Listing descriptions are your opportunity to grab potential buyers’ attention, don’t mess it up
Avoid vagueness, writing in caps, misspellings, grammar mistakes and repetitions. Be brief, use lists and bullets and create a compelling call to action.
First impressions are critical in real estate. You only get one shot to impress sellers enough to hire you and one chance to put the home on the market.
About 80 percent of buyers look at homes online, and with the sheer number of listings online, it’s easy for buyers to move on to the next one if the listing photos or description fall short.
A 2014 study from Redfin and Grammarly found that though photos were unanimously more important than text, 87 percent of 1,300 people surveyed said that descriptions were “extremely important or very important.”
With one chance to catch buyers’ eyes and lure them into visiting the home, your listing descriptions have to be better than above average.
Below, you’ll find seven tips for writing real estate listing descriptions that buyers won’t just pass by.
1. Don’t be vague
Many real estate listing descriptions contain flowery and vague languate.
For example, someone may write, “A home full of sunshine.” With such a description, it’s not clear what is being described about the home. Someone who is viewing the listing cannot tell the features of that property.
At best, avoid such vagueness in your listing description. Write about something substantial that’s directly related to the home’s features. This could include its architectural design or interior fittings.
The idea is to create a description that illustrates tangible and specific features.
2. Avoid caps in your entire post
For some reason, people think that descriptions written in caps are more likely to be conspicuous. However, this’s not true.
In fact, you could be repelling people from your listing with your ALL CAPS. Essentially, writing in caps tends to mean that you are shouting at them.
Thus, viewers are inclined to skip the listing.
To remedy this, avoid writing your whole description in caps. Leave the caps to the heading only.
3. Ace your spelling and grammar
One may undervalue the impact that spelling and grammar has on listing descriptions. The truth of the matter is that descriptions with poor grammar and spelling mistakes lose credibility.
The Redfin and Grammarly study also found that nearly 45 percent of those surveyed said they would be much less inclined to tour a home if there were spelling and grammatical errors in the property description.
To avoid these mistakes, run your description through a grammar and spelling check before posting it, and have someone else take a look at it.
4. Nix unnecessary repetitions
Repetition doesn’t create emphasis. Real estate listing descriptions are generally limited, in that, you don’t get much space to write.
Therefore, don’t waste the limited space with unnecessary repetitions especially on details that are already known.
5. Use lists and bullets where appropriate
When viewing listings and descriptions, many people tend to scan through rather than read it.
Make your description easy to scan. One sure your way of doing this is by using bullet points and lists in your listing description.
Write the essential features of the property in bullet points or lists. You can also use a bullet point at the subheading of a description. It will capture the eye of the viewer and will help him or her know what the upcoming paragraph will talk about.
6. Be brief
Property listing descriptions should not be mistaken for an essay. This turns off viewers at the beginning. A huge block of text repulses anyone.
Even if there is a lot to reveal about the property, it is best to summarize the key features in, at most, 250 words.
The motive of your listing description should be to arouse interest with as few words as possible. You can give much of the other details of the property when the viewer calls or visits the site. Keep your listing description as brief as possible.
7. Give a compelling call to action
After writing your description and highlighting the key features of your property, always end with a compelling call to action. It motivates the viewer of the listing to action.
A compelling call to action could urge prospects to call you to arrange a property viewing.
It’s essential to put an element of urgency on your call to action. It makes the viewer act swiftly to avoid missing out.
Writing a listing description that attracts buyers takes conscious effort. The highlighted tips are sure to increase your prospects’ likelihood of checking out your listing in the flesh. Apply all of them, and increase your property sales today!
Source: inman.com
