Real estate marketing online is about getting people to stop
when they visit your website.
Then you must get them to follow a desired path through the
site. This path leads to your ultimate goal, which involves the
reader contacting you directly or offering up their contact
information.
Most web readers have heightened powers of selectiveness. They
know how to hop from website to website in search of the content
they want.
So if you want your website to engage the reader, and ideally
evoke a response, you must first get the reader to stop. That's
where headlines come in.
The Value of Headlines
An engaging headline will stop a web reader momentarily. Good
content will pick up where the headline leaves off, moving the
reader toward the desired goal (a phone call, a subscription,
etc.). But it all starts with the headline.
When creating your headline, keep revising it until it
accomplishes three things:
(1) It should capture the reader's attention and pulls them into
the web page.
(2) It should identify and qualifies the audience.
(3) It should deliver a complete message to add momentum to your
message.
I've taken some tested headline "formulas" and narrowed them
down to those that have a history of working well on the web.
The Personalized Headline Key to the personalized
headline -- identifying the audience right away: "Attention
homeowners thinking of selling. Do you know the top ten ways to
increase the selling price of your house?"
The "How to" Headline
We love helpful tips and can't get enough of them. We gobble up
information that promises to make us healthier or happier, to
save us money or make us money, to give us an exclusive edge.
Want proof? Just browse the nonfiction shelves in your local
bookstore and see how many titles start with "How to [blank]" or
"Twelve easy ways to [blank]" or "Improving your [blank] in 30
days or less."
Using the "how to" headline in your marketing:
"How to sell your home in a buyer's market ... and still
profit!"
"How to buy a home in a seller's market ... without getting
taken to the bank."
"Seven ways to protect yourself when buying a home in a seller's
market."
"Quick tips for putting your house on the market ... and getting
it sold fast."
The Offer Headline (a.k.a. the "Direct Headline") This
headline introduces the offer or primary benefit without wasting
a single word on introductory matter. How you might adapt this
for your website:
"The Complete Guide to Buying a Home -- Yours Free. Call today!"
The Provocative Question Headline
The question (or "interrogative") headline uses fundamentals of
psychology in order to succeed. The human brain does not like
unanswered questions. When our minds encounter a question, they
immediately try to answer. When the mind cannot answer the
question, it asks "What, then, is the answer?"
"How do you get the most for your home when selling in a buyer's
market?"
"Do you know the five easiest ways to increase the selling price
of your home?"
"Think you can't afford a new home?"
Deliver on the Promise
With any headline (but especially this one), you should
transition into your body copy in some logical way. The body
must support the headline. It must answer the question, solve
the problem, or otherwise expand on the topic you've introduced
in your headline.
Which Headline is Best for You?
I've shown how easily you might adapt any of these headlines for
your website. But to find out which works best for your website
and your particular offer, there's only one sure way. You have
to try them. It all comes down to your reader, your website, and
what you want your reader to do on your website.
About the author:
Brandon Cornett has worked as a marketing manager for a
direct mail company serving the real estate industry since 1986.
He now dedicates his time to helping real estate professionals
improve their marketing. His "Modern Guide to Real Estate
Marketing" and his free newsletter are available at:
http://www.ArmingYourFarming.com
