Writing 101: Customer-Friendly Descriptions

"People do not buy products, but meanings." How very true.

Great perspective! Thanks for sharing.

This is totally what I need!!! Thank you so much for sharing!!!

So true! And always a great reminder. Now off to tweak some of my greeting card descriptions! :-)

As always, a great article, Tara - thank you so much!

You're right, of course (as always!) I'm not selling 7 inch tall meerkats, I'm selling a smile and a sense of fun...now, how to translate that?

Great advice as always. Thanks, Tara!

really great article, I will be tweaking some descriptions today!

Great!

Thanks Tara....you always have such helpful suggestions for running a business. Easy to understand and implement!

This is great, thank you!

Such great advice Tara! Looking at my descriptions now. :-)

Thanks for this! I always have a hard time thinking up descriptions. It is definitely harder than it seems!

So excited to see a post of Tara's on the Etsy blog! (if anyone isn't a regular reader of scoutiegirl.com by now, get your bum-bums over there!) This is really key to business, both on and offline -- finding the pain point, or the glee point, or any point of emotional connection that will turn a browser into your loyal, jumping-for-joy customer.

This has been helpful, thank you.

Wonderful advice. Thank you!

Great tips. I always try to point out the advantages, and add a note about how my items are one of a kind and original designs in every item description. I also try to write about (and show) different ways to wear/use items. Can this scarf be worn by men and women? Is it wide and can it be used as a stole? Is it super long, so you can drape it and knot it in all sorts of intresting ways?

Great article and excellent advice! thank you.... am printing off worksheet now!

Interesting insight. I really struggle with writing descriptions for my items. Coming out of art school I struggled with (and still do) writing an artist statement for items. A great artist statement will tell the viewer what a work is about and how they hope the viewer will respond. How is an artist statement different from a product description when selling art?

I have always hesitated to tell a potential customer what to do or how to do it. We are all different, what is right for one, is not right for another. There is too much advice out there. I keep remaking my shop, photos and descriptions each time I read another piece of advice that gives me the "V8" reaction. It is getting to be all that I do. I rarely have time to create on top of everything else I feel that needs to be done. This seems like good advice, but will it work or just bring in one type of customer while driving off all the rest?

Great article, will have to give it a try

thanks for the insight! it's hard not to go back and rewrite absoutely everything when you have little time to spare, but definately worth it to try to convey your "prizes" to an audience of also-busy online shoppers. thanks. :)

Lots of great advice to consider while writing descriptions. Thanks.

I am a customer too and specifications are very important to me. Thank you for the article.

I agree, the stories we tell about the work we create paints a picture and evokes a memory for our customer. My customers tell me a story right back. But it is imperative to also spend time with an accurate decription. The length of a chain, the materials we use, how to care for the item; I assure you are vitally important to customers. It's not an either or, it's both that makes for a good artist in business.

My product was built on that supposition.

This is why I love Etsy!!!

I have written an article about my relationship with Etsy, and why others should consider buying and selling in such a friendly community, but I don't know how to get people to read it...

Nice job! The "connection" between the maker and buyer is important, thank you for sharing the article!

I'm inspired to get working on my descriptions. Thanks for the tips!

Thank you so much♥

Very helpful article! This subject I have struggled with every time.

Beautiful and thoughtful article. Thanks!

I always like to add this when I see a great post like this: Using proper grammar in your descriptions (and everywhere else) will also help you sell. Your use of grammar affects how professional you seem, and if you have one too many mistakes, a customer may get turned off from your store, whether they liked your product or not. And why not? There are so many other great stores on Etsy. Harsh but true. :) Lauren, Editor at Pure Text http://www.pure-text.net

Great advice. Thanks!

There is nothing like a good story behind the item to sell it! Thanks for the article.

very inspiring.strong believer in weaving a good story.

I've actually gotten a lot of feedback from people who have bought my art (most of them local). The one thing I hear from everyone is, "Every time I look at it I feel good." (or some variation on this theme) Now, I'm unsure how to use this information in writing my descriptions. I can't very well tell people my paintings will make them feel good. Besides, I think that "emotional connection" is one they make when they first see it, and it's either there or it isn't. I don't think there is a thing I can say that would bring that about, even if I had any writing talent. (Which I don't.)

Thanks for the great advice! I have a lot of work to do!

