Jon Paul Miller

Digital Marketing | Content Marketing | Copywriting

Real Estate Blog Writing Service

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Blogging is a great way for real estate agents to keep in touch with their sphere of influence, get referrals and repeat business, and to build local awareness of your real estate brand. But, success with blogging requires consistency, time, and an interest in writing. Many would-be real estate bloggers find it difficult to come up with blog topics and to find the time to write compelling blog posts. If that’s you then it’s time to consider a real estate blog writing service.

Working with a Real Estate Blog Writing Service

A real estate blog writing service needs to create content that’s both unique and local. A great blog post will showcase your community, your business, and how you help people. Your blog posts need compelling headlines and organized information. They should also be easy to read. Most importantly, they should be optimized for search engines so they have the chance of showing up on Google’s search results.

Building Your Audience

Your real estate blog should be used to build your audience. Ideally, you’ll share your blog posts on social media and promote your blog on Google. This is how you’ll drive traffic to your website. The most important, and often overlooked, next step is getting readers to subscribe to your email list so you can keep in touch. Before you hire someone to write your real estate blog you’ll want to be sure that they can help put all of these pieces together so you’re not wasting your money.

Consistency

The biggest problem that most real estate agents have is consistently writing their blog content. When I was actively selling homes and trying to write my blog I’d easily fall into the trap of letting my blog go for a while. Your readers will blog will only be successful when it’s consistent. For most agents that means one post per week every week.

Real Estate Blog Topics

Your blog posts should focus on your target community and how you work. Blog posts that demonstrate your expertise and personality are the best. People want to work with the local expert and your blog topics should share your knowledge of the area and local real estate. Here are 7 real estate blog topics that you should include . . .

  1. Local Real Estate Market Updates for Your Target Communities
  2. Neighborhood Highlights – Parks, Restaurants, Things to Do
  3. Client Success Stories
  4. Home Buying Advice
  5. Home Selling Advice
  6. Partner Highlights (ie, local contractors, plumbers, painters, etc.)
  7. Local Restaurant Reviews

Real Estate Blog Writing Service

When choosing a real estate blog writing service be sure that the writer has expertise in real estate and search engine optimization. A good real estate blog writing service will include regular phone calls to discuss upcoming posts so that they can best communicate your unique personality and your local expertise.

To discuss your blog and marketing goals please send me an email at jon@jonpaulmiller.com for a no obligation conversation to discuss incorporating my real estate blog writing service into your business.

You may also be interested in How to Write a Real Estate Newsletter.

Real Estate Listing Descriptions

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Writing Real Estate Listing Descriptions for the MLS, Realtor.com, and Zillow is the very last thing most agents do before publishing their listing. Why? Most agents just don’t like writing them. Here are my tips for writing a great real estate listing description.

7 Tips for Writing Great Real Estate Listing Descriptions

  1. Use a Strong Opening Line
    The opening line of your listing description should hook the reader and compel them to keep reading. Oftentimes. the single best feature of the home can be included in the opening line.
  2. Highlight the Best Features
    Great real estate listing descriptions show off the best features of the property. Using 3-5 of the best features of the property keeps readers engaged and will answer most of their questions.
  3. Keep it Brief
    Most potential buyers will read your property description on their phone where it’s more natural to skim. Keep your descriptions brief and cover the basics. The property description should reinforce what they saw in the listing photos.
  4. Avoid Overselling
    A small number of descriptive adjectives is helpful but too much is overselling. Overselling breaks down trust so it’s best to go easy on the flowery language and setting the scene with things like “Imagine yourself enjoying your morning coffee as the sun sets.” Luxury car ads provide a great roadmap for the type of MLS description that works.
  5. Make it Easy to Read
    You’ll want to avoid using all caps, jargon, and abbreviations since these are hard to read. Be sure to use short sentences and language that’s easy to understand.
  6. Keep it Legal
    Be sure to stay within the law when it comes to fair housing. Don’t use terms that describe people or indicate a preference for a particular group. However, it’s ok to mention local amenities like playgrounds, parks, community pools, etc.
  7. Opinions
    Avoid subjective terms like “Great schools,” “Safe neighborhood,” and “Quiet street.” These opinion terms can cause trouble down the road.

