Here’s a shocking revelation: writing is hard. Even if you’re writing a simple blog post, you’re still going to have to break your head putting all your thoughts in order. Learning to write well takes time and practice. As a real estate agent, you’re probably already strapped with time simply handling your real estate duties. So in order to help you become a better blog writer faster, here are 10 tips to help you improve the quality of your writing.
1. Write about what you know
A good place to start when you’re starting to write is a familiar place; what you already know. It’s far easier to write about something you know, than spending hours and hours of research on a new topic. If you are a seller’s agent, write about the unique challenges of a seller’s agent. If you specialize in luxury homes, write about luxury homes. If you have previously invested in rental properties, give your readers insight into the pros and the cons.
2. Write for your buyer personas
If you could combine all your customers into a single person, what would it look like? Marketers ask this question when they create a buyer persona. A buyer persona is a useful, semi-fictional representation of what a typical customer looks like. They are created through market research and empirical evidence, and commonly include details such as age range, occupation, geographical location, motivations, frustrations, interests and hobbies.
Anyone can download a buyer persona template, and fill in the personality traits suggested, though there’s nothing to stop you from adding additional information. The more details the buyer persona has, the more accurate it will be.
Once you have your buyer personas ready, create a list of topics that might be relevant to their goals. For example, if one of your buyer personas is a health conscious millennial, who is a first time home buyer, write an article that he or she might find interesting.
3. Offer a solution to a common problem
We read blogs because we expect to get something valuable from them, so make sure that your blog posts always offer something of value. An easy way to make sure your blog post is valuable it to provide a solution to a problem. For example, one of the biggest hurdles that a typical home buyers needs to overcome is coming up with the money for a mortgage down payment. Why not write an article about government and bank programs that help first time buyers qualify?
Go back to your client personas. What real estate problem would they like to solve? If you consistently provide answers that your readers are looking for, they will always return.
4. Use the KISS rule
Are you a KISS fan? Not the 80’s glam metal band, but the acronym. KISS stands for Keep It Short and Simple. With such an overabundance of content online fighting for your attention, is rare to find a reader willing to spend more than 5 minutes reading an article. Most readers only spend a second or two scanning an article with their eyes to see if it’s even worth reading. Resist the urge to over explain things. Keep your blog posts short and simple.
Don’t use jargon, flowery language or complicated metaphors. Get to the point. Your standard blog post shouldn’t be more than 1,000 words long.
5. Be passionate about what you write
Write about topics you’re truly passionate about. Don’t choose a topic because you think you should write about it, or because it ranks well on Google. If you don’t care about the article, why should your readers? If you’re having trouble staying awake while writing about a topic, find a different topic.
6. Never publish your rough draft
It’s tempting to publish your article after you spent hours working on it. Even if you have a looming deadline, save your article, turn off your computer, and do something else for 10 to 20 minutes. Once you come back, re-read your article. You’ll soon understand why it’s called a rough draft.
You might be shocked to discover lots of grammatical errors, disjointed sentences, or weird sentences. But don’t let it discourage you. It’s normal for rough drafts to be…rough. Writing is an iterative process. Refine your article, fix any mistakes you find, and put it away for a few minutes again, rinse and repeat as needed.
7. Create an eye-catching headline
As garish as tabloids may be, it’s hard to find a better source of masterful usage of eye-catching headlines.
You may have created the best article in history, but if your headline doesn’t immediately capture your reader’s attention, no one will read it. Most people decide whether to read an article or not based on the headline alone. Spend the necessary time coming up with a great headline, even if it takes you an hour.
8. Practice, practice, practice
Just like any other skill, the more you write, the better you’ll be at it. You will have good writing days, and bad writing days, and at times it will feel like your skills aren’t improving. But if you stick to it, and go back to your earlier work, you’ll be surprised at the progress you’ve made.
9. Study the masters
To be a good blogger, you need to study good bloggers. Keep a list of authors you admire, and study their writing style. Pay close attention to how they introduce new topics, how they transition from one idea to another, and the way they structure their arguments. Don’t be embarrassed to imitate the writing style of a blogger you admire. Every artist borrows ideas from other artists. Writing is no different.
Keep in mind that while there’s nothing wrong with being inspired by the experts, you should never plagiarize their articles. Not only is plagiarism wrong, but it’s also fairly easy to spot. If you get caught stealing an article, your google ranking will take a hit, and your reputation will suffer.
10. Get someone else to write for you
If you need to regularly update your blog, but don’t have the time to improve your writing skills and do it yourself, why not leverage your time by hiring a professional? At Web4Realty, we offer several content creation solutions including individual blog posts, newsletter creation, and website copywriting. Check out our content creation packages, and see which one works better for your needs.