I'll admit this is a bit of a flip from what I've read in some of the forum threads as well as questions that I've received. Perhaps the perspective is a little different with jewelry, because I find people very concerned about sizes and length and materials. I love the little bit of a story, but in the past I'd read a lot of feedback via the forums and teams and outside blogs that people simply don't want to have to read anything more than the specifics. I still try to add in suggestions about where my designs might look great and with what, but I guess I'll try a few the other way again! I think part of it is who your audience is too... Etsians might appreciate the story behind a handmade piece, but I'm not so sure a guy buying a bracelet for his girlfriend or wife really cares. It takes a creative spirit to appreciate a creative spirit perhaps!

This is so true! Great advice, thank you so much:) I'm going to add some advantages for the buyers to my Jewelry descriptions!!

Thank you Tara and Etsy for all your hard work! I really appreciate all the advice given to your sellers! I am learning so much every day I am here.

This is so great...I am very picky about what I favorite because if I can't picture myself using it in my environments or attributing to me as who I am then it certainly isn't a favorite of mine lol. Thanks so much for this

Makes sense.

"People do not buy products, but meanings" Wow!!! That is so true and I never thought of it that way. I'm changing all my descriptions. Thanks for the great ideas.

It really helped me discover another way of seeing things and situations! Thanks Tara!

Wonderful advice!

Thank you so much.

It's a different world selling here on the net then in a walk in shop. Xx

hey, pssssst.......get a load of this! Because we are looking at a photo and not the real object, it's important for the buyer to have information about dimensions, weight, signatures, condition, or whatever features apply. However, i agree that it is helpful to have a clever hook to get the customer's attention.

Brilliant! Something that you never even think to include. I now know my first few listings arent pom poms used for decoration, theyre that smile you get when watching your cat getting ready to pounce on one, or admiring the amazement of a small child squidging the wool!

Thanks for the advice! Useful tips. And very timely, too. Now, that I've developed this year's Holiday Season collection. Will try the tips. Off to try think as a buyer :).

Very interesting, hmmm, hadn't thought of that. It's going to take some thinking but since I'm not only a maker but also a buyer I should know how a buyer thinks, right?! Thank you!

This will give me some great ideas for writing my descriptions! Thank you for the advice!

Thanks! Why do you write SHE for the maker and for the customer?? "When a maker considers an object, she describes ................." "When a customer ......., she contemplates..."

Thanks for the advice... some "food" for thought :)

Good topic and excellent view point. I think this stands especially for luxury items, with something the buyer doesn't necessarily *need* it's essential to create an image of how the item in question can make their life/day/experience even better. Creating a positive feel around your product is much more difficult though than listing facts around the item, but it pays off to put in the effort.

@terminy: I agree that it's exceedingly off-putting to keep reading "she" for both the buyer & the seller, Etsy is too close to being a girls' club as it is without alienating the few men here by using discriminatory language. I also agree with several others above that the really important thing is getting across the measurements, materials, etc that don't come across in a photo. As a browser, I may well read a flowery description for entertainment, but if I'm looking to buy then I want clear & relevant information, written in good English with correct spelling & grammar... I DO make allowances for non-English speakers, but not for anyone in the UK or the US.

Thank you very much!!!! Very important information for me!!!

Hi all! Just wanted to point out that I'm not suggesting you remove specifications and materials from your descriptions. Those things are obviously important. However, those are often secondary considerations to your customer. Their heart is sold before their head!

Growing up as the oldest girl in a big family (and thus being responsible for younger siblings & learning early on to be somewhat bossy), I constantly fight the urge to give too much direction or too many details in my listings. I sell mostly vintage clothing & accessories & like to think my clients are already individualists with their own ideas about how something should be worn or used.

Thanks for the tips!

Thanks so much, Tara for the article and your additional clarification a few minutes ago. I've been struggling with how to balance these 2 perspectives and your article gave me better insight into how I can better write out my descriptions.

excellent advice, thanks for sharing!

what a fantastic article, everything you touched upon was very true. I try and do the same with my pieces however never consistently I must admit. I cant wait to go back and tweak some of my descriptions. Thanks

Thanks so much for this interesting and helpful article. I will definitely have to incorporate the features into my future listings! Extremely informative, indeed!

I definitely need to add more story and emotion to my descriptions... But as a buyer I definitely want to know the dimensions, too. Nothing is more irritating than seeing a product I think I might like but then not being able to find the basic facts about it to confirm that it will fit, or do what I want it to do, or whatever. As others have noted, we need both the meaning and the product. I'm guessing that some purchasers are more attracted to story, some are more attracted to cold hard facts, and some are happiest with a blend. And I wouldn't want to turn any of them away!

