Descriptions
A listing description template that does not waste the first line
The first 160 characters are the listing. Say what the file is, the size, that it is an instant download, and that nothing ships. Then the zip. Then personal use. Then how to print. Save the brand story for last, or skip it.
Most printable descriptions open with a paragraph about “capturing your special day.” Search does not need that sentence. A buyer who is already on the page needs to know they will not wait for the post.
A template you can actually use
Line 1: Printable wedding invitation suite — 5×7 invite, RSVP, details card. Instant download. No physical item will be shipped.
Line 2: What is in the zip (PDF, PNG, 300 dpi, color mode). Line 3: How to print (100%, cream cover stock, A7 envelope). Line 4: Personal use; you keep the shop’s copyright. Line 5: Names on the photos are SAMPLE. Line 6: You are not Etsy and this is not legal advice — only if you are selling a letter kit.
What to cut
Shipping times on a digital file. “We ship worldwide.” A refund policy that pretends a download can be returned like a vase. A block of keywords pasted under the story. If a word did not earn a title slot or a tag, it does not need a third life at the bottom of the description.
Tone
Write like a stationer handing over a paper bag. Short sentences. No exclamation marks in a row. If you offer a Canva link, put the link in the download, not as a hope in the description.
Score a draft if you want the first lines checked against that shape.