Local real estate experts like you love to share what they know -- and Relola users do it by writing Insights on the listings they see every week. Like anything tasty, the right ingredients make it work! Here’s how to make each Insight the best it can be.
You tour a listing. Maybe you take a buyer through it. Or maybe you go with an agent caravan. However you get there, that listing is another opportunity for you to share what you know about the property, the local community and your unique perspective.
So when you take a moment to post your Insight, be sure to include these four ingredients and you’ll make a delicious Insight every time.
1. Be a name-dropper with local keywords
When home buyers and sellers do research, they use words related to their local area. They won’t just search “homes for sale,” but they’ll look for “homes for sale in Glen Ellyn” or “homes for sale near Sandburg Elementary.” So include all those local keywords in your Insight. Here are some suggestions to include:
School district
Neighborhood name
Cross streets
Large local employers
Proximity to commuting corridors or airports
Parks or natural features nearby
2. Be specific and descriptive
If you start each Insight with a comment such as, “This is a beautiful home,” you’ll lose your readers, and all your Insights will sound the same. Remember, someone might be clicking from Insight to Insight to get to know you! Offer some variety.
Plus, the word ‘beautiful’ is nice, but it isn’t very specific. What makes the property beautiful? The roofline? The landscaping? The hardwoods? Call out features of the house other than naming the rooms. Is the master bath sink seamless? Is the family room sunken? These kind of details bring the Insight to life for your reader, and help her know what it’s like to tour a property with you.
Here are some inspiring words for your real estate listing Insight:
Adorable
Authentic
Built-to-last
Close-to-town
Countryside
Delightful
Elegant
Immaculate
Inviting
Majestic
Mint
Nostalgic
Parklike
Picturesque
Quaint
Remarkable
restored
Secluded
Sophisticated
Stately
Sweeping
Upgraded
Vaulted
Well-kept
Wooded
3. No time? No problem. Save it for later.
You are a busy agent. You’ll start the day with one listing, then see another and another and by the time you get back to your office to write your Insights… they all blend together.
With the Relola app, you can jot down your notes in the Insight form and save it without publishing. Don’t worry about creativity. Don’t worry about typos. Don’t even worry about typing -- use the talk to text dictation on your phone and click the “Save For Later” button on the app.
Then, when you’re back at your desk or on the couch with your laptop, go in and write up your descriptions. It will only take moments.
4. Fill in details with your own photos.
Some MLS listings have 50 photos of a property, but some have just two (and they’re both of the exterior.)
Add your real view to your Insight by taking your own photos. Did you spot an antique door knob or spy an unexpected dog door? Snap a picture and add it to your Insight. Let buyers and sellers know you’re really looking carefully.
But here’s the catch: don’t try to take beauty shots. Today’s smartphones are amazing cameras, but they’re nothing compared to good real estate photography. So don’t worry about capturing the whole backyard. But if you can capture the view from the kitchen window or get a close up of the modern path lighting outside, do it!
This can be particularly handy with FSBO listings. If you tour a FSBO listing, ask the seller if you can take some photos to add to your Insight. Or simply capture the view from the street and Add a Missing Listing to your Activity Map.
Writing real estate listing Insights is just another habit of a busy local real estate agent. You’re already seeing the properties -- capture what you saw with delicious, fresh Insights for your web site and share them on your social channels.
