Why you can sell in person, but your marketing copy fails: You aren't devoting enough hours to writing.
Really good marketing copy looks like it took no effort at all. It appears to be stream of consciousness thinking from you to your prospect.
The truth is – to achieve that effect you have to spend some hours. 
You start with what you want to say – and get it all out on paper. Then you re-arrange it so it makes some kind of logical sense as you progress from one point to the next.
Then you edit and smooth it out.
Most of us throw in a whole lot of "thats," "justs," and other favorite words and phrases from our own spoken vocabularies. They don't add anything to the message, so remove them.
Or we write a long sentence when we could simplify. Here's an example from a site I revised recently:
The original: "In the context of consideration for short sale approval, "hardship" is not defined by law."
The re-write: "Hardship" with regard to short sales is not defined by law.
Some folks use "$40 words" in everyday language. If you do - get them out of your copy.
For instance, "Choosing a real estate agent who possesses experiential knowledge in this particular scenario can be instrumental in developing a resolution strategy satisfactory to all." will just look like a lot of words to many prospects.
Simplify by saying something like "Choosing a real estate agent with knowledge, experience, and a track record of success is the surest route to a successful short sale."
If it's really important, ask for help
Much of what you write – like a blog post or web page copy – can be changed later.
But if you're writing an important piece that can't be changed – such as copy for a print brochure – get one or two other people to read it before you consider it ready for publication. Ask them to look for three things:
- Confusing or unclear points
- Rambling, and unnecessary words
- Typos, doubled words, and missing words
Remember – the writer is the worst person to proofread the copy because he or she already knows what it says. For some reason, that causes the brain to see what was intended rather than what's actually there.
One more thing…
Stay focused. Keep to the point and don't try to cover too much ground in one marketing piece.
And of course... If you don't have the time or don't want to use the time to write your own marketing copy, get in touch.
Writing for real estate professionals is what I do.
For more reasons why your marketing copy might be falling flat, read:
"Excessive Adjectives – too Much of a Good Thing."
Blame Your Fear of Breaking the Law
You aren't addressing your prospects' concerns
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