Most real estate agents never think about the writing they feature on their website or social media. Which give you a great opportunity to stand out from the crowd if you do.
Words matter. It might feel like this is something we all hear all the time, but especially in the real estate industry, the words you put out into the world to describe yourself, the benefits of working with you and the properties you help pass from one owner to the next, this statement quickly takes on a whole new meaning.
Let’s take a look at a standard, generic “About” statement:
“I am a real estate agent who’s been in the business since 2006. I have excellent knowledge of the area, and am dedicated to my clients and their needs, always striving to provide the very best customer service.”
This says next to nothing about the agent, their business or the values they bring to real estate transactions. It’s simply a blanket statement anyone could use.
…All of which are clearly a problem. But why?
The reason a blanket “About” statement like the one above falls so flat is because it wasn’t written with any sort of audience in mind.
What does that mean, exactly?
Ask any writer, and they’ll tell you that the #1 most important thing they or any other writer can do is write with an audience in mind.
Writing with an audience in mind means that when prospective clients read the “About” statement, they should feel like it was written for them and them alone.
The copy should pinpoint some of their interests and identify ways the agent connects specifically to those interests.
Or, the writing could identify a pain point the agent has and explain how the real estate agent not only understands this point point but—even better—understands how to solve it.
Everyone loves talking about themselves. But your job now, when you’re writing for your real estate website, is to write about your customer.
So tell them why you’re the best choice for them. Write with an audience in mind.
Let’s return to that generic “About” write-up. What story is it telling, if it’s telling a story at all?
As we’ve already covered, it’s giving bare-bones details about the agent in question, like an outline.
But it’s an outline that could apply to any real estate agent in the game, and it doesn’t tell a meaningful story about what that agent has done in his or her career.
What awards has the agent won? What kinds of houses have they sold? What kind of clients do they work with?
There’s no way to no because the agent didn’t tell us a story.
Facts are so easy to come by. But people don’t care about data sheets unless they’re getting paid to care about data sheets.
In real estate, when you’re the agent, you’re the one who should care about the data sheet—because your client is paying you to care about it.
What will sell real estate is getting your clients attached to you, or to the interesting tidbits about your properties.
So try telling a story. There are countless agents in your area and there are countless houses in the area, too.
But there’s something unique about you, and your properties, that none of the others have.
Figure out what that something is and tell its story.
No, we don’t mean rotting food. Or the rotting wood of a house that has a termite infestation. Neither of those things would sell homes.
ROT stands for Results + Objections + Time. And it’s a perfect formula to use when you’re selling anything, much less real estate.
Great copywriting in general, and especially copywriting for real estate, should capture your readers’ attention and get them interested in what you have to say. The ROT Method can help you do just that. Essentially, it stands for:
Results Desired
Objections
Time Frame
Now let’s think about what we covered in Tip #2: Storytelling.
When you approach your real estate copywriting, think about how you can tell the story by mentioning the results your clients will want (how to buy a home), the objections they might have (in an expensive, seller-friendly market), within a given time frame (before this time next year).
Now let’s put those pieces together.
“How to Buy a Home in an Expensive, Seller-Friendly Market Before this Time Next Year”
The answer to that is your area of expertise. It’s also the story you need to tell. And, being the professional real estate agent you are—you’re uniquely qualified to tell it.
Copywriting for real estate is one of the most difficult parts of the job. You didn’t sign up to be a real estate agent to be a writer, after all.
But it’s simply something you have to do—everywhere from your website bio to your Instagram.
So don’t take the real estate copywriting you have to take care of become an afterthought. Remember your clients and write for them, and tell them a story.
You’ll have their attention in no time.