Sep
24
Is blogging right for you?
While I’m a big fan of blogging as a way to get content online, I don’t think it’s the ULTIMATE way of having a web presence for real estate agents.
Why? Simple. Blogs don’t suit every personality.
You might be a writer. Then again, you might not be.
You might be a good communicator. And you might not be.
You might prefer speaking over writing. Or not.
You might be a self-starter. Or not.
You might be starved for time. Or not.
You might have thick skin. Or not.
You might enjoy reading. Then again, maybe not.
You might have the stamina. Or not.
Where you fall in these two columns depends on lots of factors, but namely your personality. In other words, you have to decide that for yourself if blogging fits your personality.
However, if you’ve come to that point in your career that blogging, indeed, suits your personality, then this post is for you. Here are nine ways in which blogging can help you and your real estate career.
1. Attract a New Market.
No surprise here, but the new savvy home buyer and seller is online. Googling for homes to buy. And real estate agents to work with. And more.
People are also searching for answers. You have to be the person who answers those questions.
2. Dominate Search Results.
So, a blog will allow you to write content about how to buy a home, stage a home or finance a home…typical needs home buyers and sellers have.
In other words, you write posts about ways you can help people.
And you want a page from your blog to appear in the top ten of search results. More pages with more inbound links equals greater chance you land on that coveted first page for that keyword. That’s how you dominate search results.
3. Establish Your Authority.
Published online content–at first blush–equals instant credibility. But there’s more to it than this. I’ll explain in a minute.
4. Sharpen Your Writing Skills.
Within four seconds people decide if the page is worth their time and attention. The more you write, though, the better you become. And people start to recognize your talent. Thus, your credibility grows.
5. Engage Your Prospects in a Wider Discussion.
Did you touch upon an issue in a meeting you would’ve liked to have gone deeper but couldn’t because of time? Blog it.
Local issue that’s abuzz in your community? Blog about it.
Then there’s popularity contest you could play. A sure winner for drawing readers.
6. Clarify Points.
Maybe you said something in a networking event or negotiations that wasn’t clear. Or drew criticism. Blog it. Systematically and clearly. Why? See point 4.
7. Do More.
Wanna start a discussion about a topic but don’t want to mess with the logistics of actually bringing warm bodies together? Blog it.
You can use your blog as a forum and invite your prospects to join a certain topic–new development or a slumping market. Think online small group.
8. Build a Reputation.
This is similar to authority. The difference is that authority is instant credibility. The certificate you see on the wall certifies your doctor is legit. That’s authority. Your best friend raving about the best MD in town…that’s reputation.
You want both.
9. Stretch Your Skill Set.
Launching a blog is easy. Still, it contains challenges and new ground to cover–from the hard [minor technical tweaks] to the soft [replying to criticism].
Thus, rounding out your real estate career set with blogging skills can be an added bonus for younger generations who grew up with blogging and social media. Something to consider.
Please note that these are in order from what I think is most important to the least important. Building an online presence and generating more traffic is a good reason to start a blog. Better than simply stretching your skill set.
But they’re all good things–both professionally and personally.
I’m sure there are plenty of other reasons why or ways that blogging can help your real estate career. Can you share some?
Did you find this article helpful? If so, leave a comment or subscribe to the real estate marketing Blog by email or news feed.
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Jan
15
One of the Oldest Web Writing Guidelines
Filed Under SEO, Uncategorized, blogs | 1 Comment
The inverted pyramid. An age-old journalistic trick. And the blogger’s best friend.
Some think it’s worthless. Others alter it. Yet, anyone who writes online–including you–will find it’s the most effective formula in your arsenal.
In fact, it’s critical in any search engine optimization strategy you have.
What Is the Inverted Pyramid?
Essentially, the inverted pyramid style means that you give the most important or interesting details first, and then continue to dribble less important information throughout the body of the content.
Ideally, you’ll want to give the most important content in the first paragraph, and save the least important content for last.
The first sentence should answer the two most important questions about the subject of your content: Who and What.
The Who is who your page is about–be it a person, a resource or a place—and the What is what happened to that person, business or place.
The inverted pyramid can help your SEO copywriting endeavor in two ways:
1. The most important information is mentioned at the very start, thereby helping the readers understand the summary of our webpage.
