To write a great product listing you can’t just say what your product is, generically. In a brick-and-mortar shop, you can get away with having a SKU called ‘shirt’ or ‘sweater’. Customers can look at the label to see what fabric it’s made of or what size it is. On Amazon, you need to be much more specific.
Let’s ask three questions, in turn, and they will lead you to write and then fine-tune a really great product title. So first, obviously, comes
WHAT IS IT?
This is the first thing your shopper needs to know. They’ll see the product title show up on their mobile before they see anything else.
“It’s mayonnaise” is not a great answer.
How much mayonnaise? Is it a nice little jar that fits the fridge or a bucket full of mayonnaise for catering?
Right. Now does it have any flavoring? Is it organic? What ingredients are used? What’s special?
So make sure you get things in that order. Put your brand name first, then the basic description, then the size, then the differentiators. You might end up with them in a different order when you fine tune, but this is the right order for now. You’ll also want to add factors like what fabric is made of (“100% cotton”), what fit jeans are (boot cut, flared), all those sort of factors.
Take a look at some best sellers and work out how their product titles work. Take a look at some poor selling products and see whether you could do better.
Now the next question that the customer is going to ask is:
DO I WANT THIS ONE, OR ANOTHER ONE?
At this point the customer is going to look at your product page, so there’s a bit more information to base that decision on. You’ll have photos, a description, bullet points, and reviews, and maybe a Q&A.
At this point, you want to think about your customer rather than just your product; and when you think about your product, you want to think about its uses and context.
So for instance, if you’re selling shoes to young professionals, your photos will feel different and feature different models from if you’re selling shoes for more mature customers, or for kids, or for real fashion victims. If you’re selling ballet shoes, you have a really defined market so you don’t want outdoor shots, for instance.
Though your main photo has to be a boring old product photo, your other images should show the product in its context. If you’re selling mayo, show it being used in a sandwich, with all the other ingredients about to go on. Your mayonnaise photos might be a bit different depending on whether you’re selling luxury all-natural garlic coriander and lemon zest infused mayonnaise, quick sandwich mayo at a low price point, or a classic French-style mayo.
As for the words, don’t add fluff, just describe the benefits for the customer. Think about your target buyer’s needs, and match them with benefits. So for instance if they’re looking at running shoes, they’re going to be thinking about comfort (cushioned soles), durability (how many miles are they good for?), what level of support is provided, whether the shoes are good for trail running or only track running.
You might have a niche product like running shoes with inserts for people who pronate or who have joint pain – so you’re going to want to stress that.
At the end of your listing, let’s hope your customer is ready to click the buy button. But unless you want a high rate of returns there’s another question they need answered. They may not actually have thought of asking it; they may have made an assumption, like “yup, it will come with batteries”, and they’re going to be disappointed if it doesn’t. The question now is
HOW IS THIS PRODUCT GOING TO ARRIVE?
This needs to answer every question about how the product arrives, unboxing, and using it. Does it require any assembly? If someone orders a storage box, they think they’re getting the box the way it looks in the product photos. If it arrives in separate pieces which need to be screwed together, they’re not going to be happy.
Does a camera come with a camera bag, with a strap, with a charger, or with a spare battery? Does the garden hose come with a sprinkler head or do you need to buy that separately?
Make sure you’ve answered all these three questions properly, and you should get high conversion rates and happy customers. And that’s good business for an FBA seller!