Top tips for creating Stores copy
A good customer experience can lead to high conversions and increased revenue for brands. However, the role copy plays in creating that customer experience often goes overlooked. The message you create to describe your brand and product(s) is key to building an immersive shopping experience for Amazon shoppers.
We know creating effective copy can seem like a daunting task. To help, we’re sharing key copywriting considerations (plus some bonus copywriting tidbits) to help you create great copy for your Store and bolster your customers’ experience.
Sections: 1. Know your audience 2. Identify your unique selling proposition 3. Write for the shopping journey 4. Eight bonus copywriting tips
Know your audience
Before writing a single word, it’s important to know and understand who you’re writing for. Your audience will be the main source of inspiration for the copy on your Store, informing decisions around tone, style and intent.
Think about who your audience is and what their needs are by paying close attention to certain factors:
- Their demographics
- How they typically speak/communicate
- What their interests are
- What pain points are they facing
Identify your unique selling proposition
Whether you realize it or not, every brand has a unique selling proposition (USP). A USP refers to the distinctive benefit(s) your brand and/or product(s) offer that makes them stand out from other brands and similar products.
Your unique selling proposition describes why customers would purchase products from you versus another brand. It doesn’t necessarily mean the product itself is unique, but the messaging you employ to convey the product to buyers must be. Think about your USP as the intersection between what your audience wants and what your business does well.
A USP will be the most important copy element on your Store. If you’re having trouble determining what your unique selling proposition is, think about it in these terms:
[YOUR BRAND] offers [PRODUCT] for [AUDIENCE] to [VALUE PROP/KEY DIFFERENTIATOR THAT SOLVES AUDIENCE’S PROBLEM].
While your USP doesn’t necessarily have to follow this format, it’s a great starting point.
Check out two examples of unique selling propositions from the same fictional company, Krazy Kanvas, below.
Efficient USP
Krazy Kanvas offers a wide selection of wild prints and ornate frames that can take the walls of your home from ordinary to extraordinary.
Less efficient USP
Krazy Kanvas is a photo print and frame company that sells cool, affordable products for your home.
Always remember to focus on what your customers value and use assertive, memorable language. Try to avoid vague, high-level terms like “high quality” and “affordable”, which many other brands can lay claim to as well.
Write for the shopping journey
It’s important for the copy on your Store to guide visitors through the buyers' journey. As Stores are meant to represent a one-stop shop for all of a brand’s product offerings on Amazon, the objective is to create an immersive shopping experience.
This objective should not only inform the copy on your Store but also help you decide how to organize the copy based on its design layout. For instance, your unique selling proposition should be located somewhere on the homepage of your Store above the fold while reinforcing its design and visual elements. That way, the look of the Store will help visually bring the words to life.
You should also understand the consideration required for your product(s). This refers to how much information and background knowledge customers might need to confidently purchase. There are three tiers to product consideration:
Low consideration
These are usually low-priced, frequently purchased items that require little to no additional information to understand their purpose. Think of items you see near a cash register in a supermarket (e.g. potato chips, lip balm).
Mid consideration
These are usually low- to mid-priced items that require some additional information, usually about a specific feature (e.g. candles, clothing).
High consideration
These are usually high-priced items that are infrequent or one-time purchases. They require thoughtful consideration and research before purchase (e.g. big screen TVs, home alarm systems).
Knowing where your product falls on this consideration scale will dictate how much or how little information is needed to effectively present your product, explain what it does and clarify how it helps your customers.
Mid- and high-consideration products typically require more copy to provide customers with the information they need before purchase. Make sure that this copy is succinct, gets to the point and flows logically from your unique selling proposition. Don’t overwhelm customers by listing or explaining every feature and detail of your product – save that for an individual product’s description page.
Ultimately, your Store should feature just enough copy that any visitor can understand what you’re selling, why it’s different from similar products, and how it will benefit them. For mobile optimization purposes, keeping copy to a minimum in your Store is ideal without sacrificing any of the above attributes. Lastly, the copy and design of your Store should be cohesive and work together to paint a full picture of your brand and product(s).
Eight bonus copywriting tips
Now that you know the three biggest considerations when writing copy for your Store, here are eight additional copywriting tips based on web best practices to inform your approach to writing.
1. Grammar and spelling
Typos or incorrect usage of grammar can erode trust with your Store visitors and may cause them to reconsider purchasing from you.
2. Word choice
Put away your thesaurus and keep it short and simple. Less is more, especially for mobile optimization purposes, so your visitors don’t have to endlessly scroll to find and buy your products.
3. Sentence structure
Keep sentences short and impactful for maximum effect. Run-ons or unorganized sentences can get confusing and make your message harder to absorb or find, especially for mobile visitors.
4. Formatting
Try to change up the format of your copy where you can for readability and aesthetic purposes. For instance, if you want to list your product’s main benefits, consider using a bulleted or numbered list with design elements such as colours and shapes that represent your brand. Remember, copy should complement and evoke the design of your Store.
5. Taglines
A catchy brand tagline or slogan can leave a lasting, emotional impression on customers that relates back to your products or brand. These should relate to the unique selling proposition but be much briefer and stickier in nature, and ideally be located in the main hero image of your Store. Think about how you’d like to connect with your customers and incorporate that into a tagline.
6. Calls to action (CTAs)
CTAs should be as simple and straightforward as possible for an optimal customer experience. “Shop now” or “Learn more” are direct and clearly spell out what customers should expect. See section 2.2 of our policy guidelines around CTAs for Stores.
7. Customer reviews
If a customer has left a positive review that perfectly sums up your product, consider using it. Leverage customer reviews where appropriate in your Store and attribute them. Often, these words speak louder than anything you may write. For more information on using customer reviews for your Store, check out our policy guidelines.
8. About us
If you decide to incorporate an “About us” section into your Store, make sure that you only include relevant information that supports the customer journey. Don’t overload it with lengthy biographies – keep it short and sweet by highlighting brand traits that could resonate with your customers.