2. Your most important keywords (which will necessarily correlate with the most important information) get displayed at the top. Thereby increasing the chances that the search engines take notice of our web page.
Why Is SEO Important?
This may seem like a strange characteristic of a real estate website, but it’s actually crucial: Search engines, in addition to page content, look at the number of links pointing into Web pages.
Often, the more inbound links a Website has, all other things being equal, the higher in the search rankings it will appear.
By providing creative, unique and regularly updated content on your website or blog, other people will want to link to your site.
But optimizing your website for both search engines and people needn’t be a trade-off.
Where’s the Balance Between SEO and People?
There’s significant overlap between the tasks required to reach these two objectives, and this overlap can be used to our advantage.
It shouldn’t be too challenging to create a Website that users can find easily via the search engines, and use once they reach it.
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Jul
16
Do You Use These Bill Jayme Techniques When Writing?
Filed Under Real Estate Copywriting, Real Estate Marketing, blogs | Leave a Comment
Everyone must write. Whether it’s an email, postcard or blog post, you have to write. It’s one of the most important things you can learn.
Writing overflows to most of what you say or do. And it can make the difference between appearing like a Stanford graduate versus a high school drop out.
But if you want your writing to persuade, compel, encourage or convince everyone, all the time–then you need to write like Bill Jayme.
Who Is Bill Jayme?
The late Bill Jayme was one of the greatest direct mail copywriters of the 20th-century.
He wrote persuasive direct mail letters for magazines like Business Week, Smithsonian and Esquire. Commanded $20,000 to $40,000 per letter he wrote [this is back in the 60s, 70s and 80s]. And had powerful publishers flying to California begging him to write a subscription letter for their magazine.
Why?
Jayme had a way of making friends with the reader. Of respecting his intelligence. Of always being fascinating. And selling ever so gently.
Copywriter Gary Bencivenga said “I don’t think anyone could match his record of control packages in the magazine field. He had such an erudite flair for capturing the essence of a magazine and making you want to be part of its magical circle.”
So, how do you write letters, emails or blog posts that make people want to be part of your magical circle? Master these seven techniques Bill Jayme used religiously.
Arouse Curiosity with Mystery and Intrigue
In direct mail, your outer envelope is the place you arouse curiosity. In blogging, it’s your headline. Email, subject line.
Jayme’s teaser copy almost always compelled people to rip open the letter and read the copy inside. He did this by asking questions like the Psychology Today headline:
“Do You Close the Bathroom Door Even When You’re the Only One Home?”
Or leaving a cliff hanger: “The problem was Mrs. Eggers was no bigger than a minute….”
Understand, Jayme’s creative ideas came from tireless research. He studied to learn what worked and didn’t work. He didn’t depend on inspiration, whiskey or cocaine.
In the same way, hard work will help you create a promise or story line that people cannot resist.
Involve the Reader
Getting your reader to think about doing something is a great way to get readers into your blog post, email or letter. Getting them to actually do it will lift response even higher.
Think psychological profile.
Ask questions like: “Do you go to the movies alone?” or “Do you feel awkward when you are talking on the phone naked?”
Include two or three dozen yes or no questions and you’ve got yourself a winner.
Create Urgency
Jayme once said that the concept of urgency should be part of every package. Jayme’s favorite way to create urgency was through scarcity:
“Only so many copies printed each month, no more.” Variations to this theme abound.
- Only so many hours I can spare in a month, no more.
- Only so many invitations printed a year, no more.
- Only so many clients I can juggle a month, no more.
- Only so many subscriptions I can manage a week, no more.
The point: Create the impression that if someone doesn’t act now, then he’ll be left out in the cold.
Elevate the Status of Your Service to Something Else
This is by far the most intriguing Jayme idea: transubstantiation.
One of Jayme’s greatest examples of transubstantiation came through a letter selling a course on mastery of personal computers.
Instead of talking about drives, RAM, OS, coding or programming, Jayme focused on the deeper benefits of personal computing: Success.
Jayme’s letter begins:
You know it. I know it. Everyone knows it. If you’re planning to succeed in business over the coming decade, you’ve now got just two choices left. You can come to terms with the computer. Or you can marry the boss’s daughter.
