There isn’t really a subtle way to put this, but one of the most obvious benefits of copywriting when it comes to ecommerce is making sales. Good copy can engage your customers, increase your conversions and therefore drive up your revenue.

Copywriting can also help promote your ecommerce store, because marketing and promotion are pretty much the same, and copy covers any marketing related text. From writing a great ad, to boosting organic traffic through SEO, to product descriptions and calls to action that convert, promoting your ecommerce store really does come down to the copy.

And while we’re talking about promotion and marketing, it logically makes sense to talk about sales, too..

Customers don’t buy for no reason. And we can’t say this enough: copy is as important as design (if not more). So in a nutshell, copy does indeed matter for making sales. This comes down to how effective the marketing campaign calls-to-action are, as a compelling call to action will encourage your audience or your customer to take the action you want them to. But it isn’t as simple as that - what works for one person might not work for another.

So it’s important to get the language right, and that’s where a copywriter can really make a difference. The trick is to identify the language and the tone of voice that the target audience can relate and respond to - and that is why getting it right is so important.

Copy allows you to emotionally connect with your customers, and over time this can build trust and transform your customers into superfans. It is a matter of testing and tweaking, but this is the goal that you are looking to achieve with copy for your ecommerce store.

And don’t forget - product descriptions are your silent sales people!  Well written product descriptions provide all the relevant information in a compelling way - product details, specs, price, FAQ etc. This can save you so much time, energy and money compared to a salesperson IRL… The product description does the hard work for you, so investing in that can give great returns.

When it comes to copy and what to prioritize, we have some opinions on where to direct your attention. If you want to get the most bang for your buck, we reckon you should focus on your top Product Pages & Product Descriptions, your main Calls to Action, page Meta Descriptions, and lastly, your About Page

Like we said above, product pages and product descriptions are your silent sales people. The purpose of this copy is to inform and to influence - you want the copy to let the buyer know what they’re getting, and persuade them to make the purchase. It needs to tell a story, but don’t waffle: format like your buyer is in a rush. So make the story compelling, but succinct. This has a direct bearing on your sales, so that’s why we have put it in the #1 spot!

The calls to action on your store website are also critical tools in your ecommerce strategy. Want your reader to sign up to your mailing list? Add to cart? Buy now? Well crafted calls to action will call your reader to action, whereas a badly crafted call to action will repel them. If you’re not getting the conversions you want, take time to review your calls to action.

Does the copy entice people, or does it put them off? Getting the copy just right will improve conversions, hence making it into our top four! For more, check out our post on writing compelling calls to action! 

An engaging meta description can increase your click through rate in your organic search results, resulting in more traffic and possibly even a higher search engine ranking. More traffic means more revenue - so your meta descriptions for each page, but in particular your top product pages, are definitely something to pay attention to!

And last but not least, having a compelling About page can help build your brand - turning visitors into customers. This is a prime internet real estate to lay out your brand story and emotionally connect with your visitors, so make it a good one!

Have we convinced you yet that copywriting is essential to your store’s success? We hope so! But it doesn’t mean you have to rush out and pay top dollar hiring a copywriter. There’s a balance that can be struck, so let’s dive right into that.

Hiring a copywriter depends massively on your budget, and it’s an individual decision for each boutique owner. At the end of the day, you have to ask what is worth more to you - your time or your money? If you’re responsible for all the day-to-day actions and operations, it can be a mental drain to also be responsible for the marketing. Hiring out can be a great solution, but we know that the budget isn’t always available for such luxuries!

If you’re on a low budget, writing your own copy can be the best option to get started. Just learning one thing at a time, and paying attention to the results and the reasons behind them can help you get the ball rolling.

As the budget becomes available, you could think about bringing in a copywriter to do small jobs, focusing on the essentials, or ‘One Time Pages’ like your About Page or Homepage that you can publish and keep static. Templates are a good starting point as a copywriter can prepare templates for various things like product descriptions or newsletters, so you can keep consistency and not have to write everything out from scratch each time. Hiring copywriters to write emails and onboarding sequences where conversions are important can also be a wise investment.

And if your budget is a bit bigger, adding a copywriter to your team can save you a lot of time, help build your brand with a consistent, cohesive brand voice, and ultimately, ideally, increase your conversions and revenue. 

⭐Focus on the benefits not the features

Which do you prefer? Reading about all the technical features of a product, or how they improve your life? Hint: it should be the latter ;)

While listing out what a product does is important, don’t forget to say why it does what it does. 90% of human decisions are based on emotion - so while the facts are relevant and people use logic to justify their actions, their decisions are made on how they feel - or how they want to feel. So how will your product make your buyer feel? Keep the facts simple, but don’t shy away from pulling your customer into the experience - engage them and then persuade them they need this product in their life.

And that’s about all we have time for today - we really do hope you’ve picked up some handy hints on copywriting for ecommerce here! We wanted to leave you with one last thought - and we’ve said it a million times so it shouldn’t come as any surprise, lol!

Dial up what works.  

This post is based on our Q&A chat, so check out the video on YouTube for the full chat!

Meanwhile, as ever…  

Cheers to your Shopify success!

💋💋💋