Profiting Through Picture-Perfect Listing Descriptions –

Your System For Real Estate Earnings

A Professional Copywriter’s Perspective

And Report

by Shelly Moreau

 

Profiting Through Picture-Perfect Listing Descriptions –

Your System For Real Estate Earnings (A Professional Copywriter’s Perspective)

is © Updated October 2016, Shelly Moreau Copywriting Services

979 Route 148, Lochaber West, QC J0X 3B0 CANADA With

All rights reserved. No portion of this report (in part or entirety) may be reproduced or used by any other means other than for which it is intended,

by any other method/mode (print or electronic) without written permission from the Author, Shelly Moreau.

Enquiries can be addressed to:

Shelly Moreau shellymoreau@gmail.com, or

by telephone, at: 819-986-8377

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

INTRODUCTION

1. So Many Demands…So Little Time a. The Method to My Madness

2 3

2. Why Good Property Descriptions Are Essential a. How The Right Message Sells Homes b. Why Positioning Matters

3 4 4

3. How I Became a Specialist a. Impressive Influence b. What’s Different About Your Listings?

5 5 6

4. Accomplish Your Goals

6

5. Tips For a Positive Impact a. Ads – To Attract and Influence b. Headlines – To Get The Attention

7 8 8

6. Closing Out

9

 

Introduction

I appreciate your interest in this special report, written with Real Estate professionals in mind, and

hope it brings some clarity to the importance of your written messages.

I don’t have to tell you how critical it is to reach intended sellers or buyers with a message that is

specific to them. When you share the right message, half the battle is won. It’s important to figure out

how to develop that message – and to write a simple listing description.

Or…is it really that simple?

When is it time to call in a professional? How can you find one who hits all the bases; completes your

pre-listing package and impresses the seller; saves you time; earns you more attention and results with

less effort through your selling process? Only you can decide.

Whether or not you work with a knowledgeable writer (me or another skilled professional) to

complement the talents of your team, this report delivers some tips to help you and your business

through the process of writing listing descriptions.

‘So what’, you may ask?

Well, here’s a challenge for you…To make the most of this report, I challenge you to use what you

learn here. Take a month or so. Monitor any changes in your responses and share your comments or

questions with me afterward. I’m certain you’ll be impressed with the changes.

In the meantime, best wishes for continued growth and success in our real estate business. I’m looking

forward to your feedback.

Shelly Moreau

Copywriting Services

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Profiting Through Picture-Perfect Listing Descriptions Your System For Real Estate Earnings

1. So Many Demands…So Little Time

Time is of the essence in any business. And like most successful luxury real estate professionals I work with, you’re pulled in a lot of directions all at once.

It’s a nightmare every day…show more homes, close quicker, and move on to the next winning sale. And now you’ve got to fit a new listing into your day, along with the other million-and-one things on your plate. You need to write a perfect listing description – for every listing that comes your way.

Your most valuable commodity is time.

Working with a property description specialist gives you more of it.

Maybe you’re using short ads, creating feature sheets/booklets, using ads for the on-property information boxes, direct mail, or creating other marketing material. How many versions of a home description are you writing for the various mediums anyway? Does cut- and-paste do the trick? ‘Who’ll notice’, you may ask? Ummm…everyone, that’s who. When there’s no natural flow to the descriptions, and it’s the same jargon, repeated everywhere, in every listing…boooring. So how can you track the details you want to highlight for a listing description and massage that information into multiple and enticing, narrative descriptions for specific layouts or restrictions? Here’s a suggestion. Consider using a Checklist. That’s right. A simple Checklist. You know…to track all those critical notes and reference material about the home you’re selling. And as you get down to the extra chore of writing, do you also have a plan for your approach to sell the home? ‘Why bother’, you might think? A strategic approach (i.e. target) helps guide your message to be reflective of that approach, the prospective buyer profile, and the desired outcome.

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Don’t wing it. This is way too important. You could be talking about millions in lost sales if you fail. That’s why having a trusted professional partner on your team (who excels in writing) is a definite bonus for your time constraints and copywriting knowledge. But whether that writer is I or someone else, at the very least, one goal for this report is to share a few valuable tips to streamline your workflow, save you time, and get you the attention your listing deserves.

o The Method To My Madness

The things I talked about above…they’re all things that I help you figure out when we join forces to create your listing descriptions. And because time is of the essence in all cases, delivery is guaranteed within 24 hours. My preferred tool is my own custom tool, The Shelly Moreau Real Estate Writer’s Checklist. I developed it and apply its principles to each description. It’s a seven-step process to identify all the imperative and enticing details you want to spotlight in your descriptions. I take all the essential tidbits you provide to create and guide the message, and attract the most genuine, interested buyers only. ‘So what’, you may ask? That means there’s no need for me to play phone or e-mail tag with you to find missing details. The result is a description that shows off the home in its best light…the first time out, saving valuable time, needless edits and delays. And that gets those listings active and out to the masses quicker.

