If you’re writing a description for your latest real estate listing you obviously want to provoke a response of some kind from readers. Unfortunately, writing for “response” usually takes a back seat to listing “features”.
Not good. See, without a compelling property description potential buyers might never understand what a gem of a home you’ve listed. Or, even if somewhat interested, may not even bother to contact you for more info.
To increase the responsiveness of your listing descriptions and better connect with readers, follow these 5 tips…
Whether you’re highlighting the listing in an email broadcast, a blog article, even the MLS, it pays to follow these same tips.
1. Make your description approachable
Even great descriptions fail if people don’t read the words. So, split your description into chunks:
- If your paragraph exceeds 4 lines in length, break it into two paragraphs. Large chunks of text are intimidating to the eye…
- Use bullets to present the most compelling points of the home…
- Use ellipses (…) in your sentences and at the end of bullets or paragraphs. They help keep the eye moving…
- Use subheads to break up the text. Simply use an H2 or H3 tags. Even a single bold sentence can do the job.
2. Give your call-to-action early
Let readers know what to do early on. Don’t wait until the end of the property description to say “call me”. It’s best to tell readers how to respond after you present the main selling point of the home.
3. Sell the benefits
If you’ve been involved in sales for any length of time you know that “features tell and benefits sell”. So, when writing your description put those benefits front and center. Now, there’s a bit of a “trick” to doing this…
Wrong: “Solar tubes are installed throughout the house which will help you save money on your electric bill.”
Right: “Save up to $XX on your monthly electric bill thanks to the solar tubes installed throughout the house.”
Position the benefit first, then the feature that delivers the benefit.
4. Talk about the buyer
When someone goes into a hardware store and purchases a drill, what they’re really after are straight, accurate holes. When someone purchases a home, they’re not really buying a house as much as they’re buying a lifestyle.
So, in your description speak less about the home and more about what the home helps the buyer achieve…
Wrong: “This house provides ample room for entertaining…”
Right: “Entertain your friends and family…”
5. Give it the WIIFM test
Everybody’s tuned in to their favorite radio station, WIIFM. What’s In It For Me. Your description should tell exactly what’s in it for the buyer…
Go back over the description and make sure you’re speaking the benefits the buyer will experience from owning the home.
If you’ve done this well, your listing description will help potential buyers build a compelling mental image of themselves living in the home… and they’ll waste no time in contacting you to fulfill that image.
So, what other tips would you add to this list?