When writing your real estate listing descriptions it’s best to write them early in the listing process. Generally, it’s best to get your bullet points together as you’re getting the photos. By writing the description before the last minute you can more easily get approval from your sellers. It also gives your sellers more time to correct any mistakes or add any additional information they’d like to have included without causing delays to getting the property on the market.

Real Estate Writing Services

Many real estate agents find that it’s a lot easier to hire someone to write their real estate listing descriptions. Just like working with a professional photographer for your listing photos you’ll get the best possible results when hiring a real estate copywriter. When I work with clients to write their real estate listing descriptions they will provide the bullet points and property photos. We can also arrange a live video walk through to talk about the property and work on the initial list.

If you’d like more information about working together to write your real estate listing descriptions please email me at jon@jonpaulmiller.com. The cost for a typical real estate listing description is $150.

You may also be interested in reading about How to Write a Real Estate Newsletter.

7 Social Media Posts for Realtors

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Figuring out the best social media posts for Realtors can be challenging. You want your posts to remind your audience that you’re a Realtor and get them to contact you to help them buy or sell a home. But what should you post so that you can build your brand? Which channels should you use? How often should you post? The following article includes 7 Social Media Posts for Realtors that you can use over and over again on any platform.

The most important thing to keep in mind when creating social media posts for Realtors is that social media is a tool for conversation. People are on Facebook and Instagram for entertainment and information. They’re not on social media to find a house to buy or to choose a real estate agent. So, keep your social media posts conversational, entertaining, and informative. Use it to build a following and develop relationships. Most importantly, use social media to drive traffic to your website where your audience can opt-in to your real estate newsletter where you can get their contact info and continue to build your relationship with them.

7 Social Media Posts for Realtors

  1. Local Interest Posts

    Show off your favorite local parks, restaurants, shops, and other attractions. These posts help establish you as the local expert on the neighborhood.

  2. Before and After

    Take before and after photos of homes you’ve listed and sold to show how you helped the seller’s prepare the home for the market. These posts show how you work and offer insight into your day-to-day activities as a Realtor.

  3. Just Listed/Just Sold

    These are the most common social media posts for Realtors but they often miss the mark. These posts are best when they are conversational and focused on the story behind the property.

  4. Friends and Family

    Even if you’re using a business account on Instagram or posting from your business page on Facebook it’s best not to have every post be about real estate. Show yourself out and about with your friends and family enjoying your target neighborhoods. These posts demonstrate that you’re an active part of the community and an authentic person instead of just a business.

  5. Real Estate Market Highlights

    People always want to know if it’s a buyer’s market or a seller’s market so let them know. You can also post about average prices in specific areas and whether they’re going up or down. Brief updates that include your personal perspective are a great way to remind your community that you’re the local real estate expert. If you’re writing a monthly real estate market update on your blog you can link to it to drive traffic to your website.

  6. Client Success Stories

    The typical client success story post is some version of “Congratulations to my clients on the sale/purchase of their home.” These are dull and uninteresting. You can make these posts interesting by telling the story of their transaction. You can include how you met, what they love about the house and neighborhood, and the challenges that they went through and what they had to overcome. Of course, you’ll need to keep confidentiality in mind but the options are still nearly limitless. It’s all about telling a compelling story.

  7. Giveaways

    People love free stuff so giveaways are a great way to build your audience and connect with your community. However, giveaways may be considered sweepstakes or raffles so they’re regulated by laws if you’re asking for something of value in exchange for what you’re giving away. Even asking for an email address is considered something of value. Be sure to check with your broker before doing giveaways. The best giveaways are things like free home value assessments and to-do lists for buyers and sellers. To-do lists can be a downloadable pdf on home staging or things first-time home buyers need to know, for example.

The Goal

When creating your social media posts remember that not every post needs to be real estate related. Also, the best posts are conversational, not sales driven. You want your social media strategy to focus on getting your name out there, building trust, and developing relationships. The primary goal of your social media should be to drive your audience back to your website where they can get more information and they can opt-in for your exclusive email newsletter where you’ll continue to build the relationship.

Tools

The biggest challenges with social media for most Realtors are figuring out what to post and being consistent. The day-to-day real estate activities get in the way and social media falls to the wayside. Later.com is a great platform that allows you to create posts ahead of time on both Facebook and Instagram for a low monthly fee. By planning ahead you don’t have to worry about keeping up with your posts every day.