He’s not selling features or facts. He’s selling a new life.
Say FREE Six Ways to Sunday
Does the word “free” still work in on our sophisticated society? Undoubtedly. Even among luxury clients.
“When something is free, say it six ways to Sunday,” advised Jayme. “For example: ‘Free gift comes to you with our compliments gratis—on the house. It’s yours to keep as an outright present without cost or charge—not a penny!’”
Don’t ignore this copywriting staple. And if you don’t believe it has the power to persuade, go ahead and test it yourself.
Avoid the Boring
In other words, get provocative. Write stuff that elevates people’s blood pressure. Get’s them dreaming.
Use words like sex, death, naked or free.
Think “Confessions of a Naughty Negotiator.” Or “20 Reasons Why So-and-So Is Dead Wrong about Real Estate.” Or “Why Don’t Home Sellers Know These Facts?” Or “14 Things FSBOs Aren’t Telling You.”
Stir the pot and you’ve got yourself a killer blog post, email or letter.
Target, Target, Target
Know who you are talking to. And make sure you clear the mud from the windshield for them.
Jayme developed a knack for identifying the audience–and the reason why the magazine was ideally suited to them–in his copy, right up front.
For instance, the teaser copy for a promotion for Coastal Living straightforwardly says: “If you love the shore, this new magazine will do you a world of good.”
Five words–”If you love the shore”–told you if the magazine was for you. Do the same for your blog readers. Or email subscribers. Anyone you’re writing to.
More of Jayme’s techniques can be found in The Bill Jayme Collection.
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May
29
How to Write a Damn Good Email Subject Line
Filed Under Email Marketing, Real Estate Marketing, blogs | 5 Comments
Stop. I know what you’re thinking.
You think email is lame, backwards and not worth your time. If that’s you, think again. I’m about to turn everything you knew about email newsletters on its head.
In fact, I’ll go so far as to prove to you that not only is email better than the “new” technology like blogging, but email newsletters are more essential than blogging. Let me explain.
Email: The Most Powerful Internet Marketing Tool for Real Estate
Don’t get me wrong: social media is important. James Carey, Columbia University journalism professor, said this about the absolute human need of community:
“Man is a diurnal creature. He’s up during the day. He sleeps at night. And he has to sleep somewhere. And because he’s vulnerable, he sleeps in a shelter. And then other people come and sleep in their shelters nearby. And before you know it, they realize they will be safer if they join together. Next thing you know, they have a police force, and someone picks up the garbage.”
This may explain why social media is so hot. Social media like blogs.
How hot?
In February 2007 the Gallup News Service estimated that 57 million Americans read blogs. Somewhat astounding in a nation of over 300 million.
However, to put that in perspective, read this: The same Gallup poll found that reading blogs is far less popular than email. Approximately 87% of Americans read emails.
That’s roughly 261 million people. And that makes email ubiquitous, relevant and one of the most powerful real estate marketing tools on the Internet.
Four Principles You Must Know Before Writing Truly Great Emails
Crafting an email is pretty easy, right? Slap some copy in a message and hit “Send,” right? Dead wrong.
There’s four basic things you need to know up front about writing compelling and powerful emails.
- Nearly half of email readers look at just the first few lines they see in the preview pane to decide if they want to continue reading the message. Less than a third will read the whole thing.
- According to Loren McDonald at EmailLabs, 75% of email readers who use the preview pane use it in a horizontal format and most often see either 4-5 inches deep of content (44%) or 2 to 3 inches (41%).
- The average time allocated to a email newsletter after opening it is only 51 seconds says Jakob Nielson.
- People are highly inclined to skip the introductory, happy talk in newsletters. Happy talk, you know, “Welcome to my newsletter. Thank you so much for reading.”
The takeaway from these four bullets: your subject line and early sentences have to hit hard, fast and furious, or the entire email newsletter will not survive inbox congestion.
The Unique Relationship Between Email and SEO
Here’s something else to take into consideration: With more email services offering large amounts of gigabytes to store emails, users are archiving more.
However, doing this adds to their information overload. But, it enhances the value of email. That means email newsletters are now part of someone’s personal inventory.
