4-Step Plan For Writing Benefit-Driven Amazon Listing Copy

When it comes to writing Amazon product listings, many sellers make the mistake of focusing on features rather than benefits.

As a result, they may not be seeing the conversions they could be. In this article, we'll explore how to write listing copy that focuses on the benefits your products offer your customers - and why that's so important.

What's the difference between features and benefits?

A feature describes an aspect of what the product does, whereas a benefit describes what the product does for a customer.

For example, a product like a vacuum cleaner might offer features like "easy to use" and "lightweight." But the benefits would be things like "save time" and "less effort."

On the other hand, a product like a book might have features like "hardcover" and "color illustrations." But the benefits would be things like an "enjoyable reading experience" or "learning something new."

By understanding and focusing on the benefits your product offers, you can create listing copy that will boost conversion rates, turning more browsers into buyers and putting more money in your pocket.

People don't buy products, they buy solutions.

To be a successful Amazon seller you should work hard at differentiating your products to stand out from the crowd.

However, having spent so much time and energy on building a great product, it's easy to get lost in the list of features that we think make our products stand out.

The strength of this material, the utility of that accessory... we think it's the best thing since the fidget spinner! The problem however is that the customer doesn't care about your product.

What they care about is themselves.

So when customers are looking at your product, they're not thinking about the features - they're thinking about what that product can do for them.

Will it make their life easier? Will it save them time or money? Will it help them solve a problem?

Answering these questions is the key to writing benefit-driven listing copy.

Think about it from your own perspective - when you're looking at products, do you focus on the features or the benefits?

If you're like most people, it's the latter. And that means feature-focused listing copy is falling on deaf ears.

So, how do you go about writing benefit-driven copy? Let's take a look at a 4 step plan you can use to translate a list of features into free-flowing benefit-driven copy.

Step 1: Assemble your features for greater clarity

The first step for any new Amazon listing should always be writing the listing copy.

By starting here you make the rest of the process such as infographics, A+ content and PPC keyword selection much easier as the groundwork of research has already been done.

To get started on this process, create a list of every feature your product has.

By creating a full list we're able then to prioritize the features that matter most for the next step.

In this step, be sure to include each and every aspect you've differentiated on vs your competitors as we will want to make sure that is drawn out in listing copy and images too.

Step 2: Ask "so what?" for every feature

The next step is to take your list of features and simply ask yourself "so what?" for each of them.

Sure, the amazing new yoga mat that you've ordered 1,000 units of may have extra thick padding, but so what? What does that actually mean for the buyer?

Asking "so what" forces you to think through the lens of the customer. It makes you slow down and assess how each feature actually benefits the end-user.

For example, coming back to our yoga mat. It's extra thick, but so what? So that the customer can enjoy relaxing yoga sessions without fear of painful joints.

Expanding on the feature and drawing out its benefits immediately communicates to the emotional side of the buyer and addresses their pains and desires.

The goal with each feature is to identify the clear problem or need it solves so that you can then begin to create compelling copy that communicates each benefit to the soon-to-be customer.

Step 3: Connect the dots for the customer

In order to bring these features and benefits to life, you'll need to spend some time crafting punchy sentences that communicate them to the customer and help them join up the dots as they read.

For each feature, you can easily turn it into a benefit statement by using connecting words.

Let's take our yoga mat example. To connect the idea of an extra thick yoga mat to our long, relaxing, pain-free yoga session, we might use a connecting phrase like 'to ensure'.

"The ACME Yoga Mat features extra-thick padding to ensure your yoga sessions are full of joy and free from pain. No more joint soreness ending sessions early, and much more enjoyment from a relaxing workout."

The key is taking the feature [extra thick] and connecting it to the benefit [pain-free], but also painting the picture of what being pain-free will feel like. Take the customer on as many steps of that journey as you can to truly paint the picture.

If you're struggling for creativity when it comes to writing these benefit statements, here are a few ideas for flexible connecting phrases that will help you turn almost any feature into a benefit:

• Allowing / which allows / to allow
• Meaning / which means
• Providing / to provide / which provides
• Ensuring / which ensures / to ensure
• Freeing / to free you / which frees you from
• Creating / which creates

Here are a few quick examples to give you an idea:

• Our fidget spinner has extra smooth ball-bearing ensuring you get the most spin from every flick!
• Our water bottle has a drip-free seal meaning you can throw it in your bag without fear of soaking the contents of your bag.
• The extra padding in our donut dog bed provides the ultimate comfort for your furry friend and ensures they get the perfect night's sleep! (double whammy!)

Step 4: Assemble your copy for maximum conversions

So, you've worked hard at translating your list of features into benefits, and now it's time to put them to work to impact that all-important conversion rate.

It's important to prioritize your benefits in order of importance and position key aspects as prominently as possible.

Let's break down the different locations you can use benefit-driven copy on your Amazon listing.

a) Product Title

When writing listings on Amazon, it can be hard to fit a great deal of benefit-driven copy in the title.

This is because your title is prime keyword real estate.

You should prioritize including your most important target keywords in your product title over including benefits, but if you can include short benefit phrases that include target keywords then that's the dream result.

As with any listing copywriting endeavor, don't fall into the trap of stuffing too many keywords into your title. Instead, make sure it reads well for humans.

b) Product Images

Whilst this article has mostly been about writing copy, one of the most important areas to highlight benefits is actually in your product images.

The combination of short, sharp benefit statements along with powerful imagery will go a long way to boosting your conversion rates.

Refuse to get lazy with your images and maximize the opportunity each slot brings to communicate the value of your product.

Anker is a great brand to study on this aspect as they consistently produce images that quickly and clearly convey both features and benefits to customers.

c) Key Features aka Bullet Points

This is where your copywriting will really shine.

The key features section of an Amazon listing is the most important text-form area for a sales pitch on the benefits of your product.

Take one clear benefit per bullet - most categories allow the use of 5, some more - and concisely demonstrate the value of your product.

Avoid the temptation to keyword stuff, but try and include as many variations of keywords as possible whilst maintaining a natural flow.

d) A+ Content (Formerly Enhanced Brand Content)

Finally, the most successful brands on Amazon are maximizing the opportunity the A+ Content section provides.

Here Amazon gives brand owners the ability to expand even further on the story of the product in both text and image form.

With so much space available to you the temptation can be to dive deep into the nuances and features of your product.

Whilst this would definitely be the space to expand on specific details that may be important to some buyers, ensure you're making the most of this big opportunity to continue communicating benefits.

Banner images, comparison tables, and detailed infographics can all be utilized to ensure no stone gets left unturned in the pursuit of clearly communicating how your product solves the customer's problem.

The long term impact of benefit-driven listings

By working hard to communicate the benefits of your product, you can greatly improve the conversion rate across your Amazon store.

This will in turn have a significant impact in your overall customer acquisition cost and allow you to scale up your marketing efforts in a significant way.

By tracking key metrics like acquisition cost and customer lifetime value, you give yourself full visibility over the benchmarks of your brand and put the future of your business back in your control.

Try these tips for turning features into benefits today, and be sure to track conversion metrics along the way to see just how much impact your problem-solving product listings are having.

About the Author

Ben Donovan is the founder of Brand Builder University and has a deep passion for helping normal everyday people create financial freedom by building their own businesses. He lives in Manchester, UK with his wife and 2 children and loves to snowboard, play sport, and watch The Office.