Here’s something you should know about your marketing:
There are ways to write that make people very likely to DO what it is you want them to do.
Here’s the problem:
Most of us have no idea how to write that way!
Real estate is a marketing business. We sell our services and especially our listings all the time in writing. Has it ever boggled your mind that most of us plunge into the profession without ever having learned a stitch about how to write in a way that makes people want to buy anything?
Learn even some basics of copywriting and you’ll boost the overall effectiveness of virtually all of your marketing. I’m going to give a quick but important tip, and then a wonderful resource.
Tip: Understand Features versus Benefits
The great copywriters will tell you that people are most likely to ‘buy’ (in our business that could mean pick up the phone to call you, refer a friend to you or call on one of your home flyers) when they see a big benefit to themselves. But much of the time in our marketing we tout features, not benefits. It’s important to see the difference:
A feature is an attribute. For example, if you tell people you’re honest, attentive and experienced, that’s all great – but those are features.
A benefit is the end result to the ‘buyer’.
For example, if you’re honest that means you’re going to tell a home buyer when they’re thinking about buying the wrong home. Not losing money by making a poor investment is the benefit.
If you’re attentive, that means buyers and sellers won’t waste time and stress doing things you’re supposed to be doing. Saving time and stress is the benefit.
If you’re experienced, that means buyers and sellers are less likely to end up making costly mistakes during a transaction. Not losing money (and even not getting sued) are the benefits.
Features create benefits. Anytime your reader or listener has to TRANSLATE a feature into a benefit you lose some marketing punch, so do the work for them and communicate in terms of benefits.