How this can work in your advantage is that these emails will be found when people search their inboxes .
And like Jakob Nielson said, “And although your newsletters don’t need full-fledged search engine optimization, you should consider how users might want to retrieve old issues in the months or years to come.”
That’s why one of the most important components of successful email newsletters is the subject line.
Introducing the Art of Writing Microcontent
Subject lines are part of what online writers call “microcontent.”
In a nutshell, all microcontent needs to be clear, concise and compelling. Usually under 140 characters. Think summary. Think keywords. Think subject line. Think Twitter. These are examples of microcontent.
With the subject line you get about 40 to 50 characters to explain your macrocontent–what your email is about.
So no matter how persuasive and electrifying your email is, unless the subject line makes it absolutely clear what the email is about, people will never open it.
The Essence of Writing Subject Lines That Capture Attention
Subject lines should say something valuable, timely or important. It should say “If you don’t open and read this email, you’ll miss out on something big.”
Subject lines should also work in tandem with the from line. Save the From line for your or your company’s name.
Subject lines must intrigue people the same way a well written headline does. It must stroke the right emotions.
Indeed, subject lines are a major driver of click-through rates, as they “direct” people to pay attention to specific articles, offers and information. Every email you send should have an implied strategy behind it.
Subject lines must recognize this and “speak” to the needs and interests of your people as individual customers, readers or prospects.
As a result, the job of a subject line now must not only entice someone to open an email, it must discourage the recipient from deleting it as an unwanted email. You must plummet something deep into people’s psyche with your subject line. Something that makes people restless until they read your email.
To do that, follow these 13 tips:
1. Personalize
Don’t put something generic like “Loren, Your Personalized May Newsletter.” Make it specific to them, their business or their life. Know thy customer.
2. Segment
Each segment should receive appropriate and different subject lines. This is related to personalizing, but deserves it’s on line. Segmenting and creating subject lines to your readers’ interests should improve open and click-through rates.
3. Use a Consistent Style
After testing and learning what style works best for your audience, stick with that approach: humorous, provocative, incentive-based or tip-oriented.
4. Have Someone Else Write, Edit or Review Subject Lines
Have someone other than you write, edit or at least review the subject line. Use this person like a newspaper story editor who will push your copy to new heights of relevancy and interest.
5. Send Subject Lines to Yourself
One of the best gauges of the strength of a subject line is to send sample emails with different subject lines to yourself. What kind of response do they warrant when they arrive in your inbox: “holy mother of God!”, “Boring.” or “hm, interesting, I’ll read later”?
6. Watch Your Own Inbox for Good Subject Line Ideas
The greatest inspiration for writing subject lines may come from watching your own inbox.
7. Track and Measure What Works Best
Track and analyze the type of subject lines that produce the best open and click-through rates. Open rates are the most obvious measure of the success of subject lines, but click-through rates are also an important measure of how well the subject line drove people to take action and click on a specific link.
8. Tie Subject Lines Into Current Events
A news angle is especially effective when promoting real estate offers affected by current events on a daily basis.
“How to Stay One Step Ahead of the Latest Fed Rate Cut to Get a Deal of a Century” is a good example.
9. Test Short Versus Long
I’ve heard that subject lines of less than 50 characters achieve higher open rates than those of 50 or more characters. That being said, there is much debate about shorter versus longer subject lines.
If you can, test various lengths and words to see what generates the best results with you.
10. Avoid The Generic and Boring
Don’t be afraid to be very specific in subject lines. Broad and generic subject lines: Bad, terrible, lazy and emails with such subject lines deserve banishment. Your subject line should be as narrow and specific as possible to generate interest and action from a majority of people.
11. Write It First
Perhaps the most common mistake marketers make is waiting till the last minute to write their subject lines. Don’t. Jt down multiple potential subject lines for your email early in the game. Never start from scratch at the last minute.
12. Push the Frickin’ Envelope
Don’t be afraid to try subject lines that are more aggressive, creative, tantalizing, specific or controversial. Of course, test everything.
13. Test, Test and Test!
Like every facet of email marketing, the most certain way to know if something is working is to test it. And email subject lines are the easiest thing to test. Split your email subscriber list in two, send one list one subject line, the other list a radically different subject line. Once you’ve discovered the winner, continue to test and tweak that subject line.
