Now Is the Perfect Time to Sell Your Products Online

Here are the crucial tips you need to write your eye catching product copy

It’s the perfect opportunity to move out some inventory and it benefits you for a couple reasons: 1) you diversify your revenue stream and 2) you have another way to bring value to your patients.

Let’s face it, you wish you were seeing them and the feeling is mutual.

As it is, most people have a daily skincare routine and they purchase it regularly. As their provider, if you could give them an honest recommendation for a product you stand behind and eliminate them having to go somewhere else to get it... you are providing value.

Some providers feel uneasy about selling products from their practice but I’m with Dr. Leslie Bauman who said in an interview with MdEdge ”If you have read my Dermatology News columns in the past, you may know that I think it is unethical for dermatologists to not offer specific skincare advice to their patients. If patients do not get ethical and scientific recommendations from us, they will follow the advice of a friend or salesperson or purchase based on often inflated marketing claims”. 

If you truly believe in the product and are selling it at a fair price, you should feel confident presenting it to your patients.

Getting your product out of the curio cabinet and onto the cyber shelf

Down the road you’ll be able to get all your products up and running but since time and effort goes into a launch, you should pick 5-7 products max. This will ensure you can get clean photos taken, write some easy-on-the-eyes copy and get the marketing started asap.

The products you choose could be customer favorites or the staples in a skincare routine. Selling a glycolic is a timely idea since most people are hunkered down at home and can handle some social-distance-dryness and peeling. 

On the backend

By this point you’ve already done any website tech maintenance to upgrade your platform to a new theme that has an online store or installed an eCommerce plug-in. The eCommerce platform should take care of inventory and tax. They may or may not integrate with your medical software.

Additionally, it is recommended to get some clean photos of your product. Since you want a patient to choose your product over any other brand— especially since you know the level of quality ingredients your product contains, you have to present it well.

Rule of thumb with any online store. Pictures don’t sell. They may catch the eye but then what...? They don’t close the deal. 

At this point, it’s really about the copy. While it seems easy enough to whip-up... darn good copy doesn’t just happen. Words may be free but the wrong words are expensive.

Product copy

Who closes the deal? Your online salesperson— the copy. It carries the heavy load.

Let’s get started…

Layout

Get an idea of the visual layout based on the template you are using and be prepared to have an abundance of white space. White space feels clean and scannable. It’s easier to absorb small blocks of text separated by white space.

Font

Use a clean, readable font. This is one area where unique doesn’t sell. Legibility and absence of distraction are important when choosing fonts. Cursive and fun, artful handwriting have too much personality for the page. Stick with more modern or classic fonts.

Headlines

Be sure to use proper headlines and bold. They guide the reader’s eyes. If all words are bold it is harder to read. 

From an analytics standpoint, Google recognizes H1 and H2 headlines. Keywords like “product details”, “ingredients”, “how it works” are terms that your prospect is likely searching for. Use these for H1 and H2 for headings and subheadings. 

Keywords

Make sure to use keywords in your product descriptions. It’s beneficial to do some quick market and consumer research to find out what keywords competitors are using and what keywords the consumer is likely searching for. 

Keywords and long-tail keywords are how you communicate to Google that the product is relevant to a person’s needs and search query. Keywords are important to the Google algorithm and they boost your site’s SEO. 

Sure would be great if you could get sales from organic product searches.

Product details

Product details are akin to features. By describing them, you are painting a picture and beginning to set expectations for the look, feel and experience. You might touch on a few of the desirable ingredients. 

Product benefits

More importantly, and the real reason people are there to buy, the product benefits. The consumer wants to know what’s-in-it-for-them. This is the section that addresses their pain points. So what does your product do? How does it help your prospect’s condition? What solution does it provide? Reduce redness, fine lines, hyperpigmentation?

How to use

Be sure to mention how to use the product and how it should be incorporated into a regimen. It can easily be overwhelming when someone is comparing multiple products and deciding whether it makes sense to add them to their regimen. If the directions are explicit, you just took some of the guesswork out for them and it makes it that much easier for them to complete the purchase.

Ingredients

List the ingredients. Consumers want to feel informed. Hidden or hard to find ingredients feel either incomplete or suspiciously unrevealing.

If your product has other features that set it apart e.g. all-natural, eco-friendly, recyclable, paraben-free, etc… make it apparent. Icons are a simple way to convey the message without word clutter.

Source: Vanicream Packaging Icons

A few last tips that really round out the potential for success in your product copy. 

Buttons

Buttons prompt the sale. Include a prominent ‘buy’ button. 

It’s also wise to include social share buttons. Why not ask for a social share. A great way to spread the word organically.

Reviews

Social proof builds credibility. Reviews and recommendations help settle any final concerns and reassure the buyer. 

This may even be an important confidence builder for you in selling products. If you have patients who loved these products then you can feel good about recommending them.

What should you do now?

While these are solid guidelines for product copy, the words still have to flow from your brain to the keyboard. 

If in theory this sounds easy but in reality, you’re grimacing and you know don’t have time for the fine details… let’s be in touch. 

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