1.
THINK LIKE A COPYWRITER
Well, needless to say, this picture was intended with a healthy
amount of pun. The important message that stands out from this picture is the
glaring fact of how important it is to stay original. It’s a difficult world to
stay original in, given the competition around us. However, for some, being
creative in their presentation has got them the leads they were looking for.
Having said that, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to read a few pages from a
copywriter’s book. The reason why copywriters are successful and of course, we
are talking about the successful ones, is simple. They put themselves in the
shoes of the buyer and position their product according to how they would think
a buyer would look at their product.
A copywriter understands that the audience he is selling his product
have too many choices to deal with and will most likely opt for something which
their eye isn’t used to seeing. Cut the buyer some slack! He has the
responsibility to go through hundreds and thousands of advertisements before
finally choosing the one to his liking. When you are putting out an
advertisement, there are some basic questions you should ask yourself, not as a
seller but as a buyer. They should be something on the tone of:
·
What is so special about your
ad that the buyer looks at it first?
·
Is the offer communicated
attractively enough?
·
What are you offering that
others are not?
Before you put
your ad out there for everyone to see, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to first run
it by some friends or relatives or people who could judge the ad fairly,
assuming the role of potential buyers. This could give you a fair idea of where
you might be going wrong and at the same bring valuable suggestions to make
your ad look more appealing. This simple principle is followed by huge
organizations too, with the simple logic of doing a test run of their product
to gauge buyer response.
Asking yourself
the right questions is also equally important and getting your property sold
would a piece of cake, if you have taken the correct measures. This applies to
listing agents, property developers, fix and flippers and owners looking to
sell their property.
One important
statistic to remember while posting your listings would be that 90% of the
buyers are looking online and 52% of the first time buyers are also doing the
same. This implies the importance of an online presence that one needs to have,
while trying to sell a house. The next important step in posting an ad is to
remember that the wording that you use for your ad matters. Long, lengthy
explanations about your offers is not going to make the buyer visit your ad, he
is more inclined to read the first line of your ad and slowly find himself
gazing into empty space. Buyers don’t want full details on their ads, they can
pick up the phone or meet you in person to get the details, to be able to get
them to do that, it is almost imperative that you make the ad as short and
crisp as possible. It could be two sentences long, but the wording should imply
neither over-selling nor under-selling. It is an art and like any worthy art,
it deserves a certain amount of finesse.
2. HEADLINES MATTER:
Now, isn’t this
a headline you would read? Unfortunately, the real estate industry doesn’t give
us the license to explore the whacky side of the news, being a serious means of
business for many, but this picture does create an important message which is:
CREATE SOMETHING THAT THE BUYER WILL BE FORCED TO LOOK AT. Create a headline
for your listing that goes beyond the known boundaries of advertising.
Sometimes, experimenting, obviously with a certain amount of caution, is not a
bad idea. Whatever is needed to catch the attention of the buyer is considered
valid. However, one should be ethical in their approach while doing so and not
present information which could be inaccurate. This might seem like an easy and
convenient way of luring customers to your advertising, but in a larger sense,
all it does is hurt your credibility.
When you are
selling to a buyer, it is important you think like a buyer. You need to
communicate in a language which is easy to understand for the buyer. For
example, instead of describing just the structure of the house or how many
bedrooms it has, you could spend time on your ad describing how homely the
house is, how the house will suit large families, the amenities that come with
the house, the neighborhood and so on. The headlines should be a one-liner
leading to an apt description on the house. It is also important to be
sensitive to the buyer’s needs. One knows how huge a step it was for us while
buying a house and there is no reason why we shouldn’t show the same amount of
compassion, when it comes to someone else buying a house. Creating an emotional
connect with your potential buyer will always have a larger positive impact on
the buyer.
Let us look at
some examples of the headlines that could attract more people to your
advertisement.
1)
“If you are not willing to risk the usual, you will have to settle
for the ordinary”.
This headline carries with it, a certain amount of obscurity and
could be intriguing to the buyer, as it brings with it, a certain amount of
class, this headline almost sets it apart from the rest, as there is a slight
tinge of sarcasm coupled with an exciting mysteriousness that brings out the
curiosity in you. It is also not a typical seller’s headline which could
automatically be perceived as something “different”.
2)
“A house that appears in every woman’s dream”
There is a huge possibility that if one is married, the woman is
most likely to make the final decision when it comes to the house and as it
should be, the woman is known to have more aesthetic sense than a man. Creating
a headline like this one would naturally appeal to the woman, as she is always
the half that is more concerned with how the house should look from the inside
as well as the outside. With this headline, you are creating a personal connect
with women. It is almost like you are speaking to each woman individually and
there is a higher chance she will visit your advertisement.
