Copywriting tips for your Shopify store

I recently began the process of refreshing the copywriting on my Shopify-hosted business to boost traffic and improve conversions. The project includes updating product descriptions, product category pages and creating new landing pages for search engines.

Conversion copywriting is an important part of any Shopify store’s success and it’s a good practice to regularly revisit the copy across your site to make sure it is working for you. Your copy must communicate the unique benefit of your product to the customer. In addition, you must establish trust and underscore the value of what you are selling

Product Description Copywriting

But what should you say about your product? You want to include the basics in your product description such as features, size, color and any unique attributes. You could do that by simply listing them: “Blue, 12x12 box with hinged lid.” But that description doesn’t establish trust or communicate the value and benefit of your product.

A good exercise is to sit down with a pad of paper and list the attributes of your product that fall under each of these categories:

Benefit

Be specific when thinking about the benefits of your product. Vague statements like “best quality” or “large volume” don’t tell the customer what’s unique about your product. What makes it the best? And what specifically constitutes a “large” product. List the distinct characteristics that make your product special.

This is where you get to be the salesperson. Tell a story, and let the customer know why they should be interested in your product. Rather than saying, “Our dish washer has new eco-friendly technology,” say, “Our new eco-friendly technology uses 30% less water, reduces the amount of time it takes to wash dishes and saves you money on your electric bill.”

Trust

Immediately upon entering your store your customer is subconsciously making a trust decision. They are being asked to part with their money and they are looking for signs that your store can be trusted and the product they receive will match the description.

When considering trust, anticipate and answer any concerns your customer might have about buying your product. How will it look in person? Will you ship on time? Can they return it if they don’t like it or if it’s broken?

Buyers want to be confident that the product they receive will be as described in your store. To establish trust, don’t try to be something you’re not. Be honest with your customers about your product’s features. They’ll be able to sniff out any dishonest claims that try to oversell your product.

Value

As a customer reads your product description they will be making a value decision. Is your product worth what the customer is being asked to pay? To establish value, tell your customers all they might need to know about your product and how it stacks up against similar products elsewhere. Let people know what materials your product is made of and how that benefits them. Include exact dimensions where appropriate and let them know that your photos are accurate.

Here’s where you can tell a story about how your product might impact their life, or make it better in some way.

Your descriptions should reflect your store’s personality. You can be cute or funny, but don’t take it too far. Don’t be too clever at the expense of selling your product.

Search Engine Optimization

Always keep SEO in mind. You should know what keywords you are trying to rank for on each product page. Keep in mind the first few sentences of your product description are important and may appear in search engine results.

You need to be clear about what you are selling and its benefit and be sure to include important keywords throughout your descriptions.

Some final tips:

• As with most writing, of course, getting started is often the hardest part, especially if you’re not an experienced writer. First, list your product’s attributes and write them down as a product description. At this point, just write anything, even if you’re not sure you like it. After you’ve done that, step away for a little while and come back to what you’ve written and start improving it. You will likely find it easier to revise what you’ve written than it is to get started in the first place.
• Keep it simple, using words people can understand. Your product description is not the place to impress people with your extensive vocabulary. Use paragraph breaks. Long, rambling blocks of text are hard to get through and they are unlikely to be read.
• Remember to write your product descriptions to get people to take action, in this case, buying your product. This is a sales pitch. You want them to want to buy your product.
• Finally, reread and edit. This is where the magic happens. Read everything with the above tips in mind and always look for typos and misspellings. If you have time, put the description aside and revisit it the next day with fresh eyes and edit it again.