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Real estate copywriting: Boost property sales with the power of words

There’s a strange contradiction that exists in Australian real estate marketing. These days, every real estate agent knows you can’t run a sales campaign without high-class photography. Strangely, though, professional photos are often paired with amateur copywriting.

As an agent, you know real estate copywriting is important – otherwise, you wouldn’t include written ads with all your listings. Yet you may not be giving this important marketing element the attention it deserves. Unless you understand copywriting strategies, and have the time to craft high-quality ads, you’re running a big risk by writing your own sales copy. That’s because:

Weaker listings attract fewer buyers
Fewer buyers create less competitive tension
Less competitive tension generates lower selling prices

That’s why real estate content optimisation is as important as real estate photography.

Don’t believe us? Then visit the websites of Australia’s leading real estate agents and study their listings. As you’ll see, they recognise the value of investing in real estate advertising and SEO for real estate.

The five big real estate copywriting mistakes that are costing you sales

1. Using weak headlines

When a buyer clicks on your listing and scrolls down to your ad, the number one thing that determines whether they keep reading or move on to a rival property is your headline. So it’s vital you take the time to think of a headline that will make them hungry to learn more.

Boring headlines – like “Spacious boutique apartment” – are a terrible form of real estate marketing, because they don’t inspire buyers to keep reading.

By contrast, enticing headlines – like “Discover why this charming cottage is the perfect place to raise a family” – pique buyers’ interest.

2. Failing to highlight your property’s key point of difference

Don’t make the mistake of thinking the more reasons you give people to buy your property, the more persuasive your listing will become. Just the opposite: one big reason is more compelling than lots of small reasons.

So identify the main reason your target buyer would purchase your property – and hit it hard. You should definitely mention it in your introduction; and you should probably mention it in your headline as well.

By all means, mention a few other reasons later on in your copy. But if you want to make more property sales, you should put your biggest reason front and centre. That’s real estate content optimisation 101.

3. Focusing On Dry Facts Rather Than Emotional Stories

People don’t buy a drill because they want a drill; they buy it because they want a hole. Similarly, your buyers aren’t looking for three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a double garage; they’re looking for a lifestyle.

The best real estate marketing focuses less on the home itself and more on how the home will help the lucky buyer live a better life. Experienced real estate writers know that storytelling in real estate is vital; indeed, it’s one of the most important copywriting techniques around.

Don’t worry – you’re still allowed to list all the home’s features at the end of the listing. But the start and middle should focus on the benefits of living in the home.

4. Being Verbose

Saying ‘storytelling in real estate is vital’ is not the same thing as saying ‘use big words and long sentences’.

Buyers don’t want to read pompous, long-winded property descriptions. They much prefer clear, concise writing. (So do you: that’s why you’re finding this blog so readable.)

5. Trying To Sell Rather Than Help

As a real estate agent, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to make property sales. Ironically, though, it’s much harder to achieve your goal if your listings seem ‘salesy’.

One of the most important copywriting strategies to understand – whether you’re writing for real estate or any other industry – is that you achieve more success by educating buyers than ramming your offering down their throat.

To quote sales guru Chet Holmes: “You will attract way more buyers if you are offering to teach them something of value to them than you will ever attract by simply trying to sell them your product or service.”

So shift from writing ‘sell, sell, sell’ listings to helpful, informative listings. This ties in with the earlier advice about highlighting your property’s key point of difference and explaining how it will allow buyers to live a better life.

The Power Of Real Estate Content Optimisation

You don’t print your own signboards, snap your own photos or style your own properties. So you should think long and hard before doing that other key element of real estate advertising – writing property listings. Unless you’re an outstanding writer and understand classic copywriting techniques, there’s a risk you’ll write poor listings that will repel buyers. And that, in turn, could cost you GCI.

That’s why other real estate agents outsource their listings to copywriting agencies that specialise in writing content for real estate agents and SEO for real estate.

Hunter & Scribe is a real estate copywriting and content marketing agency in Sydney that has written high-quality property listings for agents throughout Australia, in both metro and regional markets. Here’s our process:

You give us the property’s address
You tell us your target buyer (e.g. families or property developers)
You send us the key facts about the property (in bullet-point form)

We then use that information to write an enticing property listing for you.

No, we don’t need to visit the property or study the floorplan or even see the photos. That’s because the key to writing a great listing is to sell the dream of living in the home rather than the home itself. That’s not to say the home’s features aren’t important; it’s just that storytelling in real estate will attract more buyers than talking about the Dishlex dishwasher and Bosch oven.

If you’re sick of costing yourself property sales due to low-quality listings, and you want to improve your real estate advertising, you should partner with a copywriting agency that specialises in the property sector, like Hunter & Scribe. Click here to make an inquiry or send us details of your latest listing.