Plenty of people, in real estate and in other businesses, think they should be able to write their own marketing copy.
They feel that since they know their business better than anyone else, they should be able to write about it and promote it better than anyone else could.
What they forget is that different people have different talents, and not everyone is a writer. Not everyone is a car mechanic or a tax expert or a computer guru – but not many of us feel we “should” be able to fix our own cars, do our own tax computations, or repair our own computers – just because they’re ours. So why do so many think they should be able to write marketing copy – especially if they haven’t studied marketing?
Should YOU write your own marketing copy?
- If you write well
- If you enjoy writing
- If you understand the psychology of marketing
- If you have time to write
…then yes – you should.
But if one of those four elements is missing, you should hire a copywriter.
For real estate professionals, that 4th ingredient is crucial.
In your busy lives, finding large blocks of time in which to write can be almost impossible. When I was an agent, I did my writing late at night, after the phones stopped ringing and everyone else in my family was sleeping. It was the only way to do it right.
That’s because good marketing copy doesn’t happen in 15 minutes here and 20 minutes there. It doesn’t happen when the phone rings to interrupt you every few minutes, and it doesn’t happen when a deadline is breathing down your neck.
Good marketing copy happens when you’re able to focus and write without distraction. Then it comes from having the luxury to “let it sit” for a day or two before you come back to edit and proofread.
Depending upon the subject matter, one short web page or sales letter could take a few days to write and polish – and postcards can be even more time consuming. The shorter the message, the more important it is to get each word just right.
One page remains a challenge even for agents who love to write…
That page is the personal bio. I’ve lost count of the number of agents who say they’re embarrassed to need my help with a bio. They love writing, do it well, and have written every other page on their websites. But when it comes to the bio, they get stuck.
That just comes from a reluctance to boast, and probably stems from childhood, when parents were trying to teach us polite manners.
So don’t apologize or feel embarrassed if you need help from a real estate writer.
Your time will be better spent meeting with clients than sitting at a desk struggling with words that don’t want to cooperate.
