How To Write A Great Copy That Sells Your Crafts

Writing great copy for your art and craft is not just applicable when selling online. However, it becomes even more important when you are.

A potential buyer has only 2 ways to “see” your craft online before he makes the decision to buy it or not. One, by looking at the pictures. And second, by reading about it.

Everything that’s written about your craft, about you and your business is super important. It plays a pivotal role in the buyer’s decision making process.

Therefore, you have to write to engage and capture the attention of the buyer.
You have to encourage him to buy and enjoy your craft.
You have to write specifically for the internet because the way people read online is different to how they read books and magazines.

For one thing you have a relatively short time to catch their attention and they might already have other related web pages open. Then, another interesting study by an expert suggested that people do not read full sentences on the web. Instead, they pick out certain words and phrases from the entire block of text. So its your job to make sure that the right words and phrases catch your buyer’s attention.

Rule #1 for writing on the Internet – Write text that people can read at a glance!

Easy to say, difficult to implement.

Here are a few tips on writing easy, readable text.

Break your content into short blocks like paragraphs.
Use bullet points on numbered lists to present information in a factual manner. Just like the one you are reading right now.
Use headings and sub-headings to further breakdown and classify your content.
Use words with precision so there aren’t many to read.

When you are selling a craft, the buyer wants to know about its intrinsic quality. A boastful ad copy does little if it is not presenting an actual flattering feature of the craft, in an honest and friendly way.

Use Emotional and Meaningful Words

Writing to sell is not just about trying to sell features and functions. It’s also about realizing the psychological and emotional reasons behind a person buying a certain thing.

For example, for a piece of jewelry put a line in your product description stating how noticeable and distinct the item is, and how the buyer will look great by pairing it with a jeans, dresses etc. whatever is applicable.

Which brings us to writing great product descriptions.

How To Write Great Product Descriptions That Sell

We already told you that the 2 factors that influence a person’s decision to buy online are the photographs and the written content.

Written content comprises of product description, crafter profile, testimonials and any communication exchanged between the buyer and the artist.

Out of these the product description is arguably the most important. Its your sales pitch. This is where you give your craft its identity. This is where you convince the buyer to buy. It’s the first and lasting impression.

Remember the emotional triggers. People “buy benefits” even when they are comparing features. They buy products to entrance their happiness, comfort, style and enjoyment.

So while you should definitely mention features and details in your craft description because they add value to your art, give due space to the potential benefits. Speak of comfort, style, beauty, class, elegance etc.

Address Your Perfect Customer

If you followed the steps of market research, you should know the profile of your target customer. You will also know this if you have prior experience selling to people. When writing your product descriptions, write to this person.

The reason is the 80-20 rule. This usually applies to all kinds of businesses. 20% of your customers account for most of your sales and 20% of your products accounts for 80% of your revenue.

What would your target customer say about your art? What would he/she appreciate in it? Use those points and phrases in your product description.

Mistakes To Avoid in Copy Writing

These are classic and common mistakes in the written copy that are almost certainly going to turn the customer off from making the purchase.

Spellings and grammatical mistakes. There’s really no excuse for this at this stage. It’s a simple thing to avoid. And nothing breaks credibility of your sales copy than knowing mistakes in it.
Lack of details. You never know what the customer might want to know. They might want to everything from measurements to its weight. Lack of details makes a customer move on since he often has often alternatives at hand.
Really short product listings that do not share any information.
Very long product descriptions full of irrelevant information and hard sell copy.
No details about the manufacturing process and the materials used.
Lack of shipping information like cost of international shipping.
Rude or hostile sounding terms and conditions.

Use The Testimonials

This part of text content is not completely under your contract. And yet it is important for future sales. People are deeply affected to buy after reading positive testimonials from other customers even though they do not know them at all.

While you cannot create this segment all on your own, you can make your customers happy with their purchase and encourage them to leave a positive review or comment. You can also collect feedback in their communication with you and intersperse your blog or product listing with it.

Try and include testimonials that are specific and speak of a distinctively positive thought like, “fast shipping,” “its an amazing fit,” “the quality is superb,” and so on.

The testimonials must sound genuine and not like a marketing copy. If you are including testimonials in your product description make them short. Let the reviews build up organically for a product. While Etsy allows buyers to leave ratings and review, you can do the same if you are selling from your own blog.

How To Use Keywords In Titles and Headings

There are a few norms you follow when posting your item for sale. When you list an item on Etsy, you write a title for it. You do the same if you list it on your own website. You also write a title when you are creating a post for your blog. You are also advised to break up your text into sub-sections using headings and sub-headings.

Now, it’s commonly understood that search engines and even the search results on sites like Etsy give maximum attention to the words in your title and subsequently in the headings. You want to use relevant and search friendly words here. These words are known as “power key words.”

You can simply think of them as words and phrases that your potential buyer will type in the search box of a search engine or a website like Etsy. If these words appear in your title, headings and product description, your product listing is much more likely to pop up in the search results.

A word of caution though. Do not ever stuff your descriptions and blog posts with these words. Use a power keyword a couple of times and then also use related alternative keywords, if applicable. Overstuffing the same keyword repeatedly will have a negative impact on search ratings.

Here are a few tips on finding relevant and related keywords.

Go to Google.com. Search for one of the keywords or phrases that apply to your craft. In the search results, scroll down to the bottom of the page. There you will find many other “related” search terms and phrases. Pick out the ones relevant to your product and use them in your copy.

You can also click on these terms, open the results in a new window. Repeat the process and scroll to the bottom to see related keywords one level deeper.

The 2^nd thing happens when you are still typing the keyword or phrase in the search box. You will see suggestions open in a drop down box. These are the most commonly searched phrases that match what you are typing in. Google makes these suggestions to help make your search faster and easier.

But these suggestions also provide a valuable insight on what others thousands of people are actively searching for. Once again, pick out anything of relevance to use in your post or product description.

Write Your Own Artist Profile

You cannot avoid this, as much as some artists might want to. People choose to buy handicrafts because they feel a special connection to them. And you are a very important part of that connection. People don’t just buy a piece of art or craft. They buy “from” the artist as well.

Your story, motivation and creativity gives meaning to the craft. And that meaning is incredibly important to the buyer. So get down to it and write your story. Here are a few guidelines.

Who are you? The place you belong to or live.
How did you learn your craft?
What are your influences, like other artists, styles, nature etc.
Why do you love doing what you do?
What is the most satisfying part of your work?
What is your crafting/manufacturing process?
What special materials do you use?
What can people look forward to when they buy your craft?
Do you have stories to share? Anecdotes from your crafting experience?
Mention important qualifications, achievements, experience and awards.
Link to other places where people can view more of your work like your website, studio and other online stores.
Invite them to contact you via email, contact form or phone, whatever you are most comfortable with.

Summary of Internet Writing Tips

Use short sentences. Break your text into paragraphs, sub-headings and numbered lists.
Use a plain text editor. Otherwise remove formatting before pasting your text.
Avoid too many exclamation marks. Avoid writing in ALL CAPS.
Include the name of your business along with the product in product descriptions.
Describe the product fully and briefly at the earliest in the copy. You can provide the details later.
Do not forget to include dimensions, weight and materials in the product descriptions.
Put across the features but remember to communicate the emotional and psychological benefits too. They are very important in the buyer’s mind whether they are aware of it or not.
Use plain and simple language, the kind that is easiest to understand with simplest possible words. Write to communicate, not impress.

As with most everything else, it will take time, practice and experience to become proficient at what you do. These guidelines should get you off to a good start. As always don’t hesitate to ask questions or leave your comments below.