Everyone knows that Barry Manilow writes the songs.
The question is, who writes the real estate ads, those breezy squibs designed to attract potential home buyers to a Realtor`s office, usually in fewer than 25 words?
”Our sales associates are required to write three ads, including headlines, when they list a house,” says Nancy Whitehurst, manager of Realty World Jeff Jensen`s Hinsdale office. ”For many of them it`s very intimidating, by far and away the most difficult part of the process. They`ll complete the listing form, schedule an open house, do everything else necessary, then ask, `Can`t I do the ads later?` ”
They can`t, of course. Whitehurst wants the complete package right away. She reads all ad copy submitted and rewrites most of it, striving to limit each description to 25 words. The copy is teamed in file folders with exterior photos of the house described until it`s time for an appearance in one of the newspapers or magazines in which the agency advertises. Realty World Jeff Jensen, which has 36 sales associates, promises listers it will advertise their property at least twice a month.
”If you don`t advertise, listers get upset; they think their property isn`t being properly promoted,” says Whitehurst, who began selling real estate six years ago and was named Hinsdale office manager two years later.
”Our object in wording the ads is to get people`s attention, but we don`t want to be too cutesy, too gimmicky,” she says. ”The idea is to present the benefits the home shopper will receive in a concise, non-specific way. We try to tailor our ads to our audience, which I look upon as pretty sophisticated people. I like to use a few trigger words and let the photos do most of the talking.”
Catch words
”Trigger words” are those that evoke an emotional image or set a mood.
”If it applies, `brick` is always a good word. It brings thoughts of something solid and substantial. `Fireplace` creates a mental picture of a wonderful, warm family gathering place, although it`s a word best used in autumn and winter. If a house is on the market for a while, we change the ads for a fresh approach, often tying them in with the season of the year,” says Whitehurst, who sometimes wonders if she takes ad-writing too seriously.
Short phrases are also part of the lingo: Eat-in kitchen, first-floor family room, starter home, handyman special and the fairly new ”empty nester,” an eye-catcher for older couples looking for smaller, well-appointed dwellings now that the kids have grown and gone.
Whitehurst places about 30 company-paid ads every week. Sales associates who schedule and pay for their own ads must have her approval to make sure the copy conforms with licensing and truth-in-lending laws.
Ad-writing may be the toughest part of the job for the sales agents, but they get help. MidAmerica Federal Savings Bank, which has 13 offices and six regional lending centers in Chicago`s western suburbs, distributed 3,000 copies of the Pocket Ad Writer to real estate offices a few years ago.
”The more business Realtors do, the more business we do, so we like to help them in any way we can,” says Tom Miers, senior vice president of marketing for MidAmerica. ”We know a lot of sales associates who hate to write ads, so we held an ad-writing seminar and presented the booklets as holiday gifts. It was a marketing tool for us, and sort of a Cliffs Notes for them.”
Keep the lines ringing
Edited by Ernie Blood and Bernie Torrence, co-founders of Homes Guide of America, the 242-page, spiral-bound booklet features samples of ”phone call motivators” tied to design, location, price and special features; pre-written, fill-in-the-blanks ads; and headline suggestions, including such gems as ”The Land is Treed And Bring The Steed” and ”Kremepuff That`s Sweet On The Wallet.”
”A good ad highlights features that will grab the interest of prospective buyers and make them want to pick up the phone and call us,” says Bea Taylor, manager of Coldwell Banker`s Hinsdale office, which has 50 sales associates.
Coldwell Banker salespeople are required to write one ad and turn it in with the listing packet, although some write two or three, according to Taylor, who says writing is just like anything else-some people do it better than others.
She reads their ads, approves some, asks for rewrites ”if I feel they could tell me more” and sometimes rewrites them herself ”to present a good advertising philosophy.” Homeowners often are asked to supply suggestions for selling points.
”We vary our ads according to type of home, area and price range. We try to make them honest and succinct,” says Taylor, who has completed several courses in real estate ad writing. ”And we use photos in most of our ads because picture ads are more appealing, though in some cases a photo doesn`t do the house justice-part of the exterior might be hidden by landscaping, for instance.”
Indirect advertising
Unlike Realty World Jeff Jensen, Coldwell Banker does not advertise every listing.
”We tell listers, `Your house is already being advertised,` ” says Taylor, ”and it`s true, because our policy of presenting varying styles and prices means there`s a house similar to theirs in print, ready to attract prospective buyers to our office. We run 25 to 30 ads every week.”
Advertising is just one small part of marketing, according to Taylor. It`s when the prospect shows up that the real marketing effort begins.
”People lead busy lives today. They don`t have time to read volumes of description. The house-hunting public wants to scan, so our ads have to pique seekers` interest in three or four lines,” Taylor says. ”It seems every housing style has to have a name today, but the Multiple Listing Service allows only five design categories: one-story, 1 1/2-story, two-story, three- story and split; anything else falls into a general category. So the competitive ad writer has to work within a rather small framework.”
That`s probably one reason some ads take flights of fancy and assign architectural styles to homes that really haven`t any. Thus: ”beautiful English tudor,” ”spectacular Tudor,” ”beautiful Tudor,” ”impressive Tudor,” ”stunning brick English Tudor,” ”updated Tudor,” ”Country Tudor” and ”two-story Tudor” are words used to describe eight houses that resemble each other not in the slightest.
If you`re a purist, remember this: It`s all because Realtors have to flag your attention in 25 words to get you to phone them first.
