Brainstorming: The Key to Fabulous Product Descriptions

The Brainstormer by Nan Lawson

Have you ever sat down to write a product description, stared at the blank computer screen, and felt completely clueless about what to write? Join the club. It’s happened to us all.

We feel the pressure of writing knock-your-socks-off product descriptions. We’ve read dozens of articles and blog posts on the subject, and we know that customers probably won’t buy our products unless we persuade them with our words. That’s a lot of pressure!

Maybe writing has never been your strong suit, or maybe you feel that your descriptions sound flat and lifeless. Is it possible to get past those roadblocks and write descriptions that make customers get in line to purchase your products?

A couple weeks ago, I launched a free 7-day e-course about writing irresistible product descriptions. In the course, I included a brief lesson about brainstorming before writing a description. Surprisingly, 50 percent of those who completed the post-course survey have said that the brainstorming lesson was the most helpful.

Sometimes, the hardest part is getting started. Why not try thinking like your potential customers? WHO might need a product like yours? WHY do they need this product? WHEN might they use it? Start thinking this way, and you’ll be on your way to creating a convincing product description.

Okay, let’s get this brainstorming party started:

First, gather a few supplies:

- a timer
- a writing utensil
- a pad of paper (you can use electronic tools or software for the brainstorming process, but I prefer pencil and paper)

Second, find a quiet environment:

- Find a peaceful spot where you can think and write with no interruptions. Ask family members to provide you with peace and quiet for a few minutes.
- Turn off (or move away from) all electronic devices that could distract you. Don’t check email. Turn off your cell phone.

Third, get down to business:

Write the name of your product in the middle of a piece of paper.

Draw 5 lines out from the product name and create a circle at the end of each line. Name the circles WHO, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, and HOW.

Set your timer to 10 minutes (2 minutes per circle). Start with WHO (the easiest one) and write continuously for 2 minutes, listing people/occupations/groups who would benefit from your product. For example, if you make baby bibs, you could write words such as baby, parent, grandparent, friend, shower attendee, daycare worker, etc. List as many people as you can think of. Don’t worry if your ideas don’t seem to flow together – just list as many WHO items as possible.

Move to the next circle: WHEN. When might a person need to purchase this product? For a baby shower? For a new mom coming home from the hospital? For the church nursery?

Keep your eye on the timer and move to the next circle after each 2-minute period. Of course, you can increase the total minutes if you find that 10 isn’t enough, but start there.

Once you’ve brainstormed all of the circles, weed out duplicate ideas or any that “don’t make the cut” for your description. By the way, a great by-product of this exercise is that you can use many of the words/phrases that you brainstormed as tags for your product.

Fourth, weave those brainstormed ideas into a fabulous description:

Now comes the challenging part: fitting all of those circles into your product description. If possible, try to incorporate all 5 W’s (WHO, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, HOW) into your description. Expand those simple ideas into sentences, and then weave them together into a convincing product description.

Remember that the 10 minutes is for brainstorming only. You’ll need additional time to write a convincing product description.

Here is a photo of my brainstorming session in preparation for the e-course I mentioned earlier:

Think of your brainstorming sessions as investments in your business. Invest 10 minutes per product description and reap the dividends when customers snatch your products off the virtual shelves!

Begin each product description writing session with a 10-minute brainstorming exercise, and you’ll be amazed at the results!

After obtaining a degree in English Education, I taught high school English for nearly fifteen years before leaving teaching to care for my young son. Shortly thereafter, I discovered the world of blogging, and my family blog Corbett Capers was born. My blog On the Dot Creations came next, where I combined my love of polka dots with my admiration for all things handmade. I scour the web for the cutest polka dotted items I can find, and I also enjoy posting tips for handmade sellers, especially in the areas of product photography, item descriptions, and communication with customers. I hope to share my passion about effective communication with Handmade Success readers.

I live in North Carolina with my childhood sweetheart Jon, my six-year-old son Mason, and my dog who thinks she’s a human, Daisy. Hobbies are taking photographs, singing in church, dabbling in graphic design, and reading books with my son.

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