Conclusion
Still think email’s a backwater cousin to blogging?
Consider this: outside of traffic, subscribers and click through, the real ROI of blogging has yet to be cemented. Email, on the other hand, can give you cold, hard facts about the effectiveness of your campaigns quickly.
Sure, blogging has important intangibles that you must cultivate. But I wouldn’t depend on it to feed my family.
Leave a comment if this post was helpful or if you have anything you’d like to add. And if you like what you read, subscribe to the Real Estate Marketing Blog.
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Feb
15
10 Easy but Essential Tricks to Persuasive Real Estate Blogging
Filed Under Real Estate Copywriting, Real Estate Prospecting Ideas, blogs | 4 Comments
Amazing, isn’t it? How when you listen to one of your favorite bloggers and you say to yourself:
“Why didn’t I think of that? It seems so obvious…so easy.”
The masters of blogging–people like Brian Clark, Leo Babauta, Hanan Levin–always seem to come up with the perfect phrase…a few words…sometimes even just one word…that grabs you by the lapels and drags you into their post.
The perfect words make you want to read whatever they’re writing before they’ve even mentioned what it’s even about.
It’s the art of persuasion. Right?
But let me assure you right now that it’s less of an art and more of a science.
The art of persuasion is something you can learn. And the good news is the fundamental building block to any good persuasive writing–or speaking–is simply rapport.
And to build that rapport, you need to cultivate behaviors that will make people trust you and make them feel it’s in their best interest to follow your lead in what Greg Swann called the larger conversation of the blog sphere.
So, with that in mind, here are some ideas, big and small, for making yourself more persuasive:
1. Before you write a blog post, ask yourself “What do I really want out of this post?”
Ask soul-searching questions to understand your true motivation: money, fame, power. You’re looking for what makes you tick, what drives you. But you’re also looking for the purpose, the plan and the result. This is really a question you need to ask yourself long before you even record your first post so you know the direction you want the blog to go. That’s planning on the micro level. Planning for each post is on the micro level.
2. Develop the knack for making the other person feel like the center of the universe.
You’re blog post is not about you. Period.
3. Be quick to compliment.
If someone leaves you a comment, thank them. Especially if they are a first time visitor. And comment on other people’s blogs. Wait, that’s the next point…
4. Train yourself to visit other people’s blogs. And leave comments.
If you want comments on your blog…you have to leave comments on other blogs. Also, making your daily rounds on the real estate blogging circuit help you to note what people are talking about…which leads into my next point.
5. Listen to anybody with an idea. And see how you can help them.
Follow the maxims of legendary 3M leader William McKnight: “Listen to anybody with an idea. Encourage experimental doodling.”
And get involved. If you come across a blog that is interested in working on joint projects, email them and share your idea. If you don’t have an idea, tell them you be interested in doing some of the legwork.
6. Try to arouse positive emotion.
When writing blog posts, avoid negative emotion. You know what negative emotion is? Just read the Fox News home page and you’ll see what I mean.
People respond better when you give them positive, life-fulfilling information. Stuff that builds on their business, their lifestyle. Granted, always harping on the doom of the housing market will attract a crowd…but it will probably be a crowd of pessimists.
You, my friend, are better off being an optimist.
7. Take a clue from your audience.
Occasionally ask for feedback after your posts. Encourage people to give you thoughts about what they’d like to here. Keep an eye on your analytics, like news feed subscriptions, page visits and posts-to-comment ratio.
Really make an effort to communicate in a manner that matches your message to the receiver.
8. Hone your sense of humor.
It really, really helps if you are witty or clever.
9. Practice being a better questioner.
Follow up all posts by asking, “What do you think? Was this blog useful?”
Better yet, ask more pointed questions at the end of posts to root out opposing thoughts. You might have a good idea, but with the help of someone else arguing for a differnt side of the coin…you might unearth the best idea.
10. Keep your perspective.
Remember: Even though you’re passionate about your point of view, lighten up. Tomorrow’s another day-and another opportunity to persuade.
Well, that’s it. Leave a comment if this post was helpful or if you have anything you’d like to add.
