copywriting: Do you know Copywriting rule #2
- 10/16/23 10:35 AM
Those darned copywriting rules - always telling you what to do.
But that's good. Copywriting rules, like grammar rules, make it easy for people to understand your messages.
You know Rule #1:
Rule #1 is “It has to be about them, not about you.” And that means you must never begin your letter or message with the words "I" or "we."
Why? Because the people you want to read what you write do not care about you, what you think, or what you want. If it’s all about you, they probably won’t get past the first sentence.
So what about rule #2?You’ve heard from … (21 comments)
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copywriting: A copywriter never knows what the day will bring...
- 05/03/16 03:19 PM
Most of the time I write copy to promote an agent. It might be their bio; it might be a web page for buyers or sellers; it might be a custom prospecting letter or perhaps a brochure.
This morning, something unusual came my way.
My good friend and client Loretta Maimone called to ask me to write a letter. But this letter had nothing to do with her and her business. It was in support of a friend who is seeking a review by the Clemency board for an early release from prison.
This gentleman, who was a State Attorney in Florida until his arrest, has … (9 comments)
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copywriting: Grammar isn't THAT critical in marketing copy, but...
- 05/05/13 04:05 PM
Proper Grammar isn't THAT critical in marketing copy, but... Readability is.
By now you know that following instructions from your high school English teacher will cause you to write dry, dull, uninspiring copy. Being "too proper" just makes your words sound stiff.
At the same time, being too casual makes you sound a little demented. And I HAVE seen it done. In fact, I've received emails with a subject line that went something like: "YO! Man! You Gotta Dig This!"
Uh - no, I don't gotta.
And thankfully, "like" is dropping out of mainstream vocabulary. It can really … (22 comments)
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copywriting: Just because the spoken word sounds right…
- 07/09/12 09:02 AM
... doesn't mean the written word will carry the same meaning.
The wrong word used in a written sentence can throw the whole message off track. The reader stops, reads it again, and determines what was meant by what was written. By then, the "flow" is gone.
And while some readers will be forgiving, others will dismiss the writer as someone who isn't very intelligent or who doesn't pay attention to details. As a professional, you don't want anyone to have either impression of you.
Following below are some misused words that I've come across in blog posts … (54 comments)
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copywriting: If You Ever Feel "Stuck" on How to Start a Real Estate Marketing Letter or Email...
- 03/30/12 08:17 AM
When you're writing real estate marketing copy it’s easy to get "stuck" on that subject line or opening sentence.
You know what you want to say, but getting started is the tough part.
My usual advice is to just start writing somewhere in the middle. By the time you have all your thoughts on paper, the beginning will probably come to you.
But sometimes, even after you've written the rest of the letter, that brilliant idea for the lead-in just doesn't want to come out of hiding.
You know it's important. Unless you capture your reader's attention right … (8 comments)
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copywriting: Real Estate Marketing: Does your content inform?
- 03/25/12 04:10 AM
Have you ever visited a real estate website and known for certain that the content was there just for SEO purposes?
I see a lot of them - the articles are nothing but fluff - but they have keywords!
A better idea is to enrich your site with information that gives value to your buyers and sellers. Anything from advice about the buying and selling process to interesting copy about the neighborhoods they serve will provide the SEO AND give visitors a reason to see the agent as someone "in the know."
Like this graphic? Get more content … (11 comments)
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copywriting: Why you can sell in person, but your marketing copy fails: You aren't addressing your prospects' concerns
- 02/06/12 08:02 PM
Before you begin to write any marketing copy, consider who you're writing to, what matters to them, and why it matters.
It isn't your years in the business or your designations or even how many homes you've sold. It's what's going on in their lives that matters to them.
Unless your message zooms right in on your prospects' concerns, they probably won't read past the first sentence.
Is it their fear of choosing an agent who will ignore them? Is it their desire to find an agent who can lead them through the buying or selling process and protect … (7 comments)
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copywriting: Why you can sell in person, but your marketing copy fails: Blame your English teacher
- 01/30/12 03:41 PM
Why you can sell in person, but your marketing copy fails: Blame your English teacher.
You may be writing under the mistaken belief that a marketing letter needs to sound formal.
Your high school English teacher might approve, but prospective clients aren't impressed. Face it, formal writing is stiff and boring, and no one reads "stiff and boring" unless they have to. And they don't have to read your letter.
A good sales letter is conversational
It sounds like you're talking to an individual person about a subject that interests both of you. And what interests them … (9 comments)
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copywriting: Another Trick for Better Writing
- 01/12/12 05:53 PM
Proper Grammar isn't THAT critical in marketing copy, but... Readability is.
By now you know that following instructions from your high school English teacher will cause you to write dry, dull, uninspiring copy. Being "too proper" just makes your words sound stiff.
At the same time, being too casual makes you sound a little demented. And I HAVE seen it done. In fact, I've received emails with a subject line that went something like: "YO! Man! You Gotta Dig This!"
Uh - no, I don't gotta.
Many of us here have written about using the wrong word. Like … (9 comments)
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copywriting: When the "Help" Menu Doesn't Help...
- 12/14/11 07:47 PM
Tonight made me a little crazy.
I had spent much of the day writing blog posts for a new client and it was time to upload them to her Wordpress site. She sent me a login and password and everything looked fine. I copied the first post, formatted it for bolds and headers, entered the SEO information, the tags and the category... and then tried to upload a photo.
Where was the button?
