8 Reasons To Hire a Real Estate Content Writer

You’ve heard the stats on successful content marketing (especially for real estate agents), but writing content for your real estate website on top of running your business seems unrealistic. You don’t have enough time to do that, and you might not feel very confident in creating quality error-free content.

Enter the real estate content writer, your new partner in bolstering your brand online, attracting new leads and turning prospects into partners. Working with a real estate writer may be exactly what you need to take your website content to the next level.

What To Look For In a Real Estate Content Writer

When it comes to writing website content, you want to find a real estate writer who has keen research skills and experience writing for the web. Luckily, your real estate writer doesn’t have to be a former real estate agent. What you want is someone who has a working knowledge of the real estate industry that can benefit your brand. With your guidance and a little research, real estate writers from all backgrounds can create exceptional content that attracts potential clients.

Browse the portfolios of prospective real estate content writers for pieces that show off expertise about concepts such as the following:

• Market trends
• Industry marketing techniques
• Contracts
• The process of buying and selling real estate
• Laws that apply to real estate transactions
• Types of problems you can solve for buyers and sellers

Teaching a novice writer about these topics can eat up time you’d rather spend running your real estate business.

When you find a writer with real estate experience, you should also make sure he or she knows how to write for the web. The blog content you buy should be optimized for the web with your target keyword and metadata that helps Google and other search engines find and rank your content. Short, clear sentences, headings, bulleted lists and multiple points of entry help guide your reader by creating appealing, easy-to-digest content. This also makes your blog easy to read on a mobile device, which is where most buyers and sellers search for real estate information.

You can ask for a sample piece from the real estate writers you contact. Look for the key indicators mentioned above and determine for yourself if they are a good match for your brand. You may also consider hiring a content agency that assigns a team of real estate writers to your work.

8 Reasons To Work With A Real Estate Writer

Hiring a real estate content writer (or real estate content writing services) to take care of the content marketing needed to find new leads and gain a bigger following is a smart and realistic solution. Review these eight reasons to add a web content writer who specializes in real estate to your team, particularly if you want to refresh your marketing strategy and attract a new audience.

1. Real Estate Writers Publish Comprehensive, Engaging Content

A real estate content writer will help you publish vivid, in-the-know blog posts that position you squarely as a neighborhood expert. Just a few of the common content categories to consider in a real estate content marketing strategy include:

• Overviews of neighborhoods, communities, school districts and local amenities
• Long-form reports about market trends
• Advice for prospective clients who are buying or selling a home, including guides that cover mortgages, refinancing, the closing process and other hot topics
• Frequently asked questions about every aspect of the real estate industry
• Case studies that spotlight a unique property, hot new listing, client story or industry trend
• Details about local restaurants, parks, museums and points of interest

Homebuyers conduct detailed research online before making a move. For example, 44% of buyers surveyed in a National Association of REALTORS study are seeking locally-focused content from real estate agent blogs. If you hire a real estate writer who can deliver fresh, hyperlocal information online, buyers and sellers in your area will consider you an important resource before you ever meet in person.

2. Real Estate Writers Differentiate Your Brand

The real estate industry can be quite competitive, so establishing yourself as a local expert with an informative blog can set you apart from other agents in your area. According to research published by the National Association of REALTORS, just 11% of realtors ages 49 and younger have a blog. The percentage is even lower for older real estate professionals. These stats offer plenty of space for you and your real estate content writer to make an impact with a vibrant, informative online presence.

Having clear buyer personas in mind can help you create content that resonates. Every post should target a specific segment of your desired audience. For example, you might specialize in buyers who have specific needs such as open land, those seeking a resort lifestyle in retirement, first-time buyers and countless other demographic areas.

How To Create A Consumer Persona

Think about your ideal reader’s income, lifestyle, problems and needs when it comes to real estate. You can also tout yourself as a neighborhood expert for a few desirable areas rather than targeting your entire city or metro area. Consider sending a short survey to your email list or your past clients if you need more information to develop an accurate consumer persona.

With this information, your real estate writer can craft blog posts and other types of content directly to those clients you are looking for. Using specific keywords and posting content on social media platforms can help you boost traffic and pick up interesting readers.

Boosting your website traffic doesn’t just increase awareness of your business. It also improves your ability to market properties on behalf of clients who are selling their homes. If your real estate content writer can attract a sizable readership to your website, this success creates a selling point for prospective customers who want to sell quickly at the highest possible price.

3. Real Estate Writers Build Your Client Base

NAR also reports that 52% of 2019 homebuyers found their real estate agent through the internet. The prevalence of the tech connection among buyers and realtors will likely grow even more in 2021 and beyond. If you aren’t getting online traffic to your professional page, you’re missing out on a significant segment of potential clients.

Content marketing also lets you capture the valuable first-time home buyer audience. NAR data indicates that 24% of home sellers used their realtor to buy or sell property in the past and 74% of sellers plan to use their realtor again for a future transaction. In addition, nearly every surveyed buyer in an NAR study reported by Ritter-Knight searched online at some point during the home search. About 90% looked for a specific property online and 89% used the web to connect with and hire a real estate agent.

How To Improve Your Digital Marketing Strategy

If you haven’t already started a content marketing strategy, you might rely on traditional marketing or paid search to drive leads to your real estate website. The Content Marketing Institute reports that every dollar spent on content marketing returns an average of three times the return of a dollar spent on paid search.

Compared to traditional outbound marketing strategies, content marketing generates three times as many leads at less than two-thirds of the cost along with six times the conversions. What’s more, small businesses with blogs get about 126% of the lead growth earned by blogless businesses of similar size and 61% of consumers report purchasing a product or service because of a blog. Writing content for your real estate website can get you more leads and more exposure as an expert in the industry.

