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Spruce Up Boring Product/Service
Descriptions
With Variety, Voice and Verve
Sigh. You have another
17 product descriptions to go for your web site
or catalog. You realize the reader was
yawning long ago, and you're going to scream for
not knowing how to avoid making every
widget sound the same.
To the rescue! Here's a
quick checklist to help you inject variety and
freshness into your copy:
Now look at your list of answers and choose one or more
ideas that provide an appealing angle. Add the practical
facts like how big and how much, and you're done.
No matter how prosaic the item, no matter how similar it is
to other items, ingenuity can make it stand up and wave
"Buy me!" to a shopper.
Get
a much longer checklist and copious examples.
Writing Effective Catalog Copy or Web Copy
Can Be Fun!
Once you learn a few
fundamental principles and techniques, writing
persuasive catalog copy, web copy or product
descriptions for printed brochures or sales sheets becomes an
easy, enjoyable process.
Step 1. List features
and benefits, then connect them.
If you've read anything about
copywriting, you've heard about the importance
of including the benefits of products as well as
their features. When you say
your widget is a 2-inch pink plastic paperclip,
you are describing its features. When you
say it enables you to color-code stacks of
papers or it attracts attention on someone
else's desk, you are describing
its benefits.
For concise, interesting
product descriptions in a printed or online
catalog, it's essential to combine features and
benefits, weaving them together tightly yet
unobtrusively.
The widget's feature X
gives you benefit Y. In one way or
another (and there are at least 16 different
ways to make this connection), this forms the
foundation of catalog copy.
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Marcia's Manual Saved
Me So Much Time
"73 Ways To Describe a Widget is an absolute goldmine crammed full of really useful information. As a copywriter, you can now hit precisely the right tone or emotion, eliminate every objection, knock out the competition, and produce an massive abundance of sales that just wouldn't have been possible beforehand. Grab this and Marcia's other books as fast as you can, and
watch your response rates and income go through the
roof." - Steve King, Copywriter, England |
Like all the testimonials
on this site, the customer comments on this page
were provided without compensation, incentives
or rewards.
Step 2. Brainstorm
angles and choose one as your opener.
Almost always, you'll also
need an attention-getter for the headline and
first sentence of your product
description. Use the checklist at the top
of this page, or the expanded one in 73 Ways to Describe a
Widget, described below, to come up with an
interesting way to think about the item.
For instance, The Territory Ahead
starts one of its product descriptions with
this answer to the question, "Who is it
for?":
Ultralightweight, anatomically
logical and muy guapa, Keen's huarache
overhaul was done with the global wanderer in
mind.
You can weave other elements
from this brainstorming into your descriptive
copy as space allows.
Step 3. Polish up
your descriptions in a consistent voice.
Effective catalog writing has
personality. Technically, this element is
called voice, and it's what unifies the
descriptions at a web site or in a catalog so
that they have a corporate identity. When
there's a tight match between the writing voice
and the customers' interests and needs, the
shopper feels the company is speaking directly
to them, and that they're looking at the kind of
widgets they'd most like to buy.
While the writing in The Territory Ahead
has a kind of masculine
romance about it, a catalog or web site's
voice could be efficient, technical, playful,
practical, compassionate, soulful... There
are a zillion possibilities.
Whatever the voice chosen, it
must be consistent throughout the catalog or web
site, or prospective customers get confused.
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"73 Ways To Describe a Widget
is a 'cheat sheet'
for copywriters who are out of
ideas." - Bob Bly, Author, The
Copywriter's Handbook and a zillion
other books |
Step 4. Proofread,
checking details.
As with any marketing or sales
piece, the last step consists of proofreading,
to make sure that you've included all the
elements that people need to know before making
a buying decision - size, color, composition,
weight, price, etc. - along with making sure
that the details provided are accurate.
Four steps - that's all there
is to mastering the art of tantalizing product
descriptions for catalogs or web sites.
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Never Suffer From
Brain Bog Again!
"Ever had to write copy for 20 very
similar, but different varieties of fish?
Ever try to come up with a unique selling
proposition, but the most exciting
differentiator was 'good customer
service'? Whether you're a
professional copywriter or a business
owner in search of ways to stand out from
the crowd, this ebook is a real treasure!
I love the format: Easy to read, no
fluff... just solid information. You
will never struggle with how to describe
anything again." - Karon Thackston,
owner, CopywritingCourse.com |
Get Started Now With a
Uniquely Helpful Resource
Marcia Yudkin's manual, 73 Ways to Describe a
Widget: Never Be Brain Dead Again When
Having to Write Catalog Copy or Sales Material, provides
additional guidance and copious examples for the
process of writing persuasive product
descriptions:
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Settles Your Nerves
and Helps You Captivate Readers
"Writing a short, seemingly
simple product description or marketing
piece can be surprisingly difficult.
Creating an effective, meaty marketing
message using only a few words can be
nerve-wracking. I may have read
every book on catalog copywriting in
existence, but 73 Ways to Describe a
Widget is the one I'll be referring to
again and again. It offers 73+
ways to help eliminate the fumbling around
in the dark for the right approach, and
provides good pointers for actually
writing the copy. This concise,
interesting read has everything I need for
a good brainstorm!" - Heidi Tran,
Columbus, OH |
This meaty, 35-page PDF
resource is something you'll want to print out,
highlight, annotate and keep by your side as you
practice beating catalog deadlines and topping
previous sales records. This is
instruction you won't find anywhere else - not
even in a $399 course on catalog writing that
claims to be comprehensive! Order
it now.
Order
your copy of 73 Ways to Describe a
Widget: Never Be Brain Dead Again When
Having to Write Catalog Copy or Sales Material for
$29.95.
As with all downloadable
materials for sale from this web site, your
satisfaction is guaranteed. If you don't
find the material useful, simply request and
receive a refund.
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