Alyce asks, "Do Personal (or Self-Promotion) Brochures Really Have the Power to Sway Buyers and Sellers?"

The other day I wrote a members-only post entitled
"Want to Market to Expireds? Save Time and Effort
by Using This Letter and Including Your
Personal Brochure..."

One of the readers who commented is Alyce Martin (Keller Williams Realty). Alyce asked the thought-provoking question that led me to write this new post. The guide Alyce refers to in her question is my "Copywriter's Guide for Real Estate Professionals - How to Write & Lay Out Your Own Personal Brochure."

Here is Alyce's question followed by my answer ...

"Hello Kay - Thank you for generously sharing your letter. Your guide sounds intriguing. I have never done a self-promotion brochure but I can see the value in using your tips in an "about me" section on my website. Do the self-promotion brochures really sway buyers or sellers? Do you have any feedback?"

Hey, Alyce - Thank you for this excellent question. The "about me" section of a Web site and a personal brochure are two sides of the same coin, with the coin being personal marketing. The differences are that one is written and presented for online consumption and the other is written and presented in hard-copy format for in-person consumption.

Both an "about me" Web page and a print personal brochure serve to introduce you to your prospects, in the absence of your physical presence. And both are needed if you intend to have a complete marketing arsenal (Web AND print).

The whole idea behind personal marketing is not to persuade but to CONNECT. There is a huge difference between these two. And many a so-called personal brochure (or "about me" page) fails because it attempts to persuade when its job is to connect.

An attempt at persuasion (and a feeble one at that) is what's going on when the copy in a personal marketing piece delves into such things as professional designations and their meanings, sales achievements, etc. These are facts. And facts simply do not have the power to connect one human being to another ... the kind of connection that's necessary to BEGIN a relationship with a stranger.

Beginning a relationship with a prospect is the hardest and most expensive step in the sales process. The reason we all love to deal with past clients is because the relationship is already established. The hard part is over. And we love referrals because a relationship already exists, even though it's once removed.

You said you already see the value of personal marketing copy for your Web site. In today's age of social media, it's hard to imagine an EFFECTIVE real estate site that pays little or no attention to the social convention of personal introduction.

And the same is true with print marketing. If you use sales letters or have a print presentation for buyers and sellers, you need a print piece to accompany them that serves the social function of introducing you to your prospect.

Then, with this social convention out of the way, each of your other print pieces can use every word to work in behalf of its goal. In my other post, pairing the expireds letter with a personal brochure removed all burden of agent introduction from the letter. That way, every word of the sales letter could be used to persuade, which is a sales letter's ultimate goal.

Across industries, feedback abounds as to the effectiveness of personal marketing. An instructive example is Subway sandwiches. As a faceless corporation trying to connect on a personal level with individual consumers, Subway gave itself a human face with the story of Jared, the young man who ate a Subway sandwich every day and lost over a hundred pounds. For over ten years now, Subway has made Jared's story its own. It's a simple story and it's a story that connects emotionally, which are the main reasons it has worked so well for so long.

Your Story Paints Your Human Face With Words

Telling an agent's story in an "about me" Web page or in a print brochure paints a human face on what is otherwise the agent's plastic veneer (or mask) of professionalism. On the Web, an effective "about me" page is as successful as the traffic you are able to draw to your site and the ease with which your visitors are able to navigate to find the information they seek.

Also, telling your story in an effective personal brochure is as successful as what you then do with your brochure. No matter how good a brochure is, it accomplishes nothing if it's not used with other marketing and sales tools. It's not a magic bullet. But because of its power to make that crucial human connection, it sets you apart from all the rest and makes you memorable.

Today's marketing adage is "differentiate or die." Only your personal story makes your marketing message different (unique). Your personal story is one of your most valuable business assets.

And finally, any persuasive power a true personal brochure has (true in that it fulfills its goal to connect the agent to prospects by providing a personal introduction), lies in the very fact that the agent has gone to the trouble to have one. The brochure's very existence--assuming that it's well written and pleasing to the eye--speaks VOLUMES to prospects about the agent's professionalism and marketing savvy.

I really didn't intend to turn this answer into a dissertation, but I hope I answered Alyce's question ... and maybe a few others too.

AR Members only: get my free letter to expireds illustrated in the graphic above, CLICK HERE.

If you want to write your own personal brochure and would like some professional guidance, CLICK HERE for my e-book "How to Write & Lay Out Your Own Personal Brochure." It's written specifically for real estate professionals.

Writing for your success,

Kay Steele Faulk
The Real Estate Copywriter

Author of the e-book:
"A Copywriter's Guide for Real Estate Professionals - How to Write & Lay Out Your Own Personal Brochure"
You get the guide plus over $240 in FREE bonuses, including two ready-to-mail letters written by me. Instant download access available for $27. For details or to order, click above link.

For AR Members only: click here to get your FREE letter to expireds.

Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.

Kay Steele Faulk, The Real Estate Copywriter
 Specializing in Real Estate Sales Letters and Real Estate Personal Brochures
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In the Heart of the Mississippi River Delta ~ Lake Village, Arkansas
Direct 870-265-9897  |  Cell 870-265-6266  |  Email kfaulk@InHouseWriter.com