When we sell our own products, we get excited about individual product 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—how it will address their biggest pain points. That’s why you need to highlight the benefits of each feature.

This is how Method Home describes one of their hand wash gels.

Sometimes the scent of seasonal hand wash is all we need to rouse our holiday spirits. Available in an array of festive fragrances, our naturally derived gel hand wash will leave your hands soft, clean and ready to be tucked into a pair of fair isle mittens. It really is the most wonderful time of the year.

Method Home suggests that the benefit of their soap is not just that your hands become soft and clean, but that the soap actually rouses your holiday spirit making the holidays more festive and therefore more enjoyable.

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 does your product help solve?

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

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. Zappos, for instance, doesn’t describe the quality of a pair of shoes as excellent. Instead they describe each technical detail plus its benefit.

None of the bullet points above mention the quality of the product directly, but each point gives you an impression of quality. Each point also follows an easy pattern of highlighting a feature plus a benefit:

genuine hand-sewn construction (feature) >> durable comfort (product benefit)

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

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

Amazon explains why the Kindle Paperwhite is the world’s most advanced e-reader.

The word patented gives the reader the impression that this is something special. Amazon goes on to quote several percentages to show why the Paperwhite has better contrast and brilliant resolution; and it provides a killer benefit: Even in bright sunlight, Paperwhite delivers clear, crisp text and images with no glare.

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

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.

Here’s how Think Geek stirs your imagination with an description of their grilling multi tool.

There is a person who is the hero of every BBQ or family cookout and that is the Grill Master. We always looked up to our Mom or Dad as they tended the grill and looked forward to the day when we could be in charge of charring the meatstuff and searing delicious slices of fresh pineapple. Now that we’re adults, it’s finally our turn and technology has smiled upon us, giving us a tool that is destined to impress.

To practice this copywriting technique start a sentence with the word imagine, and finish your sentence (or paragraph) by explaining how your reader will feel when owning and using your product.

Including mini-stories in your product descriptions lowers rational barriers against persuasion techniques. In other words, we forget we’re being sold to.

Wine sellers like UK-based Laithwaites often include short stories about wine makers.

The Dauré family own one of the Roussillon’s top properties, the Château de Jau. Around the dinner table one Christmas they agreed it was time to spread their wings and look to new wine horizons. The womenfolk (Las Niñas) fancied Chile and won out in the end, achieving their dream when they established an estate in the Apalta Valley of Colchagua. The terroir is excellent and close neighbours of the Chilean star Montes winery.

When it comes to telling a story about your products, ask yourself:

• Who is making the product?
• What inspired creating the product?
• What obstacles did you need to overcome to develop the product?
• How was the product tested?

Restaurants have known it for a long time: sensory words increase sales, because they engage more brain processing power. Here’s an example of chocolate maker Green and Black.

Green and Black’s sensory adjectives don’t just refer to taste, but also to sound and touch: crunchy and smooth.

Adjectives are tricky words. Often they don’t add meaning to your sentences, and you’re better off deleting them. However, sensory adjectives are power 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.

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

Here’s a great example of product description from Innocent Drinks.

A compelling product description will always pay you back

Share your knowledge about your product. Tell stories and explain even the tiniest details. Make an effort not to be boring and instead delight your web visitors with seductive descriptions. Most of all, write with enthusiasm because your passion for your products is contagious.

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

Here’s 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;