Next Steps

Would you like to improve your social media strategy? Email me to schedule a free half hour call to discuss your current strategy and how you can improve your real estate social media posts. Please email me at jon@jonpaulmiller.com to arrange your free strategy session.

How to Write a Real Estate Newsletter

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A real estate newsletter is a time-tested way to keep in touch with your past clients and prospects. A well-crafted real estate newsletter helps to build relationships, demonstrates your expertise as the go-to real estate agent, and generates ongoing referral business.

While there are plenty of ready-made real estate newsletters that you can buy, most will hurt your business more than they’ll help. They’re simply spam unless they come directly from you and show your knowledge, skills, and personality. But, don’t fear. You can write an effective real estate newsletter fairly easily with the tips below.

Why Create a Real Estate Newsletter?

A newsletter provides you with the opportunity to stay front of mind with your sphere of influence. A great real estate newsletter will . . .

  • Show your expertise as the go-to agent for your market
  • Demonstrate your local knowledge
  • Provide insight into who you are and how you work
  • Will be relevant to your audience

One of the biggest mistakes that I see with real estate newsletters is that they don’t build relationships. Most real estate newsletters are nothing more than a list of homes for sale. These “newsletters” get very low open rates, and are often marked as spam, since they don’t offer anything of value to the recipient.

What Makes a Great Real Estate Newsletter?

A great real estate newsletter will entertain or inform the reader. It will include local information and allow you to share your expertise. As a general rule your newsletter should also be short and easy to read. A great real estate newsletter doesn’t need to be complex, but it does need to be sent out consistently.

A great title is the most important part of the newsletter. This is especially important if you’re creating an email newsletter. Titles such as “Monthly Real Estate Report” or “Weekly Market Re-Cap” don’t get opened. In fact, these will often go directly to spam folders. A simple title change to “How’s the Real Estate Market in X Neighborhood?” will get a much higher open rate.

What To Include

Your newsletter should include 2-3 topics. People won’t read much more than that. The topics that I’ve found the most success with are:

  • Upcoming Local Events
  • Favorite Local Restaurants
  • Things to Do in the Area
  • Profile of a Local Home Service Business (ie, Plumber, General Contractor, Electrician, Landscaper)
  • Brief Local Real Estate Market Update
  • A Success Story of a Recent Sale

By sharing your local knowledge and expertise you’ll build relationships with your audience. That earned trust will help establish you as the go-to Realtor when it comes time for them to buy or sell a home.

How to Write Your Real Estate Newsletter

Your newsletter needs to be sent out consistently in order to be effective. It’s not uncommon for real estate agents to get busy with other activities and stop sending the newsletter out. Make a plan to keep it consistent. You can also hire a real estate writer to write the newsletter even if they’re not local.

If you’re sending your newsletter via email then I recommend using MailChimp or a similar email marketing platform. MailChimp let’s you create templates for your emails and provides stats on open rates so you can see what’s working and what you can improve.

Get More Info

If you’d like to discuss your email newsletter strategy please contact me and we can set up a call to discuss your current email marketing and how it can be approved. If you haven’t yet set up an email marketing campaign we can discuss what to include, how to use email marketing tools, and how to get people to sign up for your newsletters. It’s a free call with no obligation. If you’d like to chat, please email me at jon@jonpaulmiller.com.

 

 

You may also be interested in How to Write a Realtor Bio for New Agents.

How to Write a Realtor Bio for New Agents

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Writing a Realtor Bio for new agents can be overwhelming. While you may not have real estate sales experience to write about there are plenty of other things that can be included in a bio for new agents. The list below covers 7 things to do when writing your Realtor bio as a new agent.

7 Steps to Writing a Realtor Bio for New Agents

  1. Keep it Short

    Your Bio, or About Me, Page on your website will most likely be the third most visited page on your website. People want to know who you are and, most importantly, how you can help them. A well-written Realtor bio can get that point across in just a few paragraphs. For some, a one paragraph Realtor Bio may be all you need to get started. You can always add to it later.

