Ecommerce Content Writing – Part 1

If you’re like me, then writing relevant, interesting and compelling copy for your ecommerce website isn’t something that comes naturally, it has to be worked at requiring diligence and effort.

You may even know the benefits that good content can bring better user engagement, interaction and conversion, not to mention improved search ranking, but still you procrastinate on taking the plunge. If this doesn’t convince you the value of content then it’d be worth reading “Content for the King”.

Below are some guidelines, tools and tips that I hope will be helpful in making ecommerce content writing an effortless and effective part of your online management program.

1. Understand your “Tone of Voice”

Simply put this is not so much the “what” you say as how you say it. This will not only help influence and persuade users, but also build trust within the brand and website.

By way of example – Which 3 year old is likely to get an ice-cream, the one who goes “I want an ice cream” or the one saying “can I have an ice cream, please?”? Both are after the same thing but use quite different language.

Check out “Finding Your Brands Voice” https://www.distilled.net/tone-of-voice/ or MailChimp’s http://voiceandtone.com/ site for practical ideas.

2. Use persuasive or power words and phrases

Believe it or not there are words out there that are more persuasion than others – who would of thought! Such as “new” or “free”.

It’s a good idea to use these sparingly within the descriptions, on or across imagery and on the “call to action” triggers within a page (e.g. buy buttons), to help improve conversion.

So where is this magic list of words I hear you say – check out this article for those and much more https://blog.bufferapp.com/words-and-phrases-that-convert-ultimate-list

3. Have a list the keywords

Build a list of keywords that will both inform the user about the product or service and also support its SEO and search rankings. For instance if you’re selling a jacket your keyword might be winter jacket or blue jacket or even blue winter jacket. A good way to approach it is to think about what someone would type into a search box and add this to the keyword list.

4. Readability

Remember that your customers and users come from all walks of life and will inherently have all sorts of different reading abilities, so it’s important to write at a level that they can all understand.
https://readability-score.com/ is a great resource to check the comprehension level of the copy you write.

5. “Sell the sizzle not the sausage”

This a great expression, but what does it mean? It’s about focusing on the benefits of a product and not its features. Don’t get me wrong, it’s important to include the features in an online environment where there is no physical tactile object to hold or touch but focusing on the benefits appeals to a person’s emotions and more likely an action will follow.

To use the jacket again, while its features may be blue and winter weight, its benefits are keeping you warm, and you looking great in it.

“Crickey” I hear you say, I know there’s a lot to take in, but in general your’re only writing 1 maybe 2 paragraphs for each product so by the time you’ve got some keywords and benefits listed all you need to do is string them together with some persuasive words in a common tone and that’s all there is to writing effective ecommerce content.

In part 2 of this article we look at other areas of content within your website and areas of consideration that will enhance you written copy and showcase your offering.

Andy Brown
www.strategus.co.nz