If you haven’t already, subscribe to the real estate marketing Blog today either by email or news feed.
Dec
28
11 Guilt-Free Tips to Making Your Blog Posts Sexy
Filed Under Real Estate Marketing, blogs | Leave a Comment
For some reason, sex sells…and real estate agents get way up in arms over it.
Seth Godin says objectifying women is a short cut to cash [one only has to look to Hugh Hefner]…a short-cut people are tiring of.
Of course, ten, fifteen years ago [or was it thirty?] Gary Halbert, crudely and crassly…but classical in form…said the quickest ways to boost sales for a product was to put a photograph of a woman in a bikini in the ad.
Keep in mind, this will not work for all products.
Ogilvy points out in his book Ogilvy on Advertising that sex has has to be pertinent to the product.
Read: will work for Viagra. Will not work for a rotor rooter.
I lean towards the view point that sex in ads degrades women and is not a healthy strategy. I certainly wouldn’t want my daughter nor my wife posing half naked on a magazine spread or website. Or billboard.
Or a blog.
But that’s neither here nor there…
My real point about this post is how to format your blog posts so that it is attractive to your readers…
So that it captures their attention and forces them to review what you wrote.
With that in mind, here are 11 tips to help you write with flair and make your posts appealing, approachable and seductive.
1. Use short sentences. People crave brevity. Especially on the web. And like it or not, people read best at about a fourth grade comprehension. So short sentences are key. Especially on the web: in fact, people scan. Short sentences makes it easier.
2. Write short paragraphs. Copywriting is in my blood. So everything I write flows from that. Thus you’ll constantly see tiny paragraphs…sometimes only one sentence long.
This is also a trick newspapers like. Just look at USA Today.
People can scan short paragraphs. And scanning is the presiding world view for most online readers today.
3. Bold important thoughts. As the eye scans your post, it is looking for important information. Make important information abundantly by bolding it.
Also, look to have your bolded sentences and phrases tell a story in themselves. As best as you can.
4. Use Bullets and Numbers. Any lists you provide should be bullets or numbers. Think a litany or a grocery list: easy to remember.
5. Strike hard with action verbs. Start sentences, lists with verbs. And not just any verbs. Verbs that resonate, thunder, strive, yearn, force. Verbs that work hard. Verbs that will manhandle people into slowing down and reading what you wrote.
Arresting attention is what you want.
6. Confuse people. “Rub a chicken against your ear. Now go buy my book.”
Joe Vitale, the so-called hypnotic copywriter, uses this technique because “confusion will arrest people. It will cause them to stop and scratch their head. That’s why after the confusing phrase you insert the most important piece of information…and that point you know people are paying attention.”
7. Pepper your post with ellipsis. This is an ellipsis …. It’s a suggestion of a pause in speech. It’s a suggestion that there is more to come. Something you can’t do with out…
It naturally leads the eye along the path of the sentence…
And encourages the eye to clamber down to the next line. Which brings me to my next point…
8. Mimic conversations. In other words, ignore the rules of grammar. Start sentences with verbs. Rely on the implicit “you.” Abuse punctuation! Kick off sentences with the words “and” and “but” and “also.” However…
Remain within the boundaries. Otherwise it will back fire on you.
If what you write is obscure or artsy, people will turn their noses up at you.
Your best course of action is to listen to conversations. Don’t always be the person who dominates at the dinner table. Let others speak. And spy on other conversations.
9. Employ sub headlines. Sub headlines work like the sentences you bold…easy to scan and tells a story.
A reader should be able to scroll down your post and gather the important points immediately.
From the important points they’ll then decided if they want to read the post carefully.
10. Publish provocative photographs. Tech geek blogger Robert Scoble once shared his method to work effortlessly through 600 blogs in about 10 minutes…
One of the things that caused him to slow down as he jogged through his RSS reader where photographs.
The eye naturally sees something visually stimulating and tells the hand to stop. If the headline is compelling, Scoble looks for more clues to whether he wants to read more of the post or not.
What are those other clues? Read on…
11. Embed links in your posts. Greg Swann once nailed me on the absence of links in one of my posts. He said I was “inaudible to the conversation,” meaning, in essence, not sharing my sources…
And sharing your sources adds credibility.
