Peter Fletcher

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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?

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

How to use great photography to lift your brand and make more sales

December 22, 2010 by Peter Fletcher

Great photography can make a home

Great photography adds value to any home

I’m constantly astounded by the poor quality of photgraphs on real estate ads.

Many are taken with cheap cameras on automatic settings. Rubbish bins and broken down cars are common foreground features, even on ads for expensive homes.

These photos sell the home and the agent short. They let everyone down.

Great photography starts with quality equipment used by an expert. Professional photographers are worth their weight in gold. Many specialise in property and know how to get the best possible picture.

Consider having the home shot in low light conditions, either at dawn or dusk. With this type of light home photography becomes a work of art.

Make sure the home is clean and tidy before the photo shoot. Never use the home being tenanted as an excuse.

Any clutter on bench tops and tables will instantly detract from the shot. Hand bags, mobile phones and dirty dishes are a definite no!

Don’t skimp on the number of shots. Practically there’s no limit to the number of photos that can be uploaded to the portals (in reality it’s around 25 depending on which portal), so upload lots. Take a shot of each of the main rooms and from multiple angles, especially the kitchen, living areas, bathrooms and master bedroom.

If you still believe that providing less photos will make people call, I have one word for you. Dinosaur.

That trick might have worked in the eighties. It doesn’t today. If people don’t like what they see online, or they don’t find what they’re looking for, they’ll move on. The few that do call will already have a negative view of your personal brand, so forget about doing business with them.

And please, never, ever, ever load a property to the web without at least ONE photo. There’s no worse look than “Too new to photograph”. Everyone knows that it really means “Agent too Lazy!”

If you want to make a real impression try a professional property video. While they may be a little more expensive the cost is often justified with the extra exposure achieved.

Property videos can be uploaded to your YouTube channel and shared on Facebook. That’s something that rarely happens with photos.

Consider having your photos cleaned up and optimised for the web. There are good reasons for this.

Have you ever noticed how the cover photos on glossy magazines are so crisp and clean and full of detail? Simply, they’re touched up with software such as Photoshop. There’s no need to go to Marie Claire lengths but it’s important the saturation, balance and contrast be adjusted to make the photos stand out. It’s amazing how much an image can be improved with a few tweaks.

Adjusted photos can be used in their high resolution format for print advertising. Good quality, high-res images make property brochures zing!

Always use high-res images for print advertising. Small, low resolution images pixelate when resized to fit large print ads. They look awful!

It’s easy to make an excuse for poor property photography. Don’t! Sharp photography speaks volumes about you and your brand. Make sure it’s saying you’re a true professional.

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Image: Marshall White

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged With: Advertising, digital photography, photography

Are the images on your site lust-worthy?

June 23, 2010 by Peter Fletcher

Images are powerful. Beautiful, stunning pictures make a lasting impression. On the other hand photos taken in poor light using a mobile phone camera damage your personal brand.

Before publishing any property photos ask yourself: Is this image lust-worthy? Does it evoke a sense of class? Will it lift the spirits? Does it invite someone to aspire to something greater?

As Rohit Bhargava says on the Influential Marketing Blog:

Use professional imagery to sell. We generally know about real porn, and food porn, but luxury real estate publications are an entirely different category that could almost be called house porn. They feature lustworthy images of houses, villas and mansions that most people only dream about even walking into. And all of it is listed alongside a tantalizing price that would buy you the rights to claim ownership of that dream, if you had the money. The imagery sells the houses and encourages you to dream.

And please, don’t blame poor photography on the quality of the home. Nor, for that matter accept second class photos on rental properties. Each “average” shot says something about your brand, about the agent people would expect if they employed you.

So ask yourself: “What do these pictures say about me?” Like it or not, your next vendor will be checking you out online. They’ll check out the profile pic on your About Me page and the photos of the listings on your website. Each will tell a story about you. It’s a story that the owner may not be aware is being told. Your job is to make it a good one.

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged With: personal branding, photography

About Peter

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

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