  2. Your Target Market

    When writing a Realtor Bio for new agents it’s important to include your target market in the bio. You can do this even if you don’t have any clients or sales yet. What types of clients do you want to work with? If you’ll specialize in working with first-time home buyers, vacation home buyers, or empty-nesters you’ll want to include those specialties in your bio.Consider who you know. Maybe you’re young and all of your friends are starting to buy their first home then you may want to consider starting as a first-time home buyer specialist. If you’re an empty-nester then chances are that working with other empty-nesters is a good place to start. While it’s great to want to work with everyone, you’ll do best to be a specialist so include those specialties in your Realtor bio.

  3. Location

    When someone reads your Realtor Bio they’ll want to know where you work. As a real estate agent myself I’ve had potential clients contact me about helping them with homes that are in areas I’ve never visited. I’ve always referred these out to other agents since I’m just not the right person for the job. Include the geographic area that you know best as your starting point. People want to work with the neighborhood expert so it’s best to start with what you know.

  4. Your Work History

    Even if you don’t have any work history as a real estate agent you can include the transferrable skills you’ve used in previous careers. Since becoming a Realtor is often a second career you probably have something you can use. Interpersonal skills, negotiation skills, and organizational skills are all important skills that Realtors use every day. If you can include these transferrable skills in your bio you’ll be off to a great start.

  5. Awards & Accomplishments

    Including awards and accomplishments in real estate bios for new agents is great. It helps show that you’re a hard-worker and a goal-oriented individual. You can certainly include having completing your real estate training and becoming a member of the National Association of Realtors with your accomplishments. You may also include any awards and accomplishments that your office has received as long as you note that these are office specific awards and accomplishments.

  6. Community Involvement

    Potential clients love working with the neighborhood expert. You can show your expertise in the neighborhood by including your community involvement in your real estate bio. Do you coach a team? Are you active with your local school? Do you volunteer at neighborhood events? All of these show that you’re a part of the community and help establish you as the neighborhood real estate expert. Plus, they’re great ways to meet people who may become clients.

  7. Hobbies and Interests

    Sharing hobbies and interests in a real estate bio for new agents is a great way to connect with potential clients. People want to know that you’re a real person with outside interests. Whether you love skiing, water polo, yoga, baseball, collecting stamps, cooking, or collecting wine you should include hobbies and interests in your bio. Including hobbies and interests will help potential clients get to know you before meeting you in-person.

First-Person or Third-Person?

Choosing whether to use the first-person or third-person perspective for your Realtor Bio can be a tough choice. If you’re writing your own Realtor Bio then it’s easiest to start writing in the first-person. After you have a draft you can rewrite a draft in the third-person. Once you have both drafts you can decide which one you like best. Either one is totally acceptable so choose the one that fits your personality best. First-person is less formal than the third-person so it’s often better since real estate is a people business.

Get a Realtor Bio for New Agents

Do you need help writing your Realtor bio? If you’re a new real estate agent, or an established agent whose bio needs a refresh, you don’t have to do it yourself. Email me at jon@jonpaulmiller.com to set up a call to discuss writing your Realtor bio. The typical bio price is $150.

You may also be interested in How to Write a Real Estate Newsletter and How to Write a Bio on Grammarly.com.

A Simple Annual Marketing Plan for Real Estate Agents

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Having a simple marketing plan is a must as a real estate agent. Agents get so busy with sales activities – showings, inspections, photos, negotiations, and putting out the inevitable fires – that sticking to an overly complex plan just isn’t possible. Most real estate agents simply just don’t have a marketing plan. If you’re in either situation, then this post is for you. It’s a simple marketing plan that I implemented myself as a real estate agent and have tweaked over time.

This plan is designed to . . .

  1. Focus on Relationships that Lead to Referrals & Repeat Business
  2. Show Your Expertise as a Real Estate Agent
  3. Show Your Local Expertise
  4. Show Your Personality
  5. Stay in Touch & Get them to Call You

The Simple Real Estate Agent Marketing Plan Explained

The plan consists of weekly, monthly, quarterly, and semi-annual connections with your past clients, sphere of influence, and others who want to hear from you. The summary of the plan is a weekly blog post (or video), a monthly email newsletter, a quarterly gift for your top past clients and referral sources, and semi-annual events that allow you to connect with your community.

