Now that I’ve got your attention: here’s the thing! There’s no secret formula to writing product copy that will make your conversion rate go through the roof. The only sure thing is that the more you A/B test, the more (positive) results you will get.
I’m not a professional writer. I’m not a writer at all if you take into consideration all the requirements people ask from agencies/copywriters when they need some… product copy. But if there’s one thing everyone should do to get people to read their copy, this is it:
Write like a freaking human!
In our team, I always, ALWAYS, tell my colleagues to write product copy like they would talk about it with a friend. Imagine that your best friend comes to visit your new apartment and you’re showing him/her around. How would you do it? Simple, clear, relaxed, no fanciness, or technical terms.
It goes the same for product copy. Help your users take a complete tour of your product and explain each step using simple words. For example, think of one specific user (which is why having buyer personas for your product is so important!), and when you’re writing, imagine that you have him next to you, in front of the product dashboard, and you’re showcasing the most important features/benefits.
How to make your product messages as clear as possible
Always have a real person/user in mind. This way, you can ensure your messages get across as clear and natural as possible.
Review the copy a few times before it goes live. Usually, the first drafts are pretty long, fuzzy, and over-detailed. What we do is we take a day or two to clear our mind, and then we rewrite the messages by cutting all the details that are not imperative. To do this, we ask ourselves the next question: which are the words that send the least information? We cut all of them, and simplify the phrase as much as it needs to make sense.
Read your messages out loud. Read them like you mean it; use your voice, your intonation, change the punctuation, and give them a voice.
Use real messages in your copy. If you’re lucky and you already have some user reviews, use them as inspiration for your product copy. This will make your copy much more customer-driven because it will seem genuine. Another very good source of inspiration could be the conversations your support team has with users. Other places we use to get into our customers’ head are:
- StackOverflow (especially for tech products)
- GitHub
- Quora (it’s amazing how much inspiration you can find there!)
- Facebook groups
- Competitors’ reviews 😀
- Notes from the sales team
- Notes from the support team
- Social Media.
This is part of the work process we follow to deliver copy that converts. You might think that this only applies to B2Cs only, but it actually works very well for B2Bs as well. The only thing that might differ is that you’ll probably have to go offline more often to get your inspiration straight from the source.
Top 3 products that write killer product copy
Here are the top 3 products that I think know how to write killer product copy:
What’s your top 3? I’d love to write an article with your suggestions, so feel free to comment below and let me know. 🙂
This snippet is part of a weekly newsletter that we send to our subscribers. Want to be the first to know about the latest lessons we learn by helping our clients grow? Subscribe below!