Product photos are one of the most important elements of your e-commerce store. They can make or break your sales, as they influence how customers perceive your products, brand, and value proposition. In this article, you will learn how to boost sales with product photos by following six practical tips.
You don't need to invest in a professional studio or a high-end camera to take great product photos, but you do need some basic equipment. A smartphone or digital camera with manual settings and a tripod is essential, as well as a white or neutral background, such as a sheet, wall, or table. You should also have a natural or artificial light source, like a window, lamp, or ring light. To reduce shadows and bounce off light, consider having a reflector like a white board, mirror, or foil. Lastly, photo editing software or apps like Photoshop, Lightroom, or Snapseed can be used to enhance your images and adjust the color, brightness, contrast, and sharpness.
To take product photos that showcase your products in the best possible way, you need to follow certain best practices. Start by using a clean and simple background that doesn't distract from your product, and use multiple angles and perspectives to show the details and features of your product. Additionally, maintain a consistent style and format for all your product photos to create a cohesive and professional look. Natural and soft light should be used to avoid harsh shadows and glare, and the rule of thirds should be used to compose images and create balance and interest. Finally, use the zoom and focus functions to highlight your product and avoid blurry or pixelated images.
Demonstrating how your product works or fits and showcasing its benefits, functionality, and quality are highly effective ways to boost sales with product photos. You can use models or props to demonstrate how your product works or fits, as well as lifestyle shots to show how it can be used in different scenarios or occasions. Additionally, testimonials or reviews can show how your product has helped or satisfied other customers. Videos or gifs are also great for showing your product in action or explaining how to use it.
When editing your product photos, you need to optimize them for web. This means making sure they load quickly, look great, and rank well on search engines. To do this, you should resize and compress your photos to reduce their file size and speed up loading time. Additionally, use the correct file format (e.g. JPEG for images with lots of colors and PNG for images with transparent backgrounds). Also, make sure to use descriptive and relevant file names and alt tags so that search engines and users can understand what they are about. Finally, use the correct dimensions and resolution for your product photos so they fit your website layout and display properly on different devices and browsers.
The last step to boost sales with product photos is to test and improve them. You need to measure how your product photos perform and affect your conversion rate, bounce rate, and customer feedback. To do this, you can use analytics tools such as Google Analytics to track and analyze website traffic, engagement, and sales. Additionally, A/B testing tools such as Optimizely can be used to compare different product photos and see which generate more clicks, views, and purchases. Feedback tools like SurveyMonkey can be used to collect customer opinions and suggestions on your product photos. Lastly, competitor analysis tools such as SEMrush can help you research and benchmark your product photos against those of your competitors'.
Boosting sales with product photos is not a one-time task; it's an ongoing process that requires constant learning and updating. You need to stay current with the latest trends, technologies, and customer preferences in e-commerce product photography, as well as update your product photos to reflect any changes, improvements, or innovations. To do this, you should follow blogs, podcasts, and courses on e-commerce product photography to learn new tips and tricks. Network with other e-commerce sellers, photographers, and experts by joining online communities, forums, and groups. Monitor your product reviews, ratings, and feedback to identify any issues or complaints about your product photos. Finally, review your product inventory, catalog, and description to ensure your product photos match your product information and availability.