Real Estate Letter Writing — 7 Tips for Agents

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by Brandon Cornett, professional copywriter

When writing a real estate letter to prospective clients, you'll benefit from the tried-and-true practices of professional copywriters:

1. Do the proper research.
If you do the proper preparation and research before you begin to write, you've already completed 75% of the writing process.

Before you write a single word of a real estate letter — or, for that matter, a brochure, an ad, or website content — you must do the proper research. I know it's tempting to jump right in. I know you have great ideas bursting to get out. But stand firm. Resist the urge to start scribbling. That part will come soon enough.

What research do you need to conduct? The next four points will show you that.

2. Determine the logistics.
How long will your real estate letter be? Will you use color? Any supporting graphics? Will you use business stationery, or will you make the letter look like it's from a friend? How many copies do you plan to mail? Do you need professional printing or desktop printing? The more logistical questions you ask in advance, the less headache you'll have later on.

3. Determine your audience.
Who will read your letter? What kind of people are they? What do they fear? What do they want? What problems or challenges do they have on a daily basis? What sorts of products, features or services might alleviate those burdens?

4. Determine your objective.
Knowing what you know about your medium and audience ... what, exactly, do you want your real estate letter to do? More specifically, what do you want your audience to do? Request additional information? Accept your ideas? Visit your website? Call you? Or simply be informed, enlightened or entertained?

5. Determine your content.
Given your medium, audience and objective, what information do you need to include? Are you describing one service, or several? Do you need to include a lot of details to get your message across? Case studies? Testimonials from past clients?

6. Determine your angle.
What makes you different from all the other real estate professionals competing in your area? What do you offer that makes you stand out?

Is it your track record, your personal touch, your valuable information, your home-marketing system ... what? Find your angle and reinforce your message with it.

7. Answer their questions.
Once you've identified and researched all the above, it's time to play the question game. Professional writers have been using the question game in some form or another for decades.

The principle is simply this: Your prospects are going to have a lot of questions — some conscious and others subconscious — about whatever you're telling them.

Who are you? (logo, company name, Web address)
What are you selling, offering or educating them about? (headline)
What is the importance of what you're selling? (value and unique selling point)
How will what you're selling make their jobs / lives better? (benefits)
Who else has used what you're selling? (testimonials)
How can they trust you? (credentials, awards and testimonials)
What do they do next? (call to action)

If you identify these questions in advance, and write your message in a way that answers them, your real estate letter will be much more effective in the end.

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