Category: Marketing & ZipTips

Composing Effective Real Estate Flyers – Part 2

As I wrote in the previous post, that pesky character limit the MLS puts on you really stifles your creativity.  You know as well as I do that if they didn’t put a character limit on the listing description that you guys would be writing novellas in there, some with plot twists and everything.  (Don’t forget, I was one of you and I’ve been working closely and directly with you guys for over 11 years now.)

The point I was trying to make in the last post was that you might not want to use the same listing description for the MLS and all of your other marketing, Email Flyers, Printed Flyers, Syndication, etc.  I know, you guys are really busy, and using the same one for everything is easier.  But remember, the agents you are marketing to are busy also.  Get right to the point when you are writing for other agents.  They are busy too and might not want to wade through flowery paragraphs that your potential homebuyer would swoon over.

What?!! OK…

• What do Real Estate Agents with Buyers care about when they look at a flyer? (Feel free to chime in here)
• What would a potential buyer find especially appealing about your listing?
• What does your client think is an important selling point about their house? (Be sure to ask them.)

If I had to put my finger on it I would say that the agents who have trouble here are often just unorganized with this task.  When I was a REALTOR, I did a pretty good job writing descriptions for my listings.  My trick was a steno notepad, small enough to hold and write on as I walked through the house.  (Steno Pad – for those of you under 35, it’s a small spiral notepad… Nevermind, just key it in on your IPhone)

I would start in the street and take notes.   I’d walk all the way through with my client.  I would ask them to tell me things about their house as we went.  I asked them questions and LISTENED the whole time to be sure I didn’t miss a thing:

-Great Curb appeal, corner lot, big trees, sprinklers, nice neighborhood, playground a block away.

Then I’d go inside. As I took notes about the features I also wrote down words to describe feelings I had as I walked through:

–Heavy custom front door. Big entry, soaring ceilings, warm, welcoming, nice colors, impressive….
– Formal Living Room, Big windows, bright happy, gas fp. Lots of room, would hold big furniture, would live nicely, would be great party room.
-Den-office-spare room- glass panel doors, blinds, wainscoting.  A quiet space… great for working from home.
-Kitchen (this is big – spend some time with this so you don’t miss anything) granite, hardwood floors, solid cherry cabinets, undercounter lighting, bright, big, Island with room for seating, stainless sink, fancy faucets, little veggie sink, pot filler, stainless appls stay, disposal, walk in pantry, butler’s pantry… looks like a fun place to cook – glass of wine…

You will never remember all this if you don’t write it down.

So now what?

Composing Effective Text for Real Estate Flyers

You agents are really better at this than you give yourselves credit for. BUT – some of you could use a little help. Many of you call us to voice your insecurities over what you have written in the property descriptions on your Email Flyer. Maybe it’s because you do them so often, you feel like you are repeating yourself. After all – usually most listings have 3 or 4 bedrooms, a nice master, if you’re lucky a gourmet or updated kitchen… What more could you want. I know, I know, you want to make your listing sound special, worth a look.

So you sit at your computer trying to cram all of that wonderfulness into 500 characters to fit into the MLS. Darn! That didn’t fit – so you start eliminating extra spaces and abbreviating all over the place. 4bd/2ba/LR/DR/FP/Mstr/3gar/btva/OMG!!! These abbreviations are ok I guess when you are composing something that other agents will see. After all, if they stare at it long enough, they will probably be able to figure out what the heck you are talking about. BUT – doesn’t the MLS Listing Description find its way to REALTOR.com? Don’t real live human beings, not realtors, read about your listing there? Or at least try to decipher the listing there?

That pesky character limit the MLS puts on your description stifles your creativity. How can you make your listing stand out in 500 characters or less!!

The abbreviated description you write for the MLS, what you put on an E-Flyer to market to other real estate agents and what you want on a Printed Flyer in the flyer box or write for syndication for potential buyers to see are all different from each other, don’t you think?

Wait a minute, you’re thinking. She’s not telling me I need to write different descriptions for my listing is she? Well… yes and no.

More to come.

ZipTip – My flyer looks fine – Well good enough anyway

What’s the big deal? Why should I care so much what my real estate listing flyer looks like? Only agents are going to see it anyway, right??? WRONG!! If you are going to stick your name on a flyer, you need to care about it. Whether you want to use a Zip Your Flyer design scheme, have your assistant make it, or create one yourself, it should look good. When you send out an email flyer or have flyers printed up for the flyer box, it is an extension of your business. If your flyers look sloppy, then you look sloppy. Elements should be aligned properly. Your photos need to look good (that is a topic for another day all by itself). Text should fit the purpose. If the flyer is for other real estate agents — then less is more. Agents are busy. Give them the important information like bedrooms, bathrooms, location, parking, quality, comps … If it’s for the flyer box, or for buyers to see, then get more descriptive. You want them to picture themselves in your listing.

One day, you may find yourself negotiating for your client across the table from an agent who recognizes you from an email flyer. It is far better for your client, if you have left a professional impression all around, don’t you think?

The Email Flyer Subject Line is Important

HELP! What makes a good EMAIL SUBJECT LINE for an email flyer. (This is what recipients see in their email as the subject of the email before they open your flyer.)

Which is better:

Broker’s Open Tuesday October 15th from 1-4 pm.
or
Broker’s Open at Rare Lakefront Resale

The second one is much better. The date and time of the Broker’s Open will be on the flyer. No need to repeat it in the EMAIL SUBJECT LINE. The trick is to get the recipient to open it up and take a look. I always encourage agents to think about what makes their listing special. Maybe a newer built rambler is special in your area, or a water view. You know your market. Take what is special and leave the rest. You want to encourage agents to open up your email flyer. Because once they open it, the listing may just work for one of their clients. If you feel something may not be desirable or in demand with your listing, don’t mention it in the SUBJECT LINE. For instance, if your listing is too far south of downtown, but everyone loves the builder. Have the SUBJECT LINE say: Terrific Chelsea Homebuilders Resale. Agents will open it because everybody loves Chelsea Homebuilders. A nice flyer with good pictures may help overcome the location. If you put the location in the SUBJECT LINE up front, many agents might just not open it.

I am always happy to help if you need some advice on this.

ZipTip – ALL CAPS??

Once the workday starts around here, the ZYF Staff starts chatting.  “Wow, we have a lot of Open House flyers today!”  or “Did you see that we are doing a flyer for George Jones’ house in Tennessee”  then someone else says “Who the heck is George Jones?  Are we out of coffee  creamer?”   Then another says “Man, houses in Texas…Man!”   What he means is that the Texas home on the flyer he is creating costs less than half what it would cost here in our home city of Seattle.   It has always amazed me how much our designers know about the national real estate market.  They recognize value, “a good deal”, they call it.  “That looks like a really good price for that home in Maryland.  Too bad their text is in ALL CAPS.  It’s pretty hard to read.”

I USED TO HAVE THE DESIGNERS CHANGE ALL CAPS TO regular case text, but I learned (more…)