2. Why Good Listing Descriptions Are Essential

A (good) listing description is what buyers rely on before asking to visit a property. If the message is wrong or doesn’t tell the buyer what they need to know to make a decision, it attracts the wrong buyer, not the one you’re attempting to attract. Consider this: a property description is a dance with words. Specific words, selected to draw the buyer in; to create an important emotional connection; to allow him to envision himself in the home, imagining each room and its features; and to visualize how he’s relishing in it, and all the home offers. That emotional connection is hard to forget once it’s established. The buyer simply has to act on it. To call for a viewing.

A Property Description Is Not Written In A Vacuum

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And as with promotional writing in general, there are numerous elements and factors that determine how a message is prepared and conveyed. I’ll share a few of them here… Think of the audience you’re trying to attract, product positioning, the desired outcome, tone, voice, familiarity and language used. These elements are all used in writing a winning sales letter or promotion. Likewise, a fine-tuned and enticing property description incorporates these same elements. And a description cannot take shape before certain facts are determined, such as understanding:

o How The Right Message Sells Homes Think about buying a greeting card. Your first consideration is for the recipient and event/situation (i.e. establishing the reader/audience profile). You wouldn’t buy a racy card for gramma’s 92nd birthday. You wouldn’t get a humorous card for your dear friend who’s just lost a loved one. What’s the common denominator here? The message has to be written with the reader in mind and in line with what’s going on at the time. What about using a generic message? Nope. That won’t cut it either. Because when you write to everyone, you write to no one in particular. Your message gets lost, attracts little or no attention and fails to get results. Knowing whom you’re writing to allows you to write a more impactful, clear message; and to a receptive, interested and appreciative audience. This applies to home sales and their descriptions as well. That’s why it’s essential to determine who your would-be buyer is (discover the profile of the potential buyer). Once you’ve done that you can plan your message and know how you’ll deliver it.

o Why Positioning Matters Similarly, determining how to position the home for that buyer is essential. It’s the first decision in the marketing process. Think of it as “branding” the home: conveying a particular perception (theme) of the home in the buyer’s mind through the words you use and claims you make about the home. Tell them how owning this luxury home enhances/improves/ changes their lives – for the better.

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Write a description to substantiate those claims and entice only genuinely interested buyers into calling for a viewing. In other words, tell buyers what makes your home special, and tell the story to support that statement.

3. How I Became A Specialist

I was happy doing my own thing, working as a general copywriter, providing a various services to clients. Writing listing descriptions never crossed my mind until I was approached and asked to submit something for consideration. The client loved it. And I had fun doing it.

And a luxury home description specialist was created...

In fact, in her words and those of her real estate agency (partner) husband:

I discovered a knack for conveying a captivating description about the home, all the while taking the would-be buyer on a tour in his/her mind, and painting a vivid picture with meaningful and compelling words.

Since then, I’ve worked hard to perfect those skills even more, developing an effective and novel system of describing a home. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that I’m a leader in this field, having learned from the best examples of real estate writing.

o Impressive Influence

I count Stan Barron (of Austin, TX) as my main influence and guide in specializing in listing descriptions. Not only is he a successful agent, his own copywriting background is a direct influence on his real estate accomplishments. ‘So what’, you may ask?

“After  her  first  project,  my  husband  sent  Shelly  an  email  stating,  “I  love  you  “,  lol.    She   embraced   our   ideas   and   brought   them   to  life.   Our   clients   raved   about   our   feature  booklets   produced   for   their   homes,   and   the  way  their  home  was  portrayed.”    Michelle  Fraser,  Michelle  Fraser  and  Associates  

 

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Few real estate professionals are taking advantage of these unique writing principles, normally reserved for the world of advertising. The majority of descriptions simply repeat the list of features. There’s little emotion or meaningful detail in a list of “stuff”. But you can change that when you work with a leader in this intriguing writing field.

o What’s different about your listings?

I took me years to learn how to write a good promotion. Now I combine that knowledge and experience for an innovative take on writing property descriptions for real estate professionals. I daresay, not many Realtors or Agents are boasting about using this novel system, to impress sellers (in the pre-listing package), get them to the top of the sales ladder, and keep them there. You see, I take my professional writing talents and style and cleverly combine them with this system I’ve developed, resulting in enthralling descriptions to attract attention and captivate buyers. Remember how Michelle Fraser’s clients raved? Imagine how yours will too… Most agents are content to churn out the same dull descriptions time after time. They don’t realize that they could be attracting a whole lot more attention, and from pre-sold, genuinely interested buyers – and sellers who notice how different your approach is.