Here’s what to do . . .

Weekly Local Interest Blog Posts

Post a unique local-interest article on your blog. Share these articles on your social media channels to drive traffic to your website. Topics should include local restaurants, parks, info on schools, highlights of a neighborhood or subdivision, client success stories, and a once-monthly real estate market update with tips for buyers and sellers.

These articles need to be written with Search Engine Optimization in mind so that your website can also be found when people search for information about your community. The goal of driving traffic to your website is to establish your expertise and to build an engaged list of email subscribers.

Monthly Email Newsletter

A well-crafted and consistent monthly email newsletter is a real estate agent marketing staple. Your email campaign needs to provide relevant and useful local information. By doing so, you remain top of mind with your past clients, sphere of influence, and email subscribers who you haven’t met yet.

Your monthly email newsletter needs to have an engaging headline. It will include a brief summary of the blog articles you’ve posted over the past month so you’ll always have great content to share.

Quarterly Gifts

We all know that real estate is a people business. That being the case, your marketing plan can’t rely solely on digital channels. You need to get in front of your past clients and advocates in real life, too. An easy way to keep in touch is to show your appreciation in a consistent and systematic way. A simple way to do this is to give something to your advocates and past clients every quarter. It doesn’t have to be expensive and you may be able to save money by splitting costs with a lender partner or a local business.

Here are some ideas for quarterly gifts that are inexpensive and easy to put together. You can drop these off on people’s doorsteps or have them delivered depending on time and budget.

  • Spring – Gift basket from a local specialty gift shop
  • Summer – Assortment of sunscreens and insect repellant
  • Fall – Gift basket from, or a gift card to, a local coffee shop
  • Winter – Movie Night gift basket with popcorn, candy, and an Amazon gift card to buy a movie

By sending quarterly gifts to past clients and advocates you’ll stay top of mind. Plus, many of them will reach out to you to say thank you. Of course, this is a great time to offer a home value estimate or ask for referrals.

Bi-Annual Events

Events are a great way to get in front of your past clients and build valuable connections. Pre-COVID, I did at least two in-person client events per year but things have changed with the new restrictions.

The most popular event I held was an annual pumpkin decorating and pizza party. I held these events at a locally owned pizza shop that supplied the location and the food. I supplied pumpkins and things to decorate them with. They were tons of fun for both parents and their kids. I also did a Taco Tuesday Happy Hour event at a local Mexican Restaurant, wine tastings, and volunteer events for local charities. Most of the events included some fundraising element for a local non-profit, as well.

Since in-person events aren’t a good option right now due to COVID, adjustments need to be made. I suggest choosing a local non-profit organization to support. You can do a spring fundraiser and holiday drive to support the organization. It’s a great way to do good and keep in touch with your social media contacts, email subscribers, past clients, and sphere of influence.

Be Consistent

Among the biggest struggles for real estate agent marketing is staying consistent. It’s easy for your marketing time to get pushed aside when you have to go show a home, write an offer, deal with inspection issues, or keep contracts from falling apart. Juggling selling homes with marketing your business is a big task.

When marketing your real estate business you need to set aside uninterrupted time to make it happen. If you do a few things here and there they won’t have an impact. If your efforts don’t have an impact then they’re a waste of time and money.

What If It Doesn’t Work?

In 2016 I was ready steps away from ending my career as a real estate agent. I had been a Realtor since 2010. I had some very good years and some very, very, very bad years. It was in April of that year that I had $56 in my checking account. It was a low point in my career (and a low point for my bank account). I was basically relying on luck to get clients and I didn’t have a clear plan to find more clients.

I gave myself 3 more months to implement a plan and see if I could make it work. That plan was the foundation for the plan that I laid out in this post and it worked. It allowed me to continue on in the business and then have my best years with steady leads and income. Like the old Hair Club for Men ads . . . How do I know it works? Because it worked for me.

Questions about Building Your Marketing Plan?

Creating and implementing your marketing plan can be overwhelming, so I hope this helps. If you’d like to set up a time for a free one-on-one call to get started on putting your marketing plan together, please send me an email at jon@jonpaulmiller.com. I’m happy to take a look at your current marketing plan to see what can be improved or to help you get started on implementing your plan.