Copywriting for Ecommerce: 6 Copywriting Tips

Copywriting for eCommerce is competitive. With products filling every advert, you need an edge in your writing capabilities. Once you’ve read this guide, you’ll be closer to achieving wonderous copy that converts your audience.

Unfortunately, copywriting doesn’t allow for that in-store customer experience, with an interactive touch or in-person demonstration. So that means you must work harder to compensate. Reviews/testimonials, online walkthroughs of the product, anything that works to entice and convert the customer is advantageous.

1.    Who is your ideal customer?

Once you have this down, the rest can follow. You’d be surprised how many product designers or companies don’t have a pinpoint grasp on their ideal customer. If you don’t write copy that resonates with the customer, how will you ever achieve sales? Copywriting for ecommerce ultimately works on the premise that you know your customer.

You could think about the basics such as age, gender, or job. But to get a meaningful idea of your preferred customer, you’ll need to think deeper. For example, if your customer base is cat owners. Your company could start slipping in feline puns or jargon for that specific audience. You’ll be that much more relatable, and they will feel more heard in their problem that you’re solving.

2.    What’s the solution? Or rather the problem?

• What problem does your product solve?
• What differentiates it from the market?
• Is the problem relatable to your customer base?

All these questions and more you’ll need to ask.

When you’re copywriting for ecommerce, headlines are vital. The best judge of a headline and its effectiveness is ultimately the web. What headlines catch your eye? Which ones give you pause for thought? Take a leaf out of their book. If you’re not catching the reader’s eye as they’re scanning your email/brochure/blog/post, you’re doing it wrong.  A good rule of thumb is drafting headlines for your copywriting.

Take 5 minutes out and get your team around. Between you, you’ll be able to generate a catchy headline. Some would say that engaging headlines are an art. We disagree. Like most things, practice makes perfect.

Following from this, what are the benefits to wearing/using your product?

• Is it green/recyclable?
• What kind of carbon footprint does it have?
• If it’s clothes, is it machine washable?
• What’s the size/weight?
• Is it easy and convenient?

3.    What kind of product description are you writing?

It’s all well and good writing the benefits of a product, but how does that relate to your customer? Copywriting for ecommerce doesn’t work if you don’t entice them with your description.

For example, you could write “Once you get this V.P.N. you’ll be protected from hackers”.

Compare this to “Secure your documents with military grade encryption, thanks to this VPN”.

It speaks to the validity of the product for the client and helps them convert.

Your customer will have objections to the product, and it’s in your interest to allay them with your description. Bring some humour into your writing if it’s needs it.

Brand storytelling is a good way of convincing the customer. Selling your product with narratives, such as how it’s made, or the process that goes into it can help sales.

How will the customer’s life be changed with your product? Producing a comparison between the before and after can help in shifting their opinion of your product.

4.    Keep it simple

It’s wonderful being eloquent. Unfortunately, copywriting for ecommerce doesn’t allow for fabulously extravagant prose. The point, therefore, is to be clear. If your reader is wondering what exactly you’re selling, you’ve lost the battle. Ultimately, clarity equals interest, so coherency is key. Recent studies have found that the standard reading age is around 12-14, which means you’ll need to cater to that.

5.    Proofreading

Your copywriting is being sent out to numerous places, especially in the case of ads and emails. If you’re not grammatically correct, it brings your credibility into question. The best bet for avoiding this is having a colleague or friend check out the copy. Does it flow well? Is everything spelled right? They’ll be your second line of defence against being caught out for poor grammar.

6.    Graphs, tables & data

It goes without saying that data can be helpful for informing your audience. But too much will turn them off. Combined with jargon, this will mean an information overload for your audience. In the exception of a specific target audience, we wouldn’t suggest throwing large amounts of data their way.

In Summary

Now you’ve read this blog, you’re more knowledgeable about:

• The power of graphs
• Clarity and its usefulness
• Brand storytelling
• Product descriptions
• Understanding your customer base.

What can Vocal do for you?

Here at Vocal, we’re a full service creative agency that knows a thing or two about content. We may be a small team, but we’re by no means shy! If you want help with an email marketing campaign, we’ve got you covered.

Our Founder, Jill Hudson, has been working with creative businesses for over 20 years. Her experience allows the Vocal Team to support organisations of all sizes.

No matter who you are, we’ve got your back!

Check out our list of services to see what’s on offer.  See something you like? Let’s get started!

Get started with Vocal in 4 easy steps: 

Step 1 – Tell us about yourselves! We want to hear about your company’s goals and ambitions. What do you want your marketing strategy to achieve?

Step 2 – Now it’s our time to shine. We’ll do some research and create a proposal of ideas – just for you! This includes recommendations drawn from our extensive experience. Are you ready to hear our ideas?

Step 3 – There’s no point investing in your content if you don’t know what it will do for your business. So, based on our knowledge and experience, we’ll make predictions about the likely outcomes of the content. That way, you can see how our services are going to benefit you.

Step 4 – Finally, we’ll provide a quote for our services. Once that’s out the way, then the real fun can begin! We’ll get started on the website of your dreams!  Let’s get Vocal! Get in touch with a member of the team and get ready to watch your business grow.