Imagine being able to showcase your product better than your competition. That’s what mockups help you do. Mockups help you get more sales. How? Why? What even are mockups? If that’s what you’re asking after the first sentence, this article is for you.
Even if you’ve absolutely no idea what mockup images are or how they impact your business, keep reading.
In case you’re thinking “they’re just graphic photos of my product”, you’re wrong! Mockups differ from “photos” in more than one way.
If I’ve got your attention, let’s get started.
Table of Contents
What are mockups?
Mockups are “mock” representations of what the final product will look like. Do note that these are primarily and exclusively a visual representation “in context”. Meaning, how the product will look like in a given scenario.. A mockup may not function as the original product is intended to.
Imagine it to be like a sketch done by an architect before construction begins.
E.g. The image of your business card on a coffee table. Or, the following is a mockup of a shopping bag!
They’re different from a normal product photo because a mockup:
- Doesn’t have to exist for real (yet).
- Lets you add more details, technicalities to your product than what may exist in reality at any given time.
You can either create mockups on your own using graphic design software, or hire professionals such as Yellow Images to do the job for you.
When you hire a third-party, you still get absolute control over your mockup’s branding, colour scheme, fonts and everything else.
Now, let us briefly discuss the benefits of a mockup as well as what elements a good mockup should have.
How can mockups help boost sales?
Mockups help boost sales both directly and indirectly.
1. Better end-product design
Whatever you’re design probably involves more than just you. Mockups help explain your ideas better to your team. They’d know exactly what you’re looking for. This makes the end-quality of the product better. And a better product of course may sell more than an average product, don’t you agree?
2. Better idea for customers
Instead of just telling your customers what’s in your mind, you can show them. Mockups show exactly how your product will look like in a customer’s hand or wherever else it’s intended to be used.
3. Increases contextual appeal
Sometimes, your customers don’t know they need your product unless they see it in action. E.g. no one thinks in their mind “I”ll buy a save environment grocery bag”. But, if they see a mockup of a girl holding said bag, they may go for the purchase. A research recently concluded that 60% of people may contact a business when they see a product image in the search results.
4. Establish brand identity
Rightly done mockups can help boost your brand visibility. They may or may not translate into a sale but surely help your brand get recognized more. With your logos, colour schemes, and overall message you can create an impact that may be capitalised on later. That’s pretty much the entire idea of visual marketing. No one sees a Cola ad on the wall and instantly purchases a Cola, but they do it eventually.
5. Test out variations
Mockups let you create multiple versions of the product, without actually producing the product. Hence, you become your own customer and choose which variation comes out best. This helps your company get the best variations of your product and eventually sell more.
6. No more camera-shy products
There are products that may not look good on camera. This may be due to their shape, size, or even societal taboo. Mockups help take these products and show them in a different light.
Elements in a conversion-boosting mockup
So, simply “a picture of your product” isn’t enough to get you sales. There are certain elements that a good mockup must have for it to work.
- High resolution: Whatever you create, must be of the highest possible resolution. This not just pleases the eyes, but also gives you better visuals if and when printed.
- Depth & dimension: This is something that you’d need a professional for, but, using realistic lighting and shadows helps create more appealing depth and dimensions for the image.
- “Context”: The entire point of mockups is to showcase how the product would look like. Hence, keep the context real. E.g. a shopping bag in a forest makes less sense than it in a mall.
- Branding: This is of utmost importance. Whatever your product, your logo, colour schemes, fonts etc. should be consistent.
- Understand your audience: You can create multiple mockups for the same product and push them for different audience sets separately. E.g. a kid would be interested in slightly different images than their parents and yes, it can be the same product but in different settings.
- Be liberal: Mockups do not have to be an “exact representation”. Hence, you’re free to have some creative liberty. Do note that this doesn’t grant you rights for false advertising.
Conclusion-How to create mockups that Sell: Boosting Sales and Conversions through Visuals
By now, you should know what mockups are, how they help you, and what elements a good mockup must have.
Do note that there are other elements you can add to your mockup to add professionalism, appeal and other aspects. It obviously isn’t a direct science and you’re free to play with them as you’d like.
As far as creating mockups go, you can either use photoshop yourself, hire a designer, or use someone who specialises in mockups, like Yellow Images.
Go on then, get a mockup done and see it boost your business.