3)
“A man is judged not just by the company he keeps, but also by the
house he lives in”
This is an important message as it essentially implies the
importance one places on their position in society; everyone wants to be
accepted in society and makes an effort to establish a certain social status
within their community. A house is an important aspect of one’s personality and
speaks volumes of one’s desire to live well. This particular headline covers
both aspects of his existence and implies a certain amount of confidence in his
way of living.
These are just
some examples which one could think of, while choosing their respective
headlines. Headlines are an important aspect of one’s advertisement and should
be depicted in the most appropriate manner possible.
DESCRIPTIONS MATTER:
Now that we laid
down the importance of catchy headlines, it is equally important to consider
having a good description behind the headline. You might have a good headline
which could make the buyer click on your ad, but if your description borders on
being uninteresting, he may be quick to lose interest. Statistics reveal that
almost 78% of buyers prefer getting to know the company through the content
rather than just advertisements. This proves that the content that you place
along with your advertisement is equally important.
If you are
honest and sincere about your descriptions, buyers or leads will appreciate
that and almost 58% people trust informative content from a website. This
essentially means that they value your sincerity and would be inclined to buy
your house, if they are fully aware of the information you have managed to
provide to them through your apt description. The way you define your content
also shows the level of expertise you have, which could automatically establish
your credibility without you having to work towards it. Descriptions carry
weight and in this case, it is always better to be on the heavier side!
It is important
that you don’t resort to the use of too many abbreviations as this could put
off the buyer. He doesn’t want to waste his time, deciphering the cryptic
language you have decided to use, instead of using simple attractive English
words. The language English flows almost as smoothly as the sea right after a
storm, and using the correct English words in the right places, has the
potential to create that storm. There are too many abbreviations that exist in
the modern concept of English as well as the commercial aspect of it. Instead
of trying to make your work easier, it is always more advisable to completely
avoid the use of abbreviations so as to make your message simpler to the buyer.
A description is
always meant to be long and filled with enough information so as to build
confidence in the minds of the buyer. He has one source of information and
wants to know everything he can, through the one source. The information
displayed should be easy to understand, in simple language, should entail
everything about the house and provide additional information, in case anyone
would like to read that too. We need to
understand that this is a huge decision in one’s life and one should exercise
full transparency while describing the property in discussion. Words have an
excellent way of forming pictures in one’s head and the right kind of words
used would create the right kind of picture. If a buyer visits your house with
a certain picture in his head, that you have created and finds the house belonging
to the same fantasy, he is already sold within the first few seconds of
entering the house.
This is one
example of how a description could look like. http://www.royallepage.ca/en/property/ontario/st-catharines/24-belton-blvd/2958752/mlsn30044183/
·
Just talking about the year
2015, the number of homes sales processed by the MLS systems of Canadian Real
Estate Boards and Associations rose by almost 4.1 per cent in March as compared
to February.
·
The national average price rose
by almost 9.4% on a year-on-year basis in March, this is in exclusion of
Greater Vancouver and Toronto, which increased by 2.4%.
·
The number of newly listed
homes rose 1.8 per cent in March as compared to February.
·
The national sales-to-new
listings ratio was 53.9 per cent in March, up from 52.7 per cent in February
and 50.4 per cent in January.
·
It is important to note that a sale-to
new listings ratio between 40 to 60 per cent is considered consistent with
balanced housing market conditions, with readings above or below this range
depicting the buyers or the sellers markets respectively.
4. PHOTOS
This is perhaps
one of the most important points to consider while presenting an advertisement.
It is a well known fact that pictures speak a thousand words which is why it
becomes all the more important to ensure that your feature image is enticing
enough. While doing so, you shouldn’t add graphics to it as it reduces the
quality of your photo. That will give a wrong impression to the buyer of being
unprofessional or a novice.
Professional
photography not only enhances the quality of your photographs but also gives
the impression that you believe in the best quality possible. This creates a
certain amount of confidence in the buyer, when he comes across your
advertisement. This holds true for both existing as well as potential clients.
When potential clients see how well you market your product to your existing
clients, ensuring brand loyalty, they automatically become your next clients.
Generating
business is always a two way street. Always remember that if you are generating
business for a photographer, he is always bound to return the favor and will
most likely be a good influencer within the buyer circle.
It is important
that you make the right choice while buying a house and you can call on this no
in order to look at the most valuable propositions at an affordable enough
price.
