a business
friend so they may get some ofour help as well.
And don't forget to subscribeso you never miss out on an
episode and we will see you nextweek.