Thanks for these precious tips. Sometimes we try too hard to explain everything with so much precision. But what's important is the feeling... The one we have while making our craft and the one the buyer has when he's buying it... ;o) Thanks again!

GONE TWEAKING.....;)

I love your tips. I find in my store that "SOME" customers dont want to read but click then "ASK". But I can still apply this article to my response because "hey the goal at this point is to have a return customer". Loved this article

Awesome advice! I think that is the kind of thing my listings are missing. Thank you!!

Thanks for the the good read!

Great advice! Thank you!

Definitely worth going back and looking at the way we communicate. Thanks for the great advice!

Thanks so much, Tara, for this interesting article. I definitely need to add some more feeling to my descriptions. Really inspired to work on my items again! :)

Even when you are a customer, you never think how you go about choosing what you buy, but reading this you realize it is very true, a story can definitely sell it. Thanks for the insight!

Really great article! Thank you so much

Wonderful advice! Thanks, Tara.

Thanks for the feedback very helpful,I am a newbie to etsy and Your article is just what I needed. Thank you Shawn

Tara, you are brilliant! "People don't buy products, they buy meanings." I will always remember that! I am constantly tweaking tags, descriptions and pictures at my shop. That's why I love Etsy--I will never be bored, I'm always learning something new from my customers' perspective! Please post more of these!

Great tips and I think it is good idea to take advantage of it. Thanks Tara.

I rushed right over to my shop and rewrote the description for a tee based on the order I just completed. Finally, something that compares the outlooks, and now I GET IT!! Thanks!!

Good reminders.

Wow, these are some really great points that I had never thought about before! Thanks for sharing!

This is true; I don't like a lot of fluff ( I don't want to read a novel!) when I am buying but it is nice to get a hint of personality! It is a challenge writing good product descriptions.

Thanks for the advice! I agree that a piece with a great story is very helpful. It helps the item become a conversational piece for the wearer/buyer. Having something to say when someone comments, "Hey I love your ring that you're wearing" makes the wearer feel like they have something unique and also plants a memorable seed in the complimenter... which may just lead to another sale down the track!

Tara, this is such a thoughtful article. There are many worthy things to ponder and put into practice. All of us here are buyers as well as sellers so it need not be a great leap to imagine the emotional impact of our product on our customers. If we can understand ourselves, we can understand the needs of others.

Very useful advice, must put in practice..

Putting it into practice today. Thank you!

Thank you for this great tip Tara!

Thank you for writing this important reminder. Like most of us, I struggle with writing descriptions. It's easy to know and write the physical descriptions, but it's hard to know what your item will mean to someone else. This article would be more helpful to me if you included an example of a strictly makers description rewritten into a more consumer-friendly one.

This is something I need to work on

Thanks Tara, great advice and thanks for the worksheet, will work on that . Writing descriptions isn't easy I always leave last because I know it will take me a while. Thanks again

Thanks for the advice. Completely agree: people buy meanings, not products. I try my best, but sometimes I feel I talk too much on my descriptions...I realize people might get bored or lost in my words... It's not easy to write something meaningful and simple at the same time...at least for me it isn't...

Thanks for that food for thought!

Being a jewelry maker, I rarely buy jewelry for myself. When I need or want a pair of earrings or a necklace to go with a new blouse I just got, I will sit down and make it. I'm not fussy over the length or everything that goes into the piece, cause I already know what I want. I am my own customer. After reading your wonderful advice, I realize that I need to incorporate my "customer side" into my scripts, and have it flow with the important details of the jewelry piece too. Thank you so much! I've got some thinking to do. :)

Thanks for the great advice. Since I'm new at selling, I appreciate the help.

On point advice! Thank you!

Great in site...I always try to pass on a story since I only sell vintage. I receive wonderful feed backs and even photos of how the item is being used in their life...they are my most rewarding days.

Great article! I really needed to read this! I've been meaning to rework all my descriptions! I will try to block out some time and work on my descriptions next week! Thanks for the "perspective" adjustment.

Very good points. I have tried to combine fact and "feel" in my descriptions (not sure I've really succeeded - I think sometimes in my effort to include all the facts/disclosures my descriptions are rather long). Reminded me of something my husband said years ago regarding selling anything - "Your not selling a product, but an expectation".

