Even professional copywriters make it sometimes: writing product descriptions that simply describe your products.

Why is it wrong? Because product descriptions need to sell your products.

Let's have a look at nine simple ways to persuade your web visitors with product descriptions that sell.

1. Focus on Your Ideal Buyer

When you write a product description with a huge crowd of buyers in mind, your descriptions become wishy-washy and you end up addressing no one at all.

The best product descriptions address your ideal buyer directly and personally. You ask and answer questions as if you're having a conversation with them. You choose the words your ideal buyer uses. You use the word you.

This is how Think Geek starts the product description of an LED Flashlight:

Do you know what's sucky about regular flashlights? They only come in two colors: white or that yellowish-white that reminds us of the teeth of an avid coffee drinker. What fun is that kind of flashlight? We'll answer that: NO FUN AT ALL. Do you know what is fun? Using the Multi-Color LED Flashlight to cast a sickly green glow over your face while telling a zombie story around a campfire. No campfire? Make a fake one with the orange light!

When it comes to writing your own product descriptions, start by imagining your ideal buyer. What kind of humour does he or she appreciate (if any)? What words does he use? What words does he hate? Is he okay with words like sucky and crappy? What questions does he ask that you should answer?

Consider how you would speak to your ideal buyer if you were selling your product in-store, face-to-face. Now try and incorporate that language into your website so you can have a similar conversation online that resonates more deeply.

2. Entice with Benefits

When we sell our own products, we get excited about features and specifications. We live and breathe our company, our website, and our products.

The problem is our potential buyers are not as interested in mundane features and specs – they want to know what's in it for them. That's why you need to highlight the benefits of each feature.

Consider the benefit of each of your features. How does your product make your customers feel happier, healthier, or more productive? Which problems, glitches, and hassle do your product help solve?

Don't sell just a product, sell an experience.

3. Avoid Yeah, Yeah Phrases

When we're stuck for words and don't know what else to add to our product description, we often add something bland like "excellent product quality".

That's a yeah, yeah phrase. As soon as a potential buyer reads excellent product quality he thinks, yeah, yeah, of course; that’s what everyone says. Ever heard someone describe their product quality as average, not-so-good, or even bad?

You become less persuasive when your potential buyer reads your product description and starts saying yeah, yeah to themselves. To avoid this reaction be as specific as possible.

Product details add credibility. Product details sell your product. You can never include too many technical details in your product descriptions. Be specific.

4. Justify Using Superlatives

Superlatives sound insincere unless you clearly prove why your product is the best, the easiest, or the most advanced.

If your product is really the best, provide specific proof of why this is the case. Otherwise, tone your copy down or quote a customer who says your product is the most wonderful they've ever used.

5. Appeal to Your Readers' Imagination

Scientific research has proven that if people hold a product in their hands, their desire to own it increases.

You're selling online, so your web visitors can't hold your products. Large, crystal clear pictures or videos can help, but there's also a copywriting trick to increase desire: let your reader imagine what it would be like to own your product.

6. Seduce with Sensory Words

Restaurants have known it for a long time: sensory words increase sales because they engage more brain processing power.

Adjectives are tricky words. Often they don't add meaning to your sentences, and you're better off deleting them. However, sensory adjectives are powerful words because they make your reader experience your copy while reading.

Dazzle your readers with vivid product descriptions. Think about words like velvety, smooth, crisp, and bright.

7. Make Your Description Scannable

Is your web design encouraging web visitors to read your product descriptions?

Packaging your product descriptions with a clear, scannable design makes it easier to read and more appealing to potential customers.

Here are some areas to focus on when designing yours:

Entice your web visitor with headlines;

Use easy-to-scan bullet points;

Include plenty of white space;

Increase your font size to promote readability.

Thank you for your time and attention.