Thread: Paint A Picture - With Words!

There is no doubt that one of the most important aspects of being successful in real estate is your marketing ability. You need to be able to market both yourself and your listings.

So, with the internet becoming one of the fastest growing sources of leads and sales, why do real estate agents do their clients a disservice by under-marketing their homes?

In print media, you are constrained by both cost and the size of your ad. Not so with your web site. In an earlier post, I suggested using 15-20 pictures for each listing so that your visitors get a feel for the home. The next step is to take the time to paint a picture of the home with words.

How can you do this? First, take notes when you do your site inspection - don't rely on your memory. Visit your listing a second or third time if you must. When it comes time to put the info on your site, picture yourself walking or driving into the community, down the road, into the yard, and then a walkthrough of the home. That's another thing - use the word "home" frequently in your descriptions. A house is just another listing - a home is a place to live. Let your visitors imagine themselves living in that home.

For starters, check out this example. Keep in mind that this is a first draft. I posted the rough draft so that you could see my first thoughts in this process. My next step is to punch up the descriptions, and change the text to include words like "you", "imagine yourself", and other descriptors that will capture both the imagination and interest of the site visitors.

Your web site is your most powerful form of advertising - use it!

I always try to paint a full, tour-like picture with my descriptions of my own listings and I take as many pictures as I can & keep the best ones for web site display. However, in my quick market (homes priced right literally sell in one day) I also utilize office listings on my sites. My site below allows all the users of that template host to "share" their listings with the others. So I'm offering up a slew of listings on that site, some I've never seen. I only have control over the ones I personally add.

I'm working on a brand new site but have mixed emotions on how much time I want to spend showcasing listings as:
1. They sell so quickly that if someone inquires about one it's probably sold. I don't remove the listing until it closes but we don't show pending listings.
2. Since our market does move so quickly I definitely need to offer other office listings to make my inventory look like it's enough! I can only use the photos those listing agents provide, & only one other agent in my office takes multiple photos.
3. I'll be moving to a brand new Broker soon that has 1,000's of agents in 10 different offices. We are allowed to advertise all office listings. So I'll either have to decide to showcase, in detail, a handful of listings & offer the rest with less info/pics as I simply won't have enough time to keep adding these new listings & get rid of the closed ones.

So if you see agent's sites & feel they're not presenting their listings in the best way possible, there are area market factors that might be the reason.

Remember - when they are your client you must offer the same level of service. Whatever you do with your web marketing, make sure that you are consistent throughout (unless indicated otherwise in your listing agreement). If one of your seller-clients feels slighted, you may open a can of worms!

I would provide the best, detailed "featured listings" for all of my personal listings and just do the best I can with office listings. I want all of my clients to become "raving fans".

I just wanted to point out how some of our sites work - that not all of the listings featured are our personal listings.

Originally Posted by HHI Golf Guy

There is no doubt that one of the most important aspects of being successful in real estate is your marketing ability. You need to be able to market both yourself and your listings.

So, with the internet becoming one of the fastest growing sources of leads and sales, why do real estate agents do their clients a disservice by under-marketing their homes?

In print media, you are constrained by both cost and the size of your ad. Not so with your web site. In an earlier post, I suggested using 15-20 pictures for each listing so that your visitors get a feel for the home. The next step is to take the time to paint a picture of the home with words.

How can you do this? First, take notes when you do your site inspection - don't rely on your memory. Visit your listing a second or third time if you must. When it comes time to put the info on your site, picture yourself walking or driving into the community, down the road, into the yard, and then a walkthrough of the home. That's another thing - use the word "home" frequently in your descriptions. A house is just another listing - a home is a place to live. Let your visitors imagine themselves living in that home.

For starters, check out this example. Keep in mind that this is a first draft. I posted the rough draft so that you could see my first thoughts in this process. My next step is to punch up the descriptions, and change the text to include words like "you", "imagine yourself", and other descriptors that will capture both the imagination and interest of the site visitors.

Your web site is your most powerful form of advertising - use it!

HHI Golf Guy that is the best example of web marketing I have seen! 5 Stars! Great job that made me feel like I was moved in!

I personally think that pictures should also be sensual. Meaning, they somehow give a feel of comfort, style, etc. It must be natural as possible, not edited, potential customers might end up in dismay if they see a different thing up close.