Why be boring?

There are two ways of looking at online product descriptions.

First, you can see them as purely functional. As snippets of text packed with relevant keywords - the sole purpose of which is to tick SEO boxes.

Or, like me, you can see product descriptions as an opportunity to create a connection.

Sure, SEO is important - particularly if your business relies on traffic to drive sales. But what if you can leave a lasting impression, even when your products are among the most mundane things imaginable?

That’s why any time I’m writing copy for e-commerce stores, I start with a slightly different set of goals in mind.

Time to get creative

I want to inform, sure, but I also want to be expressive and entertain. A general rule of thumb is that the more fun it is for me to write, the more effective it’s going to be at grabbing the attention of potential customers.

When Danish shoelace company Feet Unique approached me to write product descriptions, I was a little unsure about taking on the challenge.

I’d previously written hundreds of product descriptions about Christmas baubles and doormats (seriously), among other things.

I knew how challenging it was to remain engaged and creative when writing about products that are essentially the same.

So I decided to do things differently. It was time to get creative…

Getting tied up

I enjoy telling stories and having fun with words. But typically product descriptions are not the place to do those things.

Weaving words

Lucky for me, Feet Unique were happy to go along with my quirky but compelling approach.

They, like me, wanted descriptions that customers would actually start and finish reading.

The biggest challenge was to actually make sense within the context of what I was tasked with doing.

Anyone can write any old nonsense about different coloured shoelaces. My aim was to be coherent, entertaining and genuinely persuasive.

That meant a lot of time sat thinking about different avenues to go down, and an even greater amount of time refining the copy when ideas did strike me.

Below (Dark grey laces) and above (Flat black laces) are two that I’m particularly proud of.