No button. So I saved the post and started searching. Click here, click there, click everywhere. OK, I don't like help menus but I'll try that. That … (11 comments)
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copywriting: I'm a copywriter. I love words, but not this one!
- 11/23/11 11:24 AM
First, let me say that most of the time, I think spelling is easy.
There have been a few words in my life that wouldn't "stick" but I've figured out tricks to get them in my head. For instance: Pend Oreille.
That's the river that flows past the town of Priest River, so when I was an agent I used to have to refer to it any time we had a listing on the river. I never could remember if it was Oreille or Orielle...
Then one day I remembered that all along the steep banks of Pend … (10 comments)
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copywriting: Face the fear, and blog anyway
- 07/31/11 05:54 PM
Excuses, excuses, excuses...
When I'm trying to talk someone into joining Active Rain and actually blogging, I often hear excuses about not being able to write well.
Some say they can't spell and others say their grammar skills aren't good enough for writing.
While I will agree that if a person doesn't write well they shouldn't be doing their own web copy or other marketing materials, blogging is different.
In blogging, you aren't persuading - you're talking. And while it's a good idea to try to use proper conversational grammar and spell your … (19 comments)
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copywriting: A Near Disaster - I Almost Used "That Word" in Copy
- 07/17/11 08:34 PM
No – it’s not a 4-letter word. It’s not even an off-color word to most people.
But to me as a copywriter, it is a dirty word. It’s the sign of a lazy copywriter – one who can’t think of what to say or doesn't want to be bothered with saying it. Or worse, one who has nothing to say. Or perhaps one who doesn’t know what the heck she’s talking about so needs a filler.
Every time I see this word jumping out at me from a newspaper ad or an email, I SWEAR that I will never, … (15 comments)
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copywriting: 3 Year Old Advice Just as Valid Today
- 06/16/11 12:26 PM
After reading all the good advice about recycling old posts, I’ve been revisiting some of mine. This one, entitled Are You Embarrassed To Admit You Need a Copywriter, was published on February 24, 2008. It was my 6th ever post and got one comment. That comment was from a home stager who dropped out of Active Rain in January 2009.
Darn - I was going to go look her up and see what she had to say these days.
The interesting thing is, although more than 3 years have passed, the situation is still the … (5 comments)
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copywriting: Real Estate and Copywriting Are Not So Different
- 05/18/11 08:47 PM
A couple of weeks ago I was asked to contribute an article to a marketing website. They furnished me with a list of questions about hiring a copywriter. Why you need one, how to choose the right one, etc.
When I got to “What are the warning signs?” and wrote my opinions, it occurred to me that the red flags warning you that you’re hiring the wrong copywriter are much the same as the red flags saying you’re hiring the wrong real estate agent.
Here are most of my answers, in short form, and how I think they relate … (3 comments)
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copywriting: Watch out for those $40 Words!
- 05/17/11 08:59 PM
Are you ever tempted to use $40 words when posting to your blog or writing to a prospect? Be careful with that!
There are a couple of copywriting "rules" that everyone should follow (unless they're writing to appeal to people in academia.)
The first is to never use a big word if a little one will do the job. In other words, say "use" instead of "utilize." (They have a slightly different meaning, anyway!) Instead of "facilitate" say "help." Instead of "gormandize" say "gobble."
The second is to check the reading level of what you've written before you send it off. … (13 comments)
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copywriting: Be Careful of "We-Weing" on Your Marketing Copy
- 05/07/11 07:12 PM
Do you "we-we" on your marketing copy?
A whole lot of people are doing just that lately, and it's a darned shame, because it's a sure way to get prospective customers and clients to "round file" your message without reading it.
What the heck am I talking about?
Starting your message with "We" or "I" - and continuing on by telling all about you. Even if you're saying "We can help..." you've probably lost the prospect with your first words.
The truth is, your prospects don't care about you.
They care about themselves, and the only … (14 comments)
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copywriting: Who Needs a Real Estate Copywriter?
- 01/27/11 08:25 PM
Today I had a conversation with a gentleman who wanted a drip marketing campaign.
We discussed who would be getting the letters, how long each message should be, and what he wanted to convey to people. Then he asked me "Do you have some kind of special tricks you use in your letters?"
When I asked what he meant, he explained that he was highly educated and could write very well. He wanted to know if there was something special I could do that he could not.
He said "Why can't I do this myself?"
I told him no, there were … (10 comments)
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copywriting: Does your "Web Guy" Dictate Your Presentation?
- 10/09/10 11:31 AM
A few months ago a friend and fellow copywriter called me in a panic. She needed help with "paring down" the web copy she had written for a real estate client.
Sometimes clients don't tell us copywriters the whole story - and this time her client had failed to tell her that his web designer insisted that his "about me" page be limited to 400 words.
Had she known, she could have decided what details to use before she started to write. But it still would have been difficult.
I had read her original copy. It was fantastic, because her … (2 comments)
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copywriting: Toss the Trash, Polish What's Left
- 10/06/10 12:23 PM
The challenge to write about something under my kitchen sink and then relate it to my business left me puzzled for all of about 45 seconds.
While I hadn't thought about it at all before, the things under my sink fit perfectly. Two in particular: The garbage disposal and the jar of silver polish.
As a writer, my method is to get it all out there on paper, then start editing.
Once the first draft is finished, the next step is to cut and slash - and toss anything that doesn't fit with the main idea or doesn't add … (8 comments)
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Those darned copywriting rules - always telling you what to do. 
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