Did you ever wonder if your website could be costing you sales? Sure it looks pretty and you have tons of content. You constantly tweak your product and service pages. But did you ever think your content could be causing that customer not to add that product or service to the cart?
Here are 5 Ecommerce mistakes that might be costing you business
Don't panic! I'll tell you in just a bit how to fix them!
Mistake #1: Too much focus on the product and not enough on the benefits
As a creative entrepreneur, you’re excited to share how special your products and services are (duh, of course!). You’re passionate about telling others why they need this in their lives. You want to tell them all about the nitty-gritty technical specifics but what most entrepreneurs forget is writing about the benefits.
Let’s use this example- you manufacture towels. Your towel collection, for instance, might be bath size, soft and fluffy but they also create a spa-like experience which invokes a sense of serenity and calm. The benefit of using these is that you will feel calmer and less stressed. How about if you have a service based business? For example, you own a hair salon that provides blowouts for busy professionals on the go. The benefit of this service gives some valuable time back to the customer that they don’t have to spend on working on their hair. They utilize that time on something else. See where I am going with this?
I suggest before you start creating your product or service pages, outline an extensive list of features and benefits. How will your product or service help a future customer? What problems does it solve? What pain point will it take away? How will it provide less stress? How will their life or business be better as a result?
Mistake #2: Do you even know what this even means?
If you don’t know what the word means or what the sentence is saying just don’t say it. It is pointless to take up valuable copy real estate with what I call meaningless fluff just for the sake of adding it to the page.
So what do I mean exactly?
❌ Meaningless fluff and not to the point "Innovative and groundbreaking sneakers from a world-class and trendsetting manufacturer."
✅ Try this instead: "Sneakers made with cushion arch support used by over 100,000 runners worldwide."
Mistake #3: Your content has overdosed on adjectives
We use adjectives in our online content to help explain what our products may look like, what they do and how they will make a customer feel when using them. It’s all about creating that in-store or in-person experience online. However, sometimes we can go a little overboard and overdose on adjectives which just makes your content look like jibberish. It winds up turning the reader off and in many cases having them leave the site. You don’t want that!
Our 500 thread count sheets are woven with a finer yarn which results in lighter and less bulky sheets, which is much more breathable and softer unlike the same thread count sheet sets woven with a coarser yarn which are also more bulky.
Huh? You lost me. The problem with so many adjectives is that it slows your reader down and confuses them. I would simplify the above with:
Our 500 thread count sheets are woven with a softer yarn which results in more breathable sheets.
When using adjectives, follow these two steps:
- Use only one adjective before a noun. Rather than breathable and softer, go for breathable. Pick one. Remember to use them in moderation. My motto is less is absolutely more.
- Choose sensory or emotional words. They make your reader feel something. Words like nice, great, fantastic or amazing are rather ehh.. Spice up your content so your customer can visualize them using the product or service. In this case soft and breathable which makes for a better sleeping experience.
Mistake #4: Not telling the story
Potential buyers or clients want to feel like they relate. When potential buyers read stories, they forget they’re being sold something. They can envision themselves wearing that item or finding the right clients with the help of your services. Their barriers to your sales pitch go down and your content becomes more engaging and persuasive for them to buy.
A story can be short. No reason to be long-winded. It is also a way to infuse your personality into the content on your site. It makes it relatable. Here’s an example from ModCloth:
Step down the staircase in this gilded champagne dress by Chi Chi London feeling like a beauty from a bygone era! Ornate swirls with a soft metallic sheen eddy atop sheer mesh, while layers of tulle create a voluminous skirt. It’s no wonder you feel ready to dance the night away!
I can visualize feeling beautiful when wearing this dress and how I will feel wearing it. A simple story can help potential buyers visualize the benefits of your products—especially if they are a bit more on the techy side. You can tell stories around about the development of your products or services to make your products more relatable and help educate the consumer on whey they need them.
Follow these tips to apply the power of storytelling to your website content:
- Keep your stories short and sweet. Again less is more. Focus your story on just one simple idea.
- Avoid the obvious. Tell unexpected stories to engage, entertain, and sell.
Yes, it’s true we’ve all been educated to focus on facts, numbers, figures, and data. Facts increase your credibility. Facts don’t have personality.
The most persuasive content includes both story and fact. Storytelling will engage your reader, while facts help justify their purchase.
Mistake #5: Not taking the time to edit your content
Sometimes we are so worried about just getting content up on our websites we forget to even read it. Take some time to read it. Would you buy from you? Did you get bored from reading your own copy?
Take to re-work some of your content until you’re able to persuade your favorite customer to buy your product:
- Address all FAQ’s or questions that a customer might have when buying your product or service. Don't give the customer a reason to leave the site because they still have a question in mind.
- Is your content focused all on you or your customer? Count the number of times you may have used “I”, “me”, “we”, and “us” versus “you.”
- Ensure you’ve included a benefit for each feature as explained in Mistake #1.
- Using adverbs like “just,” “really,” and “actually” because they don’t add meaning. It is just extra fluff.
- Spot spelling and grammatical errors by reading the text backward. Ask a friend, family member, mentor or fellow creative entrepreneur to proofread your content for you.
You don’t have to be a professional copywriter to write copy. You just have to understand the differences between what does or doesn’t make sense!
Always remember who you are writing for
You spent a lot of time and money on your website. Now is the time to take advantage of the opportunity to have yours stand out from the online crowd.
Your main focus should always be your ideal customer. Think like your customer. Why would they need this item and need to buy it from you? Sell the benefits. Always remember who you’re writing for. It will pay off in the long run!
