Note: I had the great pleasure of speaking with BiggerPockets’ very own Managing Editor, Jessa Claeys, on my podcast. This article is written based on that conversation.
You may already know what a useful tool real estate content marketing can be when trying to find prospects, strengthen relationships, and close more deals. But for those unfamiliar with this technique, here’s a quick definition: “Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience—and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”
Too often, though, real estate professionals invest in creating content that falls flat and never gets read. One of the issues tends to be how the articles are structured. So, let’s discuss how to structure your real estate content so that it gets read by your target audience.
Create an Outline to Organize Your Thoughts
We’re going to assume that you’ve already researched your target audience, you already know what they’re interested in, and you know the topics you want to write about. Once you’ve selected a topic to write about, you’ll want to start framing the article with the key points or messages that you want to convey.
Sometimes, particularly when you’re dealing with complicated real estate topics, you’ll need to do a lot of research. This research can take your thoughts into several different directions. You don’t want to be all over the map—this is how you’ll lose readers. Instead, outline the article before you start writing. This will help to organize your thoughts and allow you to write clearer, more concise real estate content that gets read.
Related: Why Search Engine Optimization Is Still Important During COVID-19
Use Headings and Subheadings to Convey Key Messages
We live in an era where people tend to skim headlines, so use headlines to your advantage! When writing real estate content, use headings and subheadings within the body of the content to convey key messages.
Headings should be the primary point you want to convey but written in a way that captivates your audience to read on. Subheadings should contain beneath them another sentence or two that elaborate on the main heading. Assume that some people will first scan the headings and subheadings in your article before deciding what sub-sections to read in depth and whether to read the article in its entirety.
You want to be sure to map out the salient points of the article with subheadings so someone who scans can get the big picture. This structure is a great way to ensure your real estate content gets read and the most important points are understood by all readers—both those who scan and those who read every word.
Optimize Design for How Your Real Estate Content Will Be Consumed
Roughly 90% of people consume real estate content on their mobile device or tablet. Whether you’re writing blog posts or white papers, or producing videos and podcasts, you want to be sure that the real estate content is optimized for how your audience will be consuming it.
For example, an article that looks beautiful on your desktop might read poorly on the small screen of someone’s mobile device. A video recording might be too large of a file to load properly on someone’s device, timing out before a person gets to hear what you have to say. People will only spend so much time trying to consume a piece of content that does not seamlessly load and present elegantly on screen.
Related: How to Create a Video Tour to Show Off Your Commercial Property
Create a ‘Call to Action’ for Your Real Estate Content
One of the key objectives of creating real estate content is to subtly convey your message while otherwise providing valuable information for your audience. While the bulk of your content might be educational, for example, you should still weave in an appropriate call to action (CTA) to further engage with your audience.
Most CTAs come at the end of the article and will sometimes be as simple as “contact us to learn more” or “subscribe to our newsletter for ongoing market updates.”
Learn the secret of great email subject lines from Jessa here in this short video snippet from the podcast conversation with article author, Adam Gower.
Use Provocative Subject Lines to Ensure Your Real Estate Content Gets Read
Real estate content is only so valuable as it is in reaching your intended audience. In order to ensure your real estate content gets read, use emails with provocative subject lines that draw people’s attention.
How do you know what subject lines will be interesting to readers? There are two strategies to consider.
At a very basic level, you can start by scanning your own email inbox over time. What sort of subject lines capture YOUR attention? What are your competitors using for subject lines that seem interesting? Don’t reinvent the wheel—simply model your subject lines similarly.
Another strategy, one that’s a bit more complex, is to use A/B testing. Essentially, you use two separate subject lines to send out the same real estate content and then look at which subject line generates the most click-throughs. Start with a small sample size to conduct this test, and then use the “winning” subject line to send the email blast out to the rest of your email database.
Put Your Most Important Message in the Few Words of Email
Given the display on most people’s mobile devices, we know that only the first few words or so of a subject line or teaser text will be visible to a reader before clicking through to the actual email. If you want to draw someone’s attention, put your most important message up front. This structure is used to hook people in, and then you can go on to provide more information in the body of the email once you’ve secured their attention.
The Bottom Line
Mastering real estate content marketing is no easy task. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by it, consider hiring a third party who specializes in this field. They’ll be able to help you with all of these steps, from identifying your target audience to creating content that speaks to their pain points and ultimately, helps build the funnel you need to close more deals.
Listen to the full conversation with Jessa Claeys here.
Questions? Comments?
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Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.