Robert Scoble also said “It shows that someone took time to write the post. Demonstrates he did his homework.”
Links demonstrate your post was thoughtful and planned. That it is worth the time to read and not just some random brain dump.
Calculation and research, oddly enough, seduces people, my friend. Gets them to pay attention.
Final Thoughts and One Suggestion
As is shown in the Scoble video, not one single element here will make your blog posts sexy to readers.
In truth, it will be a combination. Employ more of these elements and the better you will do.
And finally, if you write and have not read The Elements of Style, read it this weekend. It’s the single greatest book on writing that you’ll ever read. And it will take you less than four hours.
Enjoy!
Dec
20
How to Settle the Long v. Short Web Copy Debate
Filed Under Real Estate Copywriting, blogs | Leave a Comment
This is a topic that has been around for awhile: long v. short articles as web content strategy.
Yet, yesterday someone new in our web department asked me what I thought about the long v. short copy debate on the web.
Of course as a copywriter who has specialized in the web for the last seven years, I had just a little to say…
…and whether you are a blogger or copywriter churning out ad pieces for your business or any kind of persuader…
You can learn something from copywriting.
Here are my thoughts.
I’m familiar with the top 8 reasons why copywriting is important to real estate, and I do recommend them.
I think what you’ll find as you dig deeper you’ll discover that people will disagree on short v. long copy on the web…but in general compelling long copy will out duel compelling short copy, even on the web.
Here’s what you have to keep in mind, though:
Test Everything
And here’s the thing about long copy: long copy for the sake of long copy is not right.
When a copywriter says long copy works better than short, what he should be saying is “I want to lay out every single benefit I can to a reader…leaving nothing behind because I have only one shot at this. And if it takes 5 pages to do that, why wouldn’t I write five pages?”
A sales man would never go into a presentation and give the ten minute version when it really takes an hour to present.
Neither would you pencil in just five minutes to rehab an alcoholic.
But if the writer can layout a compelling argument in half a page, he should do so. Most of the time the length of the copy is determined by the complexity of the product/service and the offer.
If you are giving away a free book, 3 pages might be excessive.
Where You Spend Most of Your Time…and It’s Not at the Keyboard
But if you are trying to talk people into parting with money, say for contributions or to buy a house or trust you as their agent or buy a book, 3+ pages is probably the minimum you could get away with.
Again, depending on the complexity. And you have to test and see what works.
If the 3 pages doesn’t work, then you are not hitting people’s pleasure/pain buttons. Back to the drawing board.
Which means writing compelling copy is more about research rather than writing. You can really never prepare enough.
I’ve known successful writer’s to spend weeks researching before touching the keyboard. They don’t until they have that ‘ah ha’ moment.
And usually when they have that moment, the piece writes itself. This is pretty much my process, too.
The Mindset You Must Have
Picture yourself trying to lead someone from an addiction to alcohol.
It could take fifteen minutes, half hour or hour. A day. Weeks. Probably, though, months. Even years.
But you always give them what they want when they ask for it. And you always try to figure out what will resonate with them.
The thing with print/web copy is you have to think ahead and answer all the questions you think they might be asking, most important, “What’s in it for me?”
Then in the copy you have to answer those questions with enticing benefits…because this might be your only shot at having their attention.
It might take you ten questions. 20. 30. Or even 50.
You don’t know what they are going to ask for sure. So you ask them all (maybe).
You have to have available that one question that might make them go, “That’s it.”
Why People Stop Reading Your Blog or Sales Letter
It’s likely though that most people will not read every word. Especially on the web. People scan.
That is why potent headlines and sub headlines are important. To draw in those scanners.
As far as clicks, etc. what you have to keep in mind on the web here is there has to be a marriage between reader friendly web design and persuasive copy.
Think about online newspapers.
Most articles are broken into pages. They are never a single page. (Unless the article ends above the fold.) And because readership is very important to newspapers, they probably found breaking pages up improves important metrics of readership.
Furthermore, print sales letters are broken up into pages. As are books. (Doesn’t there seem to be an argument for everything?)