When the search within Etsy changed from most recent to most relevant I changed most of my titles and descriptions to be what I considered most descriptive but rather "dry" The challenge is how to make those vintage items sing out within the confines of the title...upward and onward!

This is just the advice I needed to hear today! Thank you!

excellent article and as a costumer, I have to agree. Especially in today's economic, social and environmental scenario, every object we buy needs to earn its place in our lives and therefore in our minds. It has to be meaningful and add to our experience beyond the fulfilment of a function. So I agree. I am very drawn to product descriptions that hint at possible scenarios for use, or that tell you the story of the object itself (if it's vintage, it's provenance and if it's a new creation, what was the inspiration or departure point). I feel that this insight takes nothing away from my own appropriation of the object, rather expands and nuances it. thank you :)

great advice & insight. thank you very much nancy

Paradigm-shifting advice! These tips are useful when considering, choosing, creating advertising options as well.

Tara's blog is always a daily inspiration for me! I'm taking her web course at the end of the month and am so excited. Thanks for the post I always purchase with my heart. In fact I bought a necklace and the experience was so bad that that object no longer was a source of happiness and I canceled the transaction. People shop at Etsy to have a connection with the maker and for the experience, I think more than for necessity.

I agree, great advice. It's one of those things that's easy to forget-put yourself in someone else's shoes. Very eye opening.

Dimensions and specs are super important to me ;)

Fantastic ideas! I always try to add a tidbit of true stories in my descriptions, but now I'm reviewing them in a whole new way. Thank you

Excellent post! I try to add a short narrative but this is making review my listings!

I think this is true but I think im worried sometimes about putting off some customers who have different reasons for buying. Im trying to appeal to both types of people, those that buy for just how things look and those that like how things make them feel.

So insightful - thank you for sharing these tips with us!

Thank you, one of the most helpful articles which I have read. Think I may have been doing some of what you suggested in my flight of fancy stories about my stockings and was thinking of removing these bits and staying factual. Now I will continue my initial blend.

Indulge and splurge on words.

Thank you so much for the advice. I am very new to this so appreciate it. There is so much to learn. It gave me a lot to think about. Your suggestions made a lot of sense. It gave me a different way to look at things.Thanks Again.

Absolutely brilliant thoughts...I better get cooking and rework some of my descriptions. Thanks so much!

Wow, i've never thought about it, this is so true! thanks for the excellent advice!

Thanx for the advise ! I think a Sex and the City Babe needs an other description than a 9 to 5 housewife, yes ? No ? I'm going to try it out

Very good reminders!

I understand the goal behind this exercise, but I'm having a hard time translating the answers in the worksheet to actual descriptions. Can anyone help with some examples? I saw many comments from sellers who said they would immediately change their descriptions. How did you change yours?

Thanks for the tips!

I am not sure I completely agree with the advice given. I know personally as a shopper I don't always read the description in full, in fact I sometimes don't like too if it's too long. I want to know basic dimensions and what it's made of but not much else. Maybe I'm a unique shopper but I rarely read the entire description. I also don't know how many times I've heard or read about people buying something online and then being somewhat disappointed because the item seemed different than what they had expected yet the item was exactly as described and instead the buyer just never read the description. If the picture is blah, I don't even get to the description part.

So, is all about making a connection with their emotions and not so much about all the informations I know about my products, umh... I think is a bit of both but, I also think that visual is very important. If a customer is impress with the design on the picture of a product then they click on it to read about it.

Let me clarify, I don't disagree with connecting but I like to know if something first and foremost is going to fit for whatever purpose I have in mind. I recently purchased something and the most important piece of information on the listing was the size of the item. Had the dimensions of the item not been there I clearly would have not purchased it.

This sadly describes my first drafts of item descriptions. On the plus side, my final drafts sound a little more like the "customer" description. Thank you for the tips and the worksheet, I know they'll help my customers find what they're looking for.

As customers ourselves, we often don`t know what motivated US to buy what we bought except that it spoke to us....nice now to understand what it is that motivates both us and our customers to consume. Thanks for the nice article...informative and enlightening.

o, this is great advice. Thank you so much for sharing these tips!

Perfect!

Great information, connection is vital, clear communication, and relevant words all create the recipe for the nanosecond we are given in time to give the buyer the real meanings and how the items we sell can touch them and leave a lasting effect till their package arrives,opening the box tearing off the wrappings to trigger their choclate chip cookie smell in their kitchen to revisit Your Shop and start spreading the hearts around again. Thank you for your great article.