4. Accomplish Your Goals Managing a real estate agency or brokerage involves long hours with little break, and depends on commitment from an entire team of skilled professionals. Each team player has his/her own specialized skills, and area of expertise that deliver a specific value and results. But…

As an agent or broker, you carry the bulk of the responsibility and tasks.

Your right hand is usually an intuitive and talented juggler. Namely, your Administrative Assistant, managing your schedule; overseeing your e-mail enquiries; filling out and filing paper work; dealing with clients, other agents, and endless telephone calls; and the list goes on. Yikes.

Then you have your home preparation, staging specialist, who guides the seller

and/or sets up the home so it appeals to and dazzles buyers.

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And a trusted photographer who brings the house to life in images, so that the buyer gets a better glimpse of the home’s beauty and benefits. And finally…

Finally, you have a…wait… you do have a Professional Writer on your team,

right?

Then who’s filling in that massive gap in your process and team? Who’s breathing new life into your property descriptions and complementing those fabulous photographs?

If it’s not a professional writer, does your own staff writer have the training, skills, background and knowledge required to help you work through all the headaches mentioned earlier? ‘Why should all that matter’, you might ask? Consider this: Are you getting calls from preferred, interested buyers, or just curious tire-kickers? A clearer, benefit-laden description that’s directed to an intended audience solves that issue. How many home visits are a waste of your time because buyer expectations are not being met? A clear, directed description, with targeted positioning solves that issue. Are callers excited to see the home because they’ve just read that fabulous description that hooked them? Or is it hit and miss? A seductive and mesmerizing description solves that issue. So…is your team complete? A great writer fills this huge gap. If you’ve got all these bases covered and are achieving success, then you don’t need any other help. You’re already ahead of the game and your competitors. And if you are concerned and decide to seek help, I know someone who can alleviate that worry and help solve your problem…Me.

5. Tips For A Positive Impact

Regardless of whether or not you seek help from a professional writer, I’m sharing a few tips here to spice up your marketing and descriptions. Try these ideas for a start:

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o Ads – To Attract and Influence Why not try writing a fun story-telling ad? Not a flyer…a full-on ad. Most Realtors and agents are hesitant to try this marketing strategy so no one is doing it. This is your advantage. Because of that, when you do it, you’re going to stand out – above your competitors. While you’re writing that ad, remember…Ads and descriptions don’t have to be dull. Will yourself to be more daring. Inject light-hearted story telling into your message. Buyers will take notice and will be influenced. Maybe even consider some targeted direct mail as part of your ad marketing.

o Headlines – To Get The Attention Every news article starts with a captivating headline. So why not incorporate it in a description? A well-written headline gets attention, creates curiosity, and draws the reader in to want to learn more. Use them in listing descriptions by placing the strongest most compelling benefit in your headline (an example of how branding is implemented). ‘How important is a headline’, you might ask? David Ogilvy had this to say about headlines: As a professional I spend a large amount of time crafting the perfect headline (or lead-in) for descriptions I write, or any other promotional piece I create whether for myself or clients. A good headline creates curiosity, conveys a single point or idea and should lead into the opening paragraph, or the lead-in phrase for a shorter description. While actual instruction on how to create a winning headline is too lengthy to address here, numerous books, articles and blogs written on the process are available for purchase or viewing. In fact, Copyblogger has a great article if you’re interested: http://www.copyblogger.com/proven-headline-formulas/

“On   average,   five   times   as   many   people  read  the  headline  as  read  the  body  copy.      When  you  have  written  your  headline,  you  have  spent  eighty  cents  out  of  your  dollar.”    David  Ogilvy  

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And don’t forget to include sub-heads in your descriptions where possible. That’s a synopsis of the upcoming paragraph (information). When done right, it creates more curiosity and interest for what’s to come, and keeps the reader interested.

Applying even these few tips, along with the other suggestions offered in this report, you should see enhanced response (i.e. more serious enquiries) from your listings.

6. Closing Out

I know you’ll find great value in this report even though it barely touches the surface about the impact that fabulous listing descriptions and good marketing strategies have on your results. I know you’re pressed for time though. So I’ve kept it brief. For those who thirst for more, I’ve prepared the complete guide to writing listing descriptions, which includes all seven essential copywriting principles (applied to the real estate industry). It’s entitled, “A Realtor’s Checklist To Boost Sales Results From Property Descriptions – Your Resource for Productivity and Prosperity”. And it’s available for your listing description writing needs, here: http://shellymoreauwritingediting.com/real-estate-checklist-and-resources/ Don’t have time to learn the system but want better listing attention and to attract seller interest (as you show off your marketing strategy secret in your pre-listing package)? Connect with me right away. We’ll work together so you have more free time, see a change in your results, and have your competition looking over their shoulders. And with that all taken care of, you’ll be able to do what you do best… …Cater to preferred clients, show more homes, close quicker, and move on to the next winning sale. Yours, Shelly Moreau