Real estate agents: How to write great ad text for your listings that compels buyers to call you!
Remember those days of writing a nice ad, then trying to condense it down to fit into a 3-line ad for the classified section of the local newspaper? I recall trying to find abbreviations for every word, which made the ad choppy and sometimes confusing. I sat on the phone endlessly with the classified sales rep, trying to whittle my ads down to save space (and therefore save costs), and using every creative abbreviation the newspaper would allow.
The good news is that you are no longer limited to a small 15-word ad which was the norm when classified newspaper ads set the standard for printed ad text. With today’s media sources, online ads are grouped by type so you don’t need to reiterate the location and number of bedrooms in the first line of text. And readers use searches to scan the internet, so be sure to use key words, terms, and phrases.
Your ad will vary by media type. On your flyers, can you elaborate and be more creative with your words and phrases, and also with your font styles, colors, and sizes. On your MLS ad, you have 500 – 1,000 words available for public comments. And on your internet ads, the text is often limitless. Of course, this doesn’t mean you can ramble on and on. Remember that readers will skim through the first paragraph, or the first page if you are lucky. So keep the ad brief and easy to grasp.
Below are my tips for how to create a text ad for your real estate listing. These tips are designed for real estate agents who are advertising to the public (your propsective buyers), but of course other agents will be reading the ads also – after all, Realtors® are your prospective clients too!
1. Catchy short headlines. (get it?)
2. Power-packed first words, first sentence. If the first words don’t catch their attention, they’ll get bored and stop reading. Instead of starting off, “4 bedroom, 1.5 bath, 2-car garage” as we used to do for classified ads, start with “All-new kitchen shines with island cooktop and breakfast bar, opens to TV den and perfect for lazy Saturday morning brunches with the whole family.”
3. Don’t use industry jargon. Instead, use everyday words, arranged in a simple format, that everyone can understand. For example, we Realtors® use the terms “REO” and “Short Sale” every day, yet I found out that most homeowners do NOT know what these terms mean! Instead of asking “Do you want to short sale your house?” you can ask, “Did you know that you can sell your house, even if your house is worth less than you owe on your mortgage?”
4. Show them how the product can benefit their lives directly. Will their children do better in school because they can attend the magnet school in the district? Will the family be closer and happier because the teens will invite their friends over to play ping-pong tournaments in the den? Will the husband want to stay home and watch the game with friends on that shady patio with the built-in BBQ? Will the retired senior citizen be able to drive her golf cart to the store instead of trying to use her walker to board a bus? Focus on how the buyers’ lives will be improved.
5. Don’t use big words or technical terms – remember people are scanning quickly, and if they get hung up on one word, they may forget the rest of the ad. Readers scan text with their eyes in a “Z” format: top left across to top right, down diagnally to the bottom left corner, then across to the bottom right corner. So make sure your text flows all the way across and down.
6. Show scarcity and uniqueness. Scarcity is a limited quantity. This appeals to the competitiveness of people and their need to be the first, the best, the only. Even if your listing is the standard tract home in a typical neighborhood, find something interesting that will appeal to someone. For example: “Lowest price in the city for a 4 bedroom home with a swimming pool and a movie den.” Or: “Original owners, house has never been sold before. Be the first to buy this well-maintained home in exceptional condition.”
7. Don’t use clichés – they are over-used and don’t mean much. Readers will mentally “discard” a repetitive saying. Try a fresh approach by completely re-wording your thought. Instead of “cute and cozy home”, try “plenty of space for the retired senior seeking a quiet country atmosphere”. Or, flip your phrase unexpectedly. For example, we often hear the phrase “buyers and sellers” but it catches our attention when we see it as “sellers and buyers”. Make a list of adjectives and refer to it often. Choose specific words that have an exact meaning, instead of general phrases. “Great” means a lot of different things but “tidy” and “manicured” and “professionally painted mural” are more precise.
8. Paint emotion – not just the facts Yes it’s a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1,500 square feet house, but how do they see their family AFTER the purchase? Paint a picture that tugs at their heartstrings. Remember, people buy on EMOTION then later justify it with LOGIC. What emotions are buyers looking for when buying a home? Will the family become closer and happier playing together? Will the house make them feel swept away on a romantic vacation? Will they experience an outdoor nature & wildlife adventure? Buyers are seeking: family togetherness and building relationships, enjoyment cooking and eating yummy food, happiness and joy, a quiet sanctuary, warm and cozy fireplace snuggling, peace of mind, satisfaction seeing their children succeed in school, safety and security, fun with entertaining friends, a place where a church youth group can gather to bond, closer to nature and animals, etc. Help buyers connect to the house, which is merely a building, by finding an aspect of your home that appeals to their emotions.
9. Call to action – the best-written ad means NOTHING unless it gets people to pick up their phone and call you. Make sure buyers can contact you by whichever method is most convenient to them – phone, email, text message, QR code. Most importantly, ASK them to contact you.
10. Create a sense of urgency - right now. “At this affordable price, our home is a tremendous value and will be sold quickly, call us today.” People pick up on your mood and energy. If it’s not urgent to you, they won’t see any reason to take action now. By the time they decide to buy that house, it will be gone. They’ll be disappointed and you will have lost a potential sale! So give them a compelling reason to call you TODAY. Urgencies can include: limited opportunity, bargain price so it will sell fast, everyone else has already bought it, loan rates will be going up soon, etc.
The one thing you never want to do is exaggerate, embellish, or lie. Never make untrue statements, no matter what the reason. That is false advertising and you can get sued, in addition to losing your license. Worst yet, making up false stories will harm your credibility and tarnish your good reputation. So always stick to the truth.
Certain words always catch attention: free, new, sex, sale, discount, bargain. Learn how to use key words and phrases to get and keep your readers.
Read your ad out loud. Does it flows well or is it a tongue-twister? Does it have natural rhythm, or do you have to stop and re-read a phrase to understand it? Are all the words spelled correctly, or did you forget any words? Ask a friend to read your ad with a RED editing pen in hand. Remember, the editor is your best FRIEND who can help you save a sale.
If you struggle with writing, or you can’t seem to find just the right phrase, start by reading others’ ads. I enjoy reading the upscale magazine ads, such as “Fine Homes and Living” magazine in San Diego, and the “Dream Homes Magazine” luxury home ads (http://www.dreamhomes.us). These ads are often written by professional copywriters and are superior to the usual “classified” ad. You can pick up the phrases and cadence of good ad writing -- simply by reading successful ads.
Once your ad is written and published, how do you determine if it is effective? By the responses you get! So track and measure your responses. If you’re not getting the calls from buyers, keep improving your ad each week. Keep in mind that marketing is a continual process; and as a real estate agent, it’s the most critical part of your job. So keep writing and you’ll get great results.
P.S. There are many more things to cover, such as fonts, spacing, graphics, and colors. We’ll save those tips for our next article in this series.
With Gratitude for your support,
Regina P. Brown
Real Estate Broker / Author / Instructor
California Coast & Country Homes, Inc.