OK, I'm a newbie. I thought the guiding philosopy behind etsy was to appeal to people who value unique handmade articles. So I am starting to hate all these articles you are sending out about how to apply mass-merchandising-to-dummies techniques to our etsy shops. Maybe I don't want to brainwash somebody into buying something that I have invested my time and talent into creating. Also, the worksheet link is nnot working!!

oOOOOH definite food for thought hmmmm!

Very good advise, thank you.

Fantastic. It is more of an art.

Excellent tips Tara! It is so true how differently we feel about products as an artist and a buyer. It's time to link the two descriptions together.

It's hard to put your customer head on sometimes, but when I think about buying something, I DO think, "How will this make me feel?" more often than "Do I need this?" Thanks for the perspective!

I'm ready to focus on the buyers and what they need or how they need. I actually NEEDED this. Thanks!

Thank you. I'm still relatively new on Etsy, so "talking to my customers" is very helpful. Going to be thinking more like the customer from now on!

Love this way to look at things.. I am planning on re-writing my descriptions.. Cheers for the good advice!!!

I cannot think like my customer so this is a great idea. I have sent out a survey to all willing customers so I can integrate their perspective. Love it!! Thank you.

interesting! i recently had a customer tell me that my earrings made her feel sexy when she was on a date with her boyfriend....which is wonderful...and exactly the kind of thing you're explaining in this article. love this perspective.

thanks. i often draw a blank when writing descriptions.

Great article! I find myself pretty clueless when it comes to writing descriptions...

I so appreciate your insightful advise... thanks for sharing!

I agree that it's important to put personality into a description, but, as a buyer, I have bought too many things that I thought were larger than they actually were. Knowing the dimensions of an object is still incredibly important to me. Sometimes I just skim through the story that the seller has written up just to find the information that I want most, and could care less about the novel that they wrote about the item.

Wow! This was very insightful! I really have my work cut out for me in bettering my descriptions! Thank you for this wisdom!

This has really made me question how I write a product description, thank you for making me see a different perspective.

super tips, Thanks for sharing ;)

Article is great, thank you : }

Thanks for your help!

Thanks for the timely help! With a variety of gifts in my shop, I can use all the help I can get regarding descriptions. Very helpful.

How can this translate to vintage items? I ask this with sincere interest because I used to provide descriptions with more "meaning" but found it detracted from the pertinent info of the item for sale. It also makes for much longer descriptions--I think many of us could agree this can be a turn off for shoppers; especially men. Writing before/after story type descriptions also inflects a personal opinion about the item and its use. I like the items I sell or I don't put them in my shop. I know the type of customer that is seeking my items and have a good idea of their *general* lifestyle, age, etc, etc. I don't, however, presume to know WHY they like an item or WHAT they might do with it in their home. I don't know if they plan to give it as a gift, and, if so, that involves presumption of the end receivers possible connection with the item. Good article, really, I'd just like to know how this might translate to vintage sellers as well as handmade? Not sure how the supply sellers would apply this in their shops either??

Always good to get advice, think it over, mix it up, try some out and see where one ends up. Sellers and buyers are different and like different things and buy for different reasons soooooooo a mix up every now and again is a GREAT idea! Thank you Tara and may God bless!

Thank you very much. This is so useful and inspiring!

Great inspiration!! thank you :D

I really love this and think that you have captured the essence of what we're all doing so perfectly. Meanings, not products! Now it's time for a rewrite....

What a great reminder to think of it this way. It's something I think was in the back of my head, but forgot to do. I need to do some rewriting.

forrestinavintage says: How can this translate to vintage items? I ask this with sincere interest ... I don't, however, presume to know WHY they like an item or WHAT they might do with it in their home. Maybe we could describe how the item makes us feel. I too have a hard time suggesting a use, because maybe it's totally different than what the buyer had in mind.

Good tips!

Very interesting article and I will certainly keep it all in mind. Thanks for sharing.

Second time around reading the article (sometimes an idea needs time to simmer). I believe the key concept is context. There is nothing wrong with the maker specifications (they are important, even necessary) but a good salesperson will sell the sizzle not the steak. That's the job of your description - how the item can impact your customer's life. thanks again Tara and everyone who contributed.

This is very interesting thanks for the insite. Rita

Thank you Tara! I needed it!

This article is great and something I've been working on and exploring with my descriptions!! As well, Tara's e-book, "The Art of Earning" is great! :)

This is an amazing writing.Great !!