Tips and tricks from around the web

[Maui]

I would further suggest to allow readers to see your personality through your writing. Engage them with humor and insightful information, rather than technical lingo.

[rei.wired]

Writing. Well, I wish I could be better. I am not even sure if my readers would likely finish what I have written. I am afraid I still haven't found my style. Wish you could help out on that note. Finding your writer's "voice".

[Rew Julie]

The key to finding your voice is, I found, writing how you speak. One thing that can help is picking a topic on which to write about and just doing stream-of-consciousness writing.

So, if I were going to do a blog post on pictures on MLS listings (pet peeve of mine, haha) and wanted it to be in my voice, I might write something like this:

"Pictures in MLS listings really piss me off. I mean, seriously, what the hell are you doing, taking a picture of a CORNER and expecting me to go all, "OMG! That's totally the perfect room I want!" It makes you look like you have something to hide or that you can't figure out how to operate a camera. Dude, seriously, either learn how to take decent pictures or hire someone because YOU SUCK. Another thing I hate are those fuzzy grainy cell phone pictures. It makes you look like you don't even give a crap about your property OR your clients. NEXT. Oh, and lastly, putting up just ONE picture doesn't cut it in any circumstance. People want to see inside."

Not exactly what you want in your professional blog.

However, you can tame the beast so that it both reflects your voice and is something that you want your clients to read.

"In my travels, I have seen many MLS listings photos that don't reflect a very good image of the listing agent. Real estate photos should showcase the property and make it look like it's worth coming to see. They shouldn't send the message, "Well, I actually don't really care about this property, but I guess you can come see it if you want."

There should be a variety of photos in your MLS listing that show the house and grounds. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a single photo of a home in a listing that just sits there day after day without any photo additions. If it's something I could just as easily find in Google StreetView, you're not doing your job of trying to sell this house.

Fuzzy pictures are an annoyance that makes potential buyers speed to another listing. Your cell phone is certainly convenient and I suppose fuzzy pictures are better than none, but it really says something about your priorities. If you don't think this property is worth taking decent photos of, then why should a buyer think it's worth buying?

When you're taking pictures of your listings, don't be sloppy or think that by cutting out all the "bad" parts, that you're doing anything in the property's favor. A picture of a corner tells me nothing other than that you have something to hide. Why people continue to put these up is beyond me. "Oh, honey, that corner is all I ever hoped for in a house! Let's buy it for full price!"

If you aren't really up on your photography skills, hire a professional to take some really good photos of your listing. Get photographs that make the right kind of people enthusiastic about seeing the property (ideally people who want to plonk down their money on a property of this type and value!)

Good photos indicate that you think this property has value. They cut down on unnecessary home tours, since people who don't want what your property has are less likely to schedule a tour if they have more information to work with. Also, they keep my blood pressure low."*

You can see that I added some snark in there and a bit of humor. This may or may not work for you, depending on how you approach your career and writing and that's fine. You need to be comfortable writing - that's what makes writing genuine.

Take your stream-of-consciousness writing and examine what you really want to say. Is it that some MLS photos really bite the big one? Awesome - but you need to lead the reader through your thought process with a statement backed up by other statements, etc. Taking your own voice and structuring it in a basic essay format is a good way to start exploring what you can do with your unique outlook on real estate and making it work for you on your blog and other venues.


* This was just off the top of my head and would be my second draft. The third draft is where you read it over and tidy it up. THEN you post.

[Artur]

REW Julie, That is a very important point. It's important to let your interests, frustrations, opinions shine through but they need to be presented in an engaging but professional manner: no excessive negativity, cussing etc.
I made it a point on my weblog to focus on the positive instead of knocking others down. It's not always easy, since there is so much bad stuff in the real estate industry, but there is equally as much good stuff. Do people read the good news? If the media is correct then bad news sells: at leaset newspapers and the evening news.

[rei.wired]

Thank you, Rew Julie. Wish I can write as beautifully as you do. But I will make use of your advice and maybe start concentrating on improving my writing skill.

Thank you so much for the tips.

[Rew Lisa]

Regarding "writing how you speak", I think that it's also important to take into consideration that it should be "writing how you speak in a professional context". Julie and I have both seen many, many examples all over the internet of people who're more than happy to voice opinions (loud and clear) that make them look completely unprofessional (and sometimes downright ignorant and rude) on their *professional blogs*.

I think that Artur has a good point that you need to shine through in a way that shows who you are but not in a negative way. Anytime you're expressing yourself as a "professional" it's a good idea to communicate like one.

I do think that you can talk about bad things that are going on, but try to look on the bright side or point out the potential light at the end of the tunnel to maintain some levity.

[BrandonD]

I saw read a great excerpt from a great book today. I'm going to buy it ASAP. The book was called "How To Write a Sentence and How to Read One"

Check it out.. looks great

[century21gka]

I wish I was a writer! I'm all about good spelling and grammar, but I can stare at a screen forever! Any suggestions on writer's block? Maybe a bottle of wine before I start?

Maybe not a whole bottle lol. It might not be very good the next morning when you go back to it.

[joehayes101]

thanks for digging up this old thread. Learned a little more today