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Self-promotional real estate copy – remember the basics…

Reblogger Winston Heverly
Real Estate Agent with Coldwell Banker Access Realty 433494

Marte,  consistently has so many great posts and most importantly is terrific about sharing it to us Rainers and beyond. This article has new & exciting information for all the readers to take advantage from. I, myself will be anxious to learn from it! So many times I write blogs and really don't think that it gets the impact that it should. So I love to see re-blogs of popular posts. Thanks again for sharing.

Original content by Marte Cliff

One of the basic rules in writing self-promotional marketing copy is this: Remember that it’s not about you.

 

A few months ago I wrote about an agent who started sending postcards to my son after his listing expireds. Now we've gotten ten of them, and every one violates the basic rule...

Every card begins with "I," and every paragraph is about the agent. Ugh. But he's definitely not alone in this practice. 

When you want to promote your services, it’s easy to mistakenly think that your message should be about you. 

But effective self-promotion is never about you. It’s always about your prospect and the benefits he or she will enjoy from working with you. 

So never, ever begin a marketing message with the words “I” or “we.” And then, I- itisas you get into the body of your copy, strive to use those words sparingly. A good rule of thumb to follow is to use some version of “You” at least 3 or 4 times as often as any version of “I.” Your software should have a “find” feature. Use it to find and count each version of both words. 

If you find you’ve gotten focused on you rather than your reader, turn some sentences around. 

Just to give you an example, here’s a headline from a marketing piece that was sent to me for revision: 

“What We Want Our Clients to Know About Buying a Home”

There are two things wrong with this headline: 

  •       It's about the writers and what they want.
  •         It de-personalizes the message to the reader, because it's focused on some unknown clients.

Here’s a better headline:

"What you need to know about buying a house."

 

See how easy it is to shift the focus from you to your prospect?

Now do the same with your opening paragraph and all the paragraphs that follow…

There IS one exception: Your agent bio. Your readers expect that to be about you. But even there, the overuse of "I" can turn people away. So do remember to focus on how what you do and who you are is a benefit to clients.

marte@copybymarte.com
www.copybymarte.com

Priest River, Idaho
208-448-1479

 

Call on Copy by Marte for:

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Newsletters....Postcards....Custom Prospecting Letters
Articles....Blog Posts....Print Ads

PLUS

Pre-written real estate letters that save you time and money -
and keep you in touch with your prospects.

 

Posted by

P. Winston Heverly, GRI, ABR, SFR, CDPE, CIAS, PA

We service all of Palm Beach County and S. Florida

 

 513 N. Country Club Drive, Suite 200, Atlantis, FL 33462

Office: (561) 247-7376 - Fax: (561) 537-7223 - Cell: (561) 629-2660

Email: PWH@WinstonRealty.co - Web: WinstonRealty

 

Search: Atlantis, Boca Raton, Lake Worth, Palm Beach Gardens,

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P Winston Heverly - Real Estate Agent

MichelleCherie Carr Crowe .Just Call. 408-252-8900
Get Results Team...Just Call (408) 252-8900! . DRE #00901962 . Licensed to Sell since 1985 . Altas Realty - San Jose, CA
Family Helping Families Buy & Sell Homes 40+ Years

Yes, it should be all about the CLIENT, not about the agent.

Dec 22, 2016 11:09 PM
Barbara Todaro
RE/MAX Executive Realty - Happily Retired - Franklin, MA
Previously Affiliated with The Todaro Team

Good mornin, Winston Heverly any blog post written by Marte Cliff is a great read.... thanks for the reblog....

Dec 23, 2016 04:53 AM
Gita Bantwal
RE/MAX Centre Realtors - Warwick, PA
REALTOR,ABR,CRS,SRES,GRI - Bucks County & Philadel

Thank you for reblogging the post. I missed reading the original onej

Dec 23, 2016 07:36 AM
Cheryl Dukes . . . . . Intown Atlanta
Guaranteed Offer for your Home - eXp realty - Atlanta, GA

Good rules to remember when marketing. Excellent choice for a reblog, Winston Heverly

Mar 05, 2017 06:50 PM
The Woodland Team of Texas
The Woodland Companies - Austin, TX
Land Specialists

Hi Winston, I am enjoying going through some of your early blog posts and reposts and getting ready to start doing some posts myself soon.

Dec 13, 2018 10:30 PM