Many real estate agents and property developers opt to complete their own real estate copywriting, rather than using a professional copywriter. Here are some key ingredients for standout real estate copywriting that we use to get you on par with some of the market leaders in the property industry.
Identify your target market
Are you selling a city apartment to downsizers, or a large family home close to prestigious schools to wealthy Asian families?
Maybe you are selling to investors who are simply looking for a safe return for their self-managed super fund. Either way, your target market will drive the style of your real estate copywriting. Wealthy families look for safety, prestigious schools and location. For these attractive clients, emphasising quality and top tier public amenities is first and foremost. Price is not necessarily an issue with wealthy families and the requirement for household amenities such as tennis courts, spas, saunas and more differs from other property buyers. Wealthy families in particular benefit from copywriting services as they have the means to afford any and all expense in selling their current property or looking for a new one.
Investors also look at strata fees and distance to public transport, whilst downsizers often look for 24/7 security, lifestyle features and convenience. Demographics such as age, financial status, family size and others determine for copywriters what exactly they need to target. What is important is to ensure that the features that are appealing to your target market are highlighted in your sales copy. When drafting real estate copy, keep in mind that simple English is best and a focus on readability is absolutely key. We always engage in short, snappy copy to engage our potential audiences quickly and deliver the benefits of our client’s property or other services.
We can turn your sales descriptions, IMs and appraisals often in less than 24 hours, and they will be ready to upload to relevant websites such as realestate.com.au and domain.com.au. We write each property listing or description with perfect grammar, tone and style, and ensure you don’t get caught up for hours writing copy for each listing. Our clients often underestimate the amount of time and effort for effective copy that not only is memorable but clearly covers all features of a property. We’ll even personally attend the property where possible to ensure we capture all the key points and reassure your vendors that a copywriting professional will be all the difference between a sale and no interest.
Establish a neutral tone
To put it simply, avoid the use of clichés. They have no real place in real estate copy as such terms are usually overused and provoke no reaction from the client. Clichés essentially make your real estate copy look cheap and distract the reader from the message you are trying to convey. They do not differentiate your product from the crowd, and lack innovation. Forget about advertising a ‘renovator’s delight’ or ‘ready for improvement’. Instead, focus on a factual yet elegant style of copy that delivers to the reader the all-important info while conveying a mental image that would induce them to want to live there. At heart, the copy should be a representation of the property that will encourage any interested party to enquire and simply know more.
Keep it simple
Resist the temptation of using overly formal or complicated words when writing real estate copy. Instead focus on writing in a clear, concise and exciting manner. A large percentage of buyers are from non-English speaking backgrounds and don’t like reading through (or simply wont) overly complicated language anyway. Keep the copy exciting and engaging and forget about the fancy words that no one except the writer may know the meaning of. It is always the purpose of the copy to present the basic features of the house below in an entertaining and memorable manner;
- Bathrooms
- Living Rooms
- Kitchen
- Gardens (Both front and back)
- Bedrooms
- Outside deck/patio and pool
In addition, good copy goes hand in hand with beautiful pictures taken of the property with good natural lighting and furnished rooms. Copy is only one part of the marketing approach for any property but an important one that must never be underestimated.
Call us for help
If you are too busy to focus on real estate copy, call us to complete it instead on 0410 448 770.