Peter Fletcher

  • About
  • Blog
  • Contact

How to create a property ad that does more than sell

January 13, 2011 by Peter Fletcher

Character home in Mount Lawley

"Sandhurst" in Mount Lawley, WA. Source: Homestead Realty

Agents run on deadlines, especially agents who still advertise in the newspaper. The pressure they’re under has led to a crop of ads that are dull, colourless and boring.

After a while property ads have become a collection of clichés and overused adjectives. Take a bunch of common real estate related nouns, add some adjectives – magnificent, spectacular, stunning to name a few – and you have most property ads. They’re formulaic. Like a football coach explaining another loss they come across with sameness and familiarity that turn their subject into bland and stilted.

So what’s an agent to do? What’s the answer to creating an ad that’s exciting and comes alive with vivid imagery and emotion?

I propose a two part solution. First, make more use of quality property photography. The web is an intensely visual media. Unlike newspaper ads there’s no extra cost for more photos. Take advantage of that.

Second, use the text of the ad to fill in the rest of the story, to tell the parts the photo can’t. Most agents fail at this. They describe features but they never tell the story the feature brings.

Here’s an example.

This 1920’s character home has wide, sweeping verandahs, high ceilings…Get the drift? All features, no story.

Here’s the same features described through story.

Every Sunday, in the mid-afternoon, when the sun was still high and the lunch time dishes were washed and put away, the family would gather on the big front verandah. It was still new and the blood-red jarrah floor boards, laid proudly by Dad and the two boys, served as a quiet reminder of how much they’d achieved. Mum served tea. Often the neighours called by and together they’d savour Mum’s date scones topped as they were with homemade jam and fresh cream. They chatted about the general store that had just opened at the end of the street and how the sweet corn down the back was growing so tall…

Does that paint a more vivid picture of the same home, one that’s loaded with taste and colour and life? I think so. Does it take a little extra work? Sure. But I believe the industry needs advertising like this, something that stands out, that makes an impression, not in some garish bunting-all-over-the-front-lawn kind of way, but in a way that sells with dignity and style.

What say you? Have I gone too far? Or is there a chance I’m onto something?

Related posts:

  1. Twitter – why it’s here and what to do about it Introduction What is Twitter? It’s a world-wide phenomenon that lets...
  2. How to use great photography to lift your brand and make more sales I’m constantly astounded by the poor quality of photgraphs on...
  3. 6 web copy mistakes you must avoid In How to Write Seductive Web Copy, Henneke Duistermaat highlights 6...
  4. How to write copy that sells In How to Write Seductive Web Copy, Henneke Duistermaat outlines...
  5. Failing is only failure if you fail to learn Whenever we set goals, especially big ones, we expose ourselves...

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged With: Advertising, photography, stories, writing

Comments

  1. Tatiana says

    January 14, 2011 at 11:09 pm

    Try http://www.writemyads.com. The free demo shows what a cool program this is.

  2. Peter Fletcher says

    January 15, 2011 at 4:39 am

    Thanks for the tip Tats. Will check it out despite my antipathy for automation. 🙂

  3. Peter Brewer says

    January 18, 2011 at 9:11 pm

    Great Stuff Peter! On a similar note http://www.inman.com/buyers-sellers/columnists/teresa-boardman/take-better-listing-photos-or-dont-take-them-all

  4. Peter Brewer says

    January 18, 2011 at 9:11 pm

    Great Stuff Peter! On a similar note http://www.inman.com/buyers-sellers/columnists/teresa-boardman/take-better-listing-photos-or-dont-take-them-all

Trackbacks

  1. Are you using single property web sites? | Peter Fletcher. New media strategist. says:
    January 13, 2011 at 10:36 pm

    […] How to create a property ad that does more than sell […]

  2. The 5000/365 Report | Peter Fletcher. New media strategist. says:
    January 17, 2011 at 9:37 am

    […] machine. After reading some ads online I thought it was time to make some suggestions about writing better real estate ads. I then found a great resource for agents wanting single property web […]

  3. At what price our secrecy? | Peter Fletcher. New media strategist. says:
    January 24, 2011 at 9:21 am

    […] from the price and address, some stunning pictures and well written text, what else could the agent supply on the property profile? What are the things that would make me […]

About Peter

Speaker, trainer and coach. I write about living, loving and working better. Love a challenge. More...

Subscribe

Get the latest posts delivered to your inbox.

Recent Posts

  • The Perth Property Market: Free Drinks For Everyone
  • Perth Property Market Performance – W/E 22 August 2021
  • Perth property market report
  • Mandating madness: The case against compulsory e-conveyancing
  • PEXA: Stop treating conveyancers like idiots

Location

You can find me at Residential Settlements in Burswood.

5/170 Burswood Road
Burswood WA 6100

Let’s catch up

If you're ready to take your business to the next level, get in touch with me now.

Send me an email using the contact form or call me direct on 0419 538 838.

Connect

Connect with me on one of these social networks.
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2022 · Agency Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in