But here’s the point I wanted to get to: the reason people stop reading a sales letter, article or book is not because they have to turn the page or click to the next…we lose people because the copy isn’t compelling.
You are right when you say that “the user feels more ‘accomplished’ by browsing / clicking-thru” and good web design tries to accommodate this.
See, the marriage comes when the copy is persuasive. When the monkey with the red fez can EASILY follow the banana.
Personally I find one long page of copy exhausting and intimidating. And I’m not alone, as copy blogger Brian Clark explains in his post The Death of the Long Copy Sales Letter.
But here’s the thing: I’ve clicked through 8 pages of news articles I found fascinating. I’ve scrolled through very persuasive sales letters online that when printed equal 16-21 pages.
Thing is, I’m sure these people have tested the layout, one single page v. 4 web pages…and found where they get there better response.
They tested to see what works.
To Drive My Point Home
The reason I ever bought a product online or read an entire article is not because it was long or on one page.
I bought because I got an emotional charge out of it…found it compelling…convinced I couldn’t live without it.
A great writer constantly struggles with this thought: is this the least bit compelling, passionate?
It gnaws at him.
That’s why human psychology and emotion are so important to copy.
We have to know what plucks people’s heart strings. Constantly.
That’s why, if you are going to write a five page article or letter, every sentence counts.
Here’s the thing: we are missing opportunities when we make categorical statements like long copy on one page is better than short without explaining why…and without ever testing the boundaries.
In summary, the first order of business, is to make sure the piece is compelling and passionate.
Then we can talk about layout, length or page breaks.
Dec
19
This Blog Is Ranked Top 50 Best Real Estate Marketing Blogs
Filed Under Real Estate Marketing, blogs | Leave a Comment
Thanks to the people over at International Listings for creating a list of the top 50 real estate marketing bloggers.
We ranked number 46…
Just before Renderings, a blog by a real estate marketing agency and just after RSS Piece, a firm that builds SEO enhanced web sites for real estate agents.
Granted, International Listings didn’t number based upon a ranking system. What they did very nicely was put each blog in a category and then list the bloggers alphabetically.
Very nice indeed.
Thank you very much for the love, International Listings!
Nov
28
I just learned this morning that last week’s post Naked Conversations: The Lynchpin to Your Real Estate Blog won Bloodhound Blog’s Odysseus Medal for the week of Thanksgiving.
Too cool.
And trust me when I say it is humbling because I simply love to write and to share ideas with agents and help them grow their business…and for it to come back with an honor like this blows me over.
Thank you everyone who subscribes and reads. This would be impossible without you.
It’s even more humbling to think my post The Curious Secret to Getting People to Believe You won the People’s Choice Award back at the end of October.
One thing this does is encourage me to work on this blog even harder.
It’s part of my nature to be motivated by these kinds of awards, and to then work my tail off to beat my previous accomplishments.
But not simply in self interest. These have to add value to you.
So, help me with that and let me know what you’d like to hear.
If I don’t hear from you I have to go by my gut. I have to go by what seems to be working based on my most commented posts and my posts that attract attention and awards.
I’d rather you lead me than my nose lead me [subtle hat tip there to the Bloodhound blog. Get it?]
Take care and looking forward to hearing from you!
Nov
23
Black Friday Link Mashup: Blog Strategy Happy
Filed Under Networking, Strategy, blogs | Leave a Comment
Outside the obligatory first link on Black Friday by Seth Godin, this post is about all the nice links that will help you with your real estate blog strategy.
[And by the way, happy shopping!]
Seth Godin: Create panic by making your customers uncomfortable.
Are you using the right content development strategy for your blog?
I’ve previously talked how content needs to capture attention, a scarce asset in the today’s accelerated information economy. [via doshdosh]
Value Blogging In: Less Writing, Higher Quality
How I Built 10,000 Links in 3 Weeks
Prison Break: Lessons on Blogging
Do You Have a Blog Commenting Strategy?
40 Observations about My 2 Year Old Blog by Teresa Boardman
6.5 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Blog
Writing Good Headlines for Regular Readers, Search Engines and Social Media
What Is the Future of the Real Estate Blog?
Do you have any links about blog strategy you’d like to share? If so, pop them in the comments below. Thanks and hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!