Today’s message was inspired by an email from a client. I finished her bio last week and she was happy with it. But then… she showed it to a friend.
The friend first said that (at 455 words), it was too long – nobody reads that much any more. Long copy vs. short copy is, of course, the topic of hot debate among both experienced and inexperienced marketers.
“Everybody” says they don’t read long copy, but … tests show that long copy sells more products than short copy. My opinion is that it depends on the quality of the copy and the basic interest of the reader. If the writer rambles on without saying much or repeats the points over and over, it’s boring. Most of us will quit reading. And… If the topic doesn’t interest you to begin with, you won’t read past the first paragraph.
When it comes to agent bios, I believe people only read them because they want to know something about the agent.
When it comes to word count – I think we should write as many words as it takes to convey our message clearly – and no more.
Complicating the issue this year is news that Google favors long copy – such as blog posts with 2,000 and 3,000 words. I’m sorry about that, because I think it leads to boring copy written only to meet word count. (That is NOT to say that some long copy isn’t fascinating – some of it is. Just read The Flooring Girl's informative posts for proof.)
Next, the friend said she should remove the personal details, such as the fact that she has kids, loves dogs, enjoys concerts, and volunteers with some organizations that matter to her.
The friend said that nobody cares about that information – and I disagree.
Rather than explain my thinking in an email, I went back to this 2012 post and sent her a link:
Why Your Real Estate Agent Bio Should Include a Few Personal Details
Have you read real estate agent bios that contain nothing but:
- A statement saying the agent offers "quality service"
- A record of achievements - such as sales awards
- A list of designations
- A list of degrees and/or schools attended
Did any of those bios make you want to hurry out and meet that agent?
Maybe you just said yes. But I'll bet not, because just like resume' fact sheets, agent bios like that are completely lacking in excitement.
There's nothing to demonstrate why that service is "quality."
And unless the reader happened to attend the same schools, there's nothing for a prospect to latch onto to think that the agent is somehow "like them."
None of us wants to do business with a robot. We want to do business with real people who will listen to us, treat us fairly and honestly, answer our questions, and make us feel appreciated.
And often we decide who will fit that description by finding something about them that makes them "like us."
By "like us" I don't mean feel friendly toward us - I mean similar to us. But in reality, the two are connected. When your prospect discovers that you and he (or she) have something in common, they will be predisposed to like you more than they would if they didn't see that similarity.
It could be growing up in the same community - or even the same state. It could be attending the same school. It could be having young children or children about to head off to college. It could be an affinity for dogs, or cats, or horses - or motorcycles. It could be the causes you support, either monetarily or with volunteer work.
It doesn't much matter where they find that common ground, just so they find one. So try to include several possible points of connection.
You don't have to tell your life story, and you don't have to give details. In fact, you can often include two or more connection points in one simple sentence.
For instance: "When Jane isn't busy with clients, she and her husband like to load the kids and dogs into the car and head out to the hills for a day of hiking."
See how many points of connection you just shared?
- Married
- Children
- Dog lover
- Physically active
- Nature enthusiast
This is easy to do. In fact, I'll bet you could write a sentence within the next 3 minutes that would give readers two or more reasons to connect with you.
Then if you want to take it a step farther, you can include a sentence or two about how things you learned in a prior career make you a better agent, or tell a short story about what led you to a career in real estate.
If you'd like to see examples of how I insert personal details into agent bios, visit my bio page and follow the links.
For additional posts about real estate agent bios, click here.
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