{"id":269,"date":"2006-08-31T10:02:31","date_gmt":"2006-08-31T17:02:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/?p=269"},"modified":"2006-08-31T20:20:15","modified_gmt":"2006-09-01T03:20:15","slug":"words-words-words-how-evocative-listing-copy-helps-to-sell-homes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/269\/words-words-words-how-evocative-listing-copy-helps-to-sell-homes\/","title":{"rendered":"Words, words, words: How evocative listing copy helps to sell homes . . ."},"content":{"rendered":"

Mike Price at Mike’s Corner is kvetching about clumsy Realtor lingo<\/a>, and while I’m with him on the main point, I have turf of my own to defend.<\/p>\n

Sez Mike:<\/p>\n

I’ve often wondered what consumers think when they are subjected to the same goofy tag lines and incomplete sentences that seem to proliferate the inventory of any MLS.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Indeed. It’s possible to overthink this stuff<\/a>, though. I think most of what passes for experience in residential real estate is nothing more than thoughtless imitation — monkey-see, monkey-do, monkey-don’t-ever-test-the-results. I wrote about tin-eared Realtor marketing last fall<\/a>, taking particular note of ‘riders’ on real estate signs.<\/p>\n

But: I think there is more to this than clumsy cliches versus just-the-facts-ma’am. If that’s the only choice, I’ll take the facts. But my own preference is to express, as best I can, the features of the home as benefits and the benefits as the story of a life enriched and perfected by<\/i> the home. We call this rhapsodizing, and the listings I like best are for homes about which I can wax rhapsodic at first glance. Most homes don’t seem to glow of their own light at sunset — ain’t that poetic? — but, even then, I’m looking to sell you your life<\/i> in the home, not the mere details.<\/p>\n

In an ARMLS listing, I get exactly 680 characters to do this. We give up space for the address of the home’s custom web site<\/a>, so, ultimately, I get about 100 words, maybe 110. As you may have noticed, I can write more than 110 words.<\/p>\n

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Your Moroccan oasis in the city… The style is Spanish Eclectic, but the details come straight from Marrakech. In the midst of the brutal Phoenix summer, you’ve found a refuge that is… cool, shady, refreshing. From the lush gardens front and back to the interplay of light and shadow in the 1935 residence, from the luxury of the Kitchen, Master Suite and Guest House to the simple understated elegance of the Living Room and Formal Dining Room, from the travertine and hardwood floors to the Moroccan arches, this Read more<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mike Price at Mike’s Corner is kvetching about clumsy Realtor lingo, and while I’m with him on the main point, I have turf of my own to defend. Sez Mike: I’ve often wondered what consumers think when they are subjected to the same goofy tag lines and incomplete sentences that seem to proliferate the inventory […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7,6,5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-269","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-blogging","7":"category-enduring-interest","8":"category-marketing","9":"category-real-estate","11":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1845,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/1845\/flashed-cards-transparency-begins-with-the-business-card\/","url_meta":{"origin":269,"position":0},"title":"Flashed Cards: Transparency begins with the business card","author":"Greg Swann","date":"August 23, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Rudy Mayer:It's translucent plastic. It's clean. No photo. It's different than any other card. People always comment on it and remember it. You'll just have to pretend you can see through Rudy's card. I think this is a fun idea. Might be cool to try on a very heavy vellum,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marketing"","block_context":{"text":"Marketing","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/marketing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5366,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/5366\/real-estate-blogging-hits-the-ny-times\/","url_meta":{"origin":269,"position":1},"title":"Real Estate Blogging hits the NY Times","author":"Eric Blackwell","date":"November 1, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the truly fun things about being a dawg and writing here is when readers communicate with you. I received an email yesterday from Mike Kennedy a REALTOR (whom I had never met) selling homes in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland. (beautiful website BTW-my compliments on a job well done\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Real Estate"","block_context":{"text":"Real Estate","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/real-estate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/11\/catskills.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2592,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2592\/stash-that-cod-piece-im-not-waxed-fruit-and-you-are-not-a-rock-star\/","url_meta":{"origin":269,"position":2},"title":"Stash that cod-piece: I’m not waxed fruit and you are not a rock star","author":"Greg Swann","date":"February 13, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"I should probably stop picking on this little nebbish, but he's such a champion at leading with his chin that I find him hard to resist. His theme? \"Rewriting the book on how to kick ass.\" I wish I were joking. I'm gonna guess that he wasn't among the first\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogging"","block_context":{"text":"Blogging","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":485,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/485\/repeat-after-me-mr-realtor-what-do-you-charge\/","url_meta":{"origin":269,"position":3},"title":"Repeat after me: Mr. Realtor, what do you charge?","author":"Greg Swann","date":"September 29, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"This is my real estate column from today's Arizona Republic (permanent link). Today should be a fun day. My editor told me that, in respose to last week's column, a Realtor called him, threatening to turn me in to the Arizona Department of Real Estate. I can't imagine what the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marketing"","block_context":{"text":"Marketing","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/marketing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2549,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2549\/want-to-learn-how-to-sniff-out-bias-in-the-mainstream-media-follow-your-nose-all-the-way-to-yosemite\/","url_meta":{"origin":269,"position":4},"title":"Want to learn how to sniff out bias in the mainstream media? Follow your nose — all the way to Yosemite","author":"Greg Swann","date":"January 29, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"John Cook fingered this mash note to Redfin.com in Forbes Magazine. More of the same four-legs-good, two-legs-bad crap we expect from the mainstream media, but it's short enough that the bias is almost too obvious. Consider the attributions for quotes:\"says Kelman, 37\" \"Kelman says.\" \"one Redfin representative wrote recently\" \"read\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Disintermediation"","block_context":{"text":"Disintermediation","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/disintermediation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":976,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/976\/overcharging-a-dedicated-realtor-is-a-bargain\/","url_meta":{"origin":269,"position":5},"title":"Overcharging? A dedicated Realtor is a bargain . . .","author":"Greg Swann","date":"January 31, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Attorney Craig Blackmon issues a testy remark in a comment today, but the truth is, I could not be happier to discuss the underlying issue. Sez Craig:Well, it appears that even the \u201cfull service\u201d agents are overcharging just a wee bit. It turns out that a successful agent must rebate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Disintermediation"","block_context":{"text":"Disintermediation","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/disintermediation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}