In addition to writing for potential clients, don’t discount the power of asking your real estate content writer to create blogs that appeal to other agents, especially if you have a perspective born from years in the business. Gaining traction as a trusted industry resource can lead to valuable referrals. Building a local community around your blog also gives readers a reason to keep coming back.

4. Real Estate Writers Can Spruce Up an Old Site

You pride yourself on providing every client with personalized attention, which doesn’t leave much time for your content marketing endeavors. You started a website for your business with every intention of keeping it fresh, but unfortunately, you don’t have the time to dedicate to a thriving real estate blog in addition to your career. CMI reports that businesses that publish 16 blog posts a month get 350% more website traffic than those who publish less than weekly.

If this scenario sounds familiar, a real estate content writer is probably just the partner you need to perk up your website. After a while, old posts and an outdated design make you look a bit out of touch, especially if an interested client looks up your website to learn more about you and finds a dusty landing page with minimal information. Professional writers have the expertise to rewrite and repurpose your existing content assets as well as create brand-new items that paint your brand in the best light.

Without frequent updates and content that offers real value to the reader, your blog traffic will flag and your search engine rankings will dip. Conversely, regular blog posts with original, well-written, relevant information will increase your site’s SEO performance and bring new prospects into your sales funnel. A real estate writer can get you into the groove with the consistency you need for content marketing success.

5. Real Estate Writers Can Power Up Your Postcard Campaign

Direct-mail postcards are a real-estate marketing mainstay for good reason: Advertisers who use this method see an incredible 1,300% average ROI. Consumers who make purchases based on direct mail campaigns say they tend to trust print marketing more than online ads. They also appreciate receiving mail from these trusted brands.

Take the direct mail tradition into the modern age by adding QR codes that can drive traffic to your shiny new blog or lead to a virtual tour of a highlighted property, for example. Make sure your postcard has a clear call to action that will encourage the recipient to connect with you online.

If you have a real estate content writer consistently publishing new content on your website, you can feel confident that potential clients who receive your postcards will be impressed when they look you up on the internet. Having both a strong physical and digital presence can be rewarding.

6. Real Estate Writers Can Answer Reader Questions

Keyword research lets you answer the actual questions your would-be readers look for online. You can find this information instantly with free tools like Google Trends and Answer the Public. To serve as a valuable resource, your blog needs to teach your audience about interesting topics in real estate. By encouraging your real estate writer to consistently focus on a few keywords and write readable, engaging information, your website will begin to rank for those keywords and organically attract an audience.

In addition to taking advantage of free keyword tools, you can build traction by answering the questions you get from your existing clients. Common examples include:

• What type of mortgage should I use?
• Where are the most affordable neighborhoods in my city?
• What are closing costs and what do they cover?
• What should I look for in an investment property?
• How should I prepare my home for a quick sale?

The more specific the keywords you target are, the easier it will be to rank for those searches. For example, “real estate agent,” will have many more searches on average than “real estate agent in Toronto.” Even better? “Downsizing real estate agent in Toronto.” If you decide to hire a real estate content writer, you may want to choose an agency that can handle keyword research on your behalf.

The best part of finding relevant questions and keywords is that these are instant hot topics for your real estate writer to write about. As you provide topics and specific content ideas for your website content, in return your real estate writer can produce rich content about those things.

7. Real Estate Writers Can Step Up Your Social Media Game

If you want to connect with customers through content marketing, you need to be on social media. Building a blog and creating content opens up natural opportunities to share with your audience on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and beyond. Social shares will drive conversation around your content and expand the reach of your brand, especially for popular viral formats like Q&As, infographics and image-based stories.

In the NAR survey referenced above, 47% of realtors report that their highest-quality leads come from social media. Of the real estate agents who use social media, 97% rely on Facebook, primarily because the app’s demographics so closely match those of home buyers.

Instagram is also a smart choice as the most common online hangout for millennials, who represent a healthy segment of homebuyers. It’s also a visually rich platform that can help you make the most of outstanding photo and video assets. If you’ve invested in professional photography, remember that posting those gorgeous images will multiply your social shares.

Having a real estate content writer around means you can have consistent blog posts to share on these social media platforms. You could even pay your real estate writer to write up social media posts to go with the links. Having fresh content available to publish makes using social media so much more effective.

8. Real Estate Writers Take Tasks Off Your Plate

Let’s consider a different scenario. You have some writing experience and you thought you could handle the rigors of publishing high-quality blog content for your readers. The trouble is that it’s working, and now you’re expanding rapidly with more client contacts every week. At the same time, you know that consistent real estate content keeps your readers coming back, while spotty posts and slow updates might lead them to think you’ve dropped the ball.

Delegate some of your duties, including content creation, to make room for your much-deserved business growth. You’ll be able to use your industry knowledge and publication prowess to write detailed content briefs that help a professional real estate writer capture your voice and elevate your brand.

Hire a Real Estate Content Writer

When you work with an agency like BKA Content, you don’t have to take the time to vet writers on your own. Each professional web content writer on our team has completed a comprehensive screening process and has extensive experience creating content for clients in countless professional niches, including real estate. Our team will work hard to create high-quality content for your real estate website that attracts followers and boosts your brand.

Purchase a la carte articles through our content shop or enroll in managed services to benefit from the guidance of a dedicated account director. When you connect with us, we’ll learn more about your content needs and match you with a real estate writer with the